Brown School

Mark Rank, the Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Welfare, won the 2026 Independent Press Award in the category of sociology for his book “The Random Factor: How Chance and Luck Profoundly Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us.” 

The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis will fully fund practicum internship experiences and provide living stipends to students in its Master of Social Work program beginning in fall 2026, Dorian Traube, the Neidorff Family and Centene Corporation Dean of the Brown School, announced. 

Trish Kohl, a professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has been selected as a 2026 fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.

Researchers from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis have released new findings from their evaluation of St. Louis’ Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot Program, showing that regular, unrestricted cash payments significantly improved participants’ economic security, credit health and overall quality of life.

How head coach Paige Madara, herself a former Bears’ tennis player, helped the WashU women win its first national tennis title last spring.

Cal J. Halvorsen, an associate professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has received the Leadership Award from the Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work.

Jennifer Bellamy, a professor and director of the Evaluation Center at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has been installed as the Shanti K. Khinduka Distinguished Professor. An installation ceremony was held Oct. 8 in Hillman Hall.

Even after factoring in student loan payments, completing a college degree continues to pay off, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis’ Center for Social Development at the Brown School.

Millions of Americans rely on public assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid to meet basic needs for food and health care. Yet a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis finds that the very systems designed to help are often the hardest to navigate — especially for the people who need them most.

Proscovia Nabunya, at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a $5 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health toward efforts to streamline mental health treatment and HIV medication support for adolescents living with HIV in rural Uganda.