African-American health and well-being subject of new study in St. Louis area
A new comprehensive, multi-disciplinary study, led by the Brown School’s Jason Q. Purnell, PhD, on the health and well-being of African Americans in St. Louis could have far-reaching impacts on an entire population. The research findings and a series of related policy briefs will culminate in a community conference in 2014, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education and the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Kreuter named Brown School associate dean for public health
Matthew W. Kreuter, PhD, professor and director of the Brown School’s Health Communication Research Laboratory (HCRL), has been named associate dean for public health, according to Edward F. Lawlor, PhD. dean and the William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor. The appointment is effective July 1.
Three doctoral candidates named Bouchet Fellows
Three WUSTL doctoral candidates were inducted into the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society at the annual Bouchet Conference on Diversity in Graduate Education April 19-20 at Yale University. The Bouchet Society, named for the first African American to earn a doctorate in the United States, recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement and promotes diversity and excellence in doctoral education and the professoriate.
I-CARES announces 2013 funded research projects
The International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy
and Sustainability (I-CARES) has announced the award winners for its
2013 Call for Proposals. This year, special emphasis was placed on projects related to
climate change.
With the right mortgage, home ownership builds wealth
The Great Recession, characterized by devastating
mortgage defaults, has challenged the conventional wisdom that home
ownership is a good investment, particularly for those with low and
moderate incomes. But the conventional wisdom on the benefits of owning vs. renting
still holds when done right, according to a newly published study led by
the Brown School’s Center for Social Development and Michal Grinstein-Weiss, PhD. Homeowners with low and moderate incomes who participated in this
study conducted between 2005-08 achieved higher net worth than their
counterparts who rent. This research provides new and important evidence for the current policy debate on low-income homeownership programs,” Grinstein-Weiss says.
Local health departments find Twitter effective in spreading diabetes information
Twitter is proving to be an effective tool for local health departments in disseminating health information — especially in promoting specific health behaviors. The latest study, led by Jenine K. Harris, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School, focused on diabetes, a disease that may affect an estimated one-third of U.S. adults by 2050. “We focused on diabetes first, both because of increasing diabetes rates,” Harris says, “and also because people living with diabetes tend to use online health-related resources at a fairly high rate and are an audience already online and on social media.”
Celebrating ‘Uncommon Journeys’: Brown School honors alumni, faculty member
The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis awarded one Distinguished Faculty Award and five Distinguished Alumni Awards during its annual alumni awards celebration April 17 at Steinberg Auditorium on the Danforth Campus. One of the alumni was selected as an outstanding Graduate of the Last Decade.
Brown School conducts experiment with active learning classroom
Over spring break, Room 37 in the Brown School’s Goldfarb Hall was transformed. For the last eight weeks of the semester, Brown School students in 15 courses took part in an experiment in pedagogy that brings teaching — and learning — into a new era. This isn’t your parents’ lecture hall. Say hello to the wired world of interactive instruction — or active learning.
New study examines social isolation of young adults with autism spectrum disorder
Young adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more likely to never see friends, never get called by friends, never be invited to activities and be socially isolated. That’s the finding of new research released online in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders that studies the social outcomes of young adults with an ASD. The study is part of a pioneering program of research on adolescents and adults with autism led by Paul T. Shattuck, PhD, associate professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Lead author is Gael I. Orsmond, PhD, associate professor at Boston University and an expert on the social development of adults with an ASD.
Financial capability lecture at Brown Hall Monday, May 13
Sherry Salway Black, director of the Partnership for Tribal Governance, National Congress of American Indians, will be on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis at 12:15 p.m. Monday, May 13, in Brown Hall’s Brown Lounge (Room 218). Her talk “Securing Our Futures: Building Financial Capability for Life” is sponsored by the Brown School’s Center for Social Development and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The lecture is free but registration is required. Lunch will be provided.
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