Brown School

Molly Tovar, EdD, former director of leadership for the Bill & Melinda Gates Millennium Scholars Program, has been appointed director of the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at the Brown School.

From traditional foods to lively entertainment, students at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work representing a variety of countries will offer a taste of their homelands at the 16th annual International Festival beginning at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 28, in Edison Theatre.

“If the House passes the latest version of legislation this weekend and sends it to the Senate, that will be the key legislative event in the long health care debate, because both chambers have already passed the legislation,” says Timothy McBride, Ph.D., health economist and associate dean of public health at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.  “I believe the House will pass the legislation, but the vote will be very close, probably within one vote or two. The House probably has not had a vote this close since the vote on Medicare prescription drugs.”

Eric Greitens, PhD, chief executive officer of The Mission Continues, will address the importance of public service in his upcoming lecture, “Inspiring Leadership in Challenging Times.” Sponsored by the Assembly Series and the Gephardt Institute for Public Service, the talk will take place at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, in Room 118, Brown Hall. It will be followed by a reception and service project in Brown Lounge.

In an effort to engage individuals outside of Washington University in St. Louis, the Institute for Public Health is offering affiliation to those working in public health or related disciplines worldwide. Scientists, physicians or employees in a county health department are examples of individuals who would qualify.

The Brookings Institution and Washington University in St. Louis announce the first recipients of grants from the Academic Venture Fund, the purpose of which is  to support collaboration between the two institutions, particularly long-term projects that impact research, education and policy. Grants are available in amounts from $20,000 to $50,000. Interested fellows, faculty, staff, centers, institutes and programs can submit proposals by June 1 for review in July 2010. 

The Center for Social Development at the Brown School is advising and helping to test innovations in asset building — strategies that increase financial and tangible assets for families and businesses — in several countries in East and Southeast Asia.

The Gephardt Institute for Public Service invites students, faculty and staff to participate in “Faces of Hope” in April, a celebration of civic engagement and community service. Student, faculty, and department-led initiatives; student groups; community-based learning and teaching courses; and service trips all are welcome to participate. Applications are due Friday, Feb. 12. 

Don’t be fooled by a company’s recent attempt to market smokeless tobacco as “harmless,” says Douglas Luke, Ph.D., professor and director of the Center for Tobacco Policy Research at the Brown School. “Part of what we’re seeing here is the tobacco industry trying to position smokeless tobacco products so that they either do not come under the new Food and Drug Administration regulations or they come under weaker regulations,” Luke says.

The George Warren Brown School of Social Work’s Livable Lives Initiative has awarded eight grants to faculty across the university. The selected projects investigate policies and programs designed to help those with low or moderate incomes achieve lives that are more stable, secure, satisfying and successful.