Brown School

The 33rd annual Brown School Distinguished Alumni Awards were presented in the Clark-Fox Forum of Hillman Hall. Six awardees were honored for their exceptional commitments to the fields of social work and public health.

Language. Though many of us take it for granted, it’s a vital and essential part of Native American cultural identity. To celebrate its importance, the theme of this year’s Pow Wow is “Honoring Our Language to Strengthen Our Future.” The 26th annual event, a celebration of American Indian cultures, will be held Saturday, April 9, in the Washington University Field House.

The Brown School’s Center for Social Development has launched a new initiative aimed at examining how racism and inequality affect quality of life in the U.S. The Collaboration on Race, Inequality, and Social Mobility in America will examine the impact of inequality and structural racism on people of color.

The American health care system must do a better job of systematically detecting and treating mental health problems within outpatient primary care clinics, especially those that serve vulnerable populations, finds a study led by Darrell Hudson, assistant professor at the Brown School.

A new poverty risk calculator, co-developed by Mark Rank of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, can determine an individual’s risk of poverty based on four basic factors: race, education, marital status and age.

Washington University in St. Louis leaders and community leaders will gather Monday, March 7, to address the impact of gun violence on children during “Gun Violence and Childhood Trauma,” to be held from 2-5 p.m. in the Clark-Fox Forum in Hillman Hall on the Danforth Campus.

In the years leading up to the unprecedented media coverage of transgender issues, Vanessa Fabbre, assistant professor at the Brown School, began researching the intersection of aging and gender transitions. The decisions people make about transition, Fabbre says, are a window into broader social forces: racism, sexism, classism and more.

Among Missouri’s poorest performing districts, the Jennings School District had lost accreditation and community support. But when a dynamic new superintendent arrived with a bold plan to turn around the district, Washington University stepped up with resources to serve children both inside and outside of the classroom.

As a social work practicum student, Keyria Jeffries will do anything to help the children of Fairview Primary. Some days that means finding a child a place to live. Other days, it means giving a hungry child something to eat.

Amanda Moore McBride, executive director of the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at Washington University in St. Louis, says U.S. colleges and universities must do more to encourage students to vote. Yes, voter registration drives and accessible polling places matter. But what happens in the classroom may play an even bigger role.