Brown School

Is the American Dream slipping away? Maybe, says Mark R. Rank, PhD, one of the country’s foremost experts on inequality and social justice. “More than at any time in our past,” Rank says, “there are serious questions regarding the American Dream and its applicability to everyday people.” Rank’s new book, “Chasing the American Dream: Understanding What Shapes Our Fortunes” (Oxford University Press 2014) is out.

Could a cup of coffee bring faculty across campus together to expand and enhance research and teaching while broadening perspectives? That’s the idea behind the Office of the Provost’s Bring Your Own Idea program, which awards grants to support gatherings of faculty from across Washington University in St. Louis around meaningful topics.

Diversity and Inclusion Grants totaling nearly $112,000 were awarded to 10 projects designed to strengthen and promote diversity on campus.

The use of social media to disseminate information is increasing in local health departments, but a new study, led by Jenine K. Harris, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School finds that Twitter accounts are followed more by organizations than individuals and may not be reaching the intended audience.

Jason Q. Purnell, PhD (left), lead researcher of a landmark multidisciplinary study on African-American health and well-being in St. Louis called “For the Sake of All,” actively engaged with community members March 18 at the Forest Park Visitors Center. The yearlong study held an open house to solicit feedback on the research.

The 24th annual Pow Wow, a festival of American Indian cultures at Washington University in St. Louis, will be held Saturday, April 5, in the Field House on the Danforth Campus. The event, hosted by the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at the Brown School, is free and open to the public.

More than two-dozen WUSTL students have been invited to attend Clinton Global Initiative University in Arizona this weekend. One team’s project would help loved ones connect after disasters. And graduate student DeAndrea Nichols was chosen to help open the meeting. WUSTL hosted last year’s event.

Washington University graduate student De Andrea Nichols has been chosen to help open the 2014 CGI U meeting as one of five students featured at the opening plenary session that begins at 8:30 p.m. (CDT) Friday, March 21, at Arizona State University.

Nancy Staudt, JD, PhD, vice dean for faculty and academic affairs at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, has been named dean of the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, effective May 15, 2014, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. She also will become the Caroline and Howard N. Cayne Professor of Law as well as a professor at the Brown School.

Getting Congress to pass the Affordable Care Act, the landmark health insurance legislation, in 2010, was challenging — but not nearly as challenging as implementing it. With the deadline for first-time enrollment looming March 31, research from Matthew W. Kreuter, PhD, and the Brown School’s Health Communications Research Laboratory is helping.