Brown School

Jason Echols spent his time at the Brown School concentrating on gerontology — including helping to produce a contest-winning YouTube video on social work and aging. “We haven’t really done enough to talk about what happens when people grow older,” Echols says. Working with older adults is something he’s passionate about, and he’ll continue working toward that passion after he receives his master’s of social work from the Brown School May 21.

The 10th annual Friedman Conference on Aging, “Productive Aging: Cross-Cultural Perspectives from China and the U.S.,” will be held from 8:30 a.m.-noon Tuesday, May 25, in Room 100, Brown Hall. The conference, sponsored by the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging and the Center for Social Development, is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

The MasterCard Foundation announced a partnership with a consortium of four organizations to conduct a landmark, global research initiative that will test how to sustainably deliver savings services to low-income youth in the developing world.  The initiative — YouthSave — is based on emerging evidence that suggests linking youth to savings may improve their economic, educational and health-related futures.  The four organizations participating in the consortium are Save the Children, the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, the New America Foundation, and CGAP (the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor).

TIME magazine has named Michael Sherraden, PhD, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, to the 2010 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Sherraden, the founder and director of the Brown School’s Center for Social Development (CSD), is known for his pioneering work on asset building for low-income people.

Child Development Accounts are savings accounts that begin as early as birth and allow parents and children to accumulate savings for post-secondary education, homeownership or business initiatives. “There is evidence that when there are savings and assets in the household – particularly savings in a child’s name – that children have greater educational attainment, are more likely to do well in high school, attend college and graduate from college,” says Michael Sherraden, PhD, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the Brown School. Sherraden recently was named to TIME Magazine’s TIME 100.

Congress recently passed the much anticipated and greatly debated health reform legislation, but what does this mean for the St. Louis region and the rest of the country? The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis will host a public panel discussion titled “What to Expect from Health Reform: Implications for the Region and the Nation,” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 28, in Steinberg Hall Auditorium.

WHAT: The 20th annual Pow Wow at Washington University, a festival of American Indian cultures WHEN: Saturday, April 10 from noon to 10 p.m. Grand entries of dancers will be showcased at 1 and 6 p.m. Arts & crafts booths will open at 10 a.m. WHERE: Washington University’s Athletic Center, near the intersection of Forsyth […]

The 20th annual Pow Wow, a festival of American Indian cultures, opens at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 10, in the Field House. Visitors and participants will be able to enjoy dancing, singing, drumming, arts, crafts and food. The daylong event, hosted by the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at the Brown School, is free and open to the public.

The Brown School honored two distinguished individuals for outstanding service to their profession during its annual Alumni Awards celebration April 6 in Steinberg Hall Auditorium. Two alumni received Distinguished Alumni Awards and a faculty member received a Distinguished Faculty Award.  

The Gephardt Institute for Public Service has partnered with the newly formed university group, Student United Way, to offer funding for students applying to the Civic Engagement Fund. The Civic Engagement Fund awards graduate, professional and undergraduate students who seek funding for service trips, civic initiatives, or community service projects.