Carl Phillips. Photo by Joe Angeles/WUSTL Photo Services.

“I have a candidate for the author of the most interesting contemporary English sentences,” wrote Dan Chiasson in The New Yorker last spring.

The candidate? “The American poet Carl Phillips.”

Phillips is the author of 12 books of poems, most recently Silverchest (2013) and Double Shadow (2011), which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Other books include Quiver of Arrows: Selected Poems 1986-2006, a translation of Sophocles’s Philoctetes (2004), and Coin of the Realm: Essays on the Life and Art of Poetry (2004).

A finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, Phillips’ honors include the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, the Theodore Roethke Memorial Foundation Poetry Award, the Thom Gunn Award for Gay Male Poetry, and award in literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Hurst Lounge is located in Duncker Hall, Room 201. A reception and book signing will immediately follow.

For more information, call (314) 935-7428.

Rob Reich, PhD, associate professor of political science at Stanford University, has been named the 2013-14 Wells Fargo Advisors Visiting Professor in Entrepreneurship by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.

Reich

His first visit is Sept. 9-11, when he will be accompanied by research partner Lucy Bernholz, PhD.

“The Wells Fargo Advisors Visiting Professorship allows us to invite thought leaders to campus, introduce them to the community and gain valuable insight into how we can grow our entrepreneurial support systems,” said Ken Harrington, managing director of the Skandalaris Center. “We look forward to collaborating with the Brown School throughout the year and to getting Rob and Lucy’s advice and inputs.”

Reich and Bernholz will lead “New Skills for the New Social Economy — Implications for St. Louis,” a workshop for nonprofit organizations and social entrepreneurs Monday, Sept. 9, from 2-5 p.m. The workshop is free but registration is required. A reception will follow. More information and registration information can be found here. 

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, Reich will deliver a keynote address, “The New Social Economy: Private Resources for Public Good,” for the YouthBridge Social Enterprise and Innovation Competition and Olin Cup kickoff. The two competitions annually award more than $200,000 to startup social and commercial enterprises. The kickoff is free and open to the public, and a reception will follow. More information is at ideabounce.com. 

Reich also will meet with students Sept. 11.

Reich, who has courtesy appointments in philosophy and at the School of Education at Stanford, is a co-director of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS), which brings together scholars and philanthropists to examine how institutions and nonprofits address public interests worldwide. He also directs the undergraduate program in Ethics and Society.

He is the author of Bridging Liberalism and Multiculturalism in American Education (2002), co-author of Democracy at Risk: How Political Choices Undermine Citizen Participation (2005), and co-editor of Toward a Humanist Justice: The Political Philosophy of Susan MollerOkin (2009), Occupy the Future (2013), and Education, Justice, and Democracy (2013).

A popular teacher at Stanford, Reich has received several teaching awards, including the Phi Beta Kappa Undergraduate Teaching Award and the Walter J. Gores Award. He also is a university fellow in undergraduate education at Stanford.

Bernholz’s research focuses on philanthropy, technology, information and policy, and she recently was selected as one of The NonProfit Times' “Power and Influence Top 50” for 2013.

Where: Patrick Henry Downtown Academy, 1220 North Tenth Street

Who: Patrick Gibbons, WUSTL professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, will lead a team of some 100 freshmen at Patrick Henry Downtown Academy. Ask for Gibbons upon your arrival. More WUSTL faculty and staff will lead students at the 12 other schools.

More information: Service First beautifies neighborhood schools

The Record recently learned of the death of Michael A. Weinberg, PhD, a former associate professor of history in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. Weinberg died of heart disease April 23, 2013, at his home in Belfast, Maine. He was 83.

Weinberg joined the WUSTL faculty in 1967 as an assistant professor of history, was promoted to associate professor in 1969 and retired in 1984.

He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1950 and earned a doctorate in 1960 from Harvard University, where he taught American history and literature. He earned a juris doctoris from Washington University in 1975.

After leaving Washington University, he and his wife, Janet, moved to Belfast to be closer to their summer home on Gotts Island. He worked as a legal assistant for F. Frederick Romanow, an attorney in Belfast. He was a Waldo County Hospice volunteer for many years and he enjoyed fishing and basket making.

He is survived by his wife; three sons, Benjamin, Andrew and Stephen; daughter, Katherine; three grandchildren; and sister, Libby Zurkow.

Detail from the cover to Public Domain (2008), the fourth collection by the poet, translator and scholar Mónica de la Torre.

Who is Mónica de la Torre? A disappeared subversive? A funk-dancing cheerleader? A top transsexual model?

In “Doubles,” [the (mischievous) (cynical) (hilarious) poet] Mónica de la

Mónica de la Torre

“No one I know writes like Mónica de la Torre,” observes Mary Jo Bang, professor of English in Arts & Sciences, in the journal American Poet. “For de la Torre, each poem is an improvised moment. Her quirky characters act according to scripts that are both strangely familiar and refreshingly strange.”

This month, de la Torre—or at least the version that doubles as senior editor for Bomb magazine—will be WUSTL’s Visiting Hurst Professor of Creative Writing in Arts & Sciences.

While on campus, de la Torre will host two public events: reading from her work on Thursday, Sept. 12, and presenting a talk on the craft of poetry on Thursday, Sept. 19.

Both events, presented as part of The Writing Program’s fall Reading Series, are free and open to the public and begin at 8 p.m. in Hurst Lounge, Room 201, Duncker Hall. A reception and book signing will immediately follow each.

For more information, call (314) 935-7428.

Faculty and graduate students from St. Louis-area universities with an interest in labor, households, health care, law and social welfare are invited to take part in the continuing series of Monday brown-bag luncheon seminars held biweekly on the Danforth Campus at Washington University in St. Louis beginning Monday, Sept. 9, and running through Dec. 2.

In its 18th season, the Work, Families and Public Policy series features one-hour presentations on research interests of faculty from local and national universities. The series is designed to promote interdisciplinary research.

Presentations will be from noon-1 p.m. in Seigle Hall, Room 348.

The series begins Monday, Sept. 9, with a lecture by Derek Neal, PhD, professor in economics at University of Chicago. His lecture is "Designing Accountability Systems and Incentives Schemes for Educators."

The remaining presentations are:

Sept. 23. Carl Sanders, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Economics in Arts & Sciences at WUSTL, on "Decomposing the Native-Immigrant Wage Gap in the United States."

Oct. 7. Amy Wax, MD, JD, the Robert Mundheim Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania, on “The Demography of Marital Decline: Economics, Culture or Something Else?"

Oct. 21. Juan Pantano, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Economics at WUSTL, on "Social Security Benefits, Life Expectancy and Early Retirement."

Nov. 4. Barton Hamilton, PhD, the Robert Brookings Smith Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at WUSTL’s Olin Business School, on "Personality and Entrepreneurship."

Nov. 18. Nava Ashraf, PhD, associate professor at Harvard Business School, on "Contraceptive Access, IntraHousehold Bargaining, and Fertility: A Field Experiment.”

Dec. 2. Kathryn Edin, PhD, professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, on “The EITC and Dignity for the Working Poor.”

Robert A. Pollak, PhD, the Hernreich Distinguished Professor of Economics in Arts & Sciences and in the Olin Business School, has been the lead organizer of the series for the past 17 years.

Co-organizer is Michael Sherraden, PhD, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the Brown School at WUSTL.

The series is sponsored by the Wells Fargo Advisory Center for Finance and Accounting Research in the Olin Business School; the Brown School and the Center for Social Development; the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Work and Social Capital in the School of Law; the Department of Economics in Arts & Sciences; the College of Arts & Sciences; and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

The classroom is provided courtesy of the Department of Economics.

For more information, contact Pollak at (314) 935-4918 or pollak@wustl.edu; Sherraden at (314) 935-6691 or at sherrad@wustl.edu; or visit olin.wustl.edu/Events/Pages/default.aspx and search for the seminar by date.

Martin

The event, which includes a coffee reception at 10 a.m., is free and open to the public. To RSVP, call (314) 935-8556 or email afas@wustl.edu.

Washington University faculty will lead the discussion. The panelists are: John G. Baugh, PhD, the Margaret Bush Wilson Professor in Arts & Sciences; Katherine Goldwasser, JD, professor of law; Jeffrey Q. McCune, PhD, associate professor in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and in the Performing Arts Department, both in Arts & Sciences; and Vetta L. Sanders Thompson, PhD, associate professor at the Brown School. 

“We kick off the series with a critical reflection of the Trayvon Martin incident,” said Shanti Parikh, PhD, director and associate professor of African and African-American Studies (AFAS) and of anthropology, both in Arts & Sciences. “We use this unfortunate case as a way of demonstrating the important role of academics in advancing public dialogue and policies about race, class, gender and rights in the U.S. 

“Academic contributions are particularly vital today as the issue of race has become a polarizing and difficult subject,” Parikh said.

The discussion is co-sponsored by Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

The other talks in the series are at 4 p.m. and also are free and open to the public. Informal receptions will precede the talks. Unless otherwise noted, they will be held in the Danforth University Center, Room 234. 

The colloquium series schedule follows:

Tuesday, Sept. 17: Khalil Muhammad, PhD, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York and author of The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America, will present the Distinguished Visiting Scholar lecture in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall. Muhammad also will speak at the Missouri History Museum on Sept. 16.

Thursday, Oct. 17: Pero Gaglo Dagbovie, PhD, professor of history at Michigan State University, on “‘God Has Spared Me to Tell My Story’: Mabel Robinson Williams and the Civil Rights/Black Power Movement.”

Wednesday, Nov. 6: Tommie Shelby, PhD, professor of African and African American Studies and of philosophy at Harvard University. Location to be determined.

Tuesday, Nov. 12: Kennetta Hammond Perry, PhD, assistant professor of history at East Carolina University, on “Are We To Be Mauled Down Just Because We Are Black?’: Racial Violence, Gender and the Politics of Mourning.”

Tuesday, Dec. 3:Ashley Farmer, PhD, postdoctoral fellow, Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford University, on “Story of a Frame-up!: Mae Mallory’s Letters From Prison and Black Women’s Black Power Activism.”

For more information about the colloquium series, contact AFAS at (314) 935-8556 or by email, afas@artsci.wustl.edu.

Growing up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) was drawn to the itinerant musicians known as chorões, whose improvised concerts filled the streets and cafes.

Jennifer Nichtman, second flute, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra

At 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, three acclaimed musicians will launch the fall Danforth University Center Chamber Music Series with a free concert in Goldberg Formal Lounge. 

The program will feature Villa-Lobos’ Choros No. 2 (1924), as well as works by Maurice Emmanuel, Claude Debussy, Florent Schmitt and Camille Saint-Saëns.

Musicians and program

The trio is comprised of Jennifer Nitchman, flute, Nicolas del Grazia, clarinet, and Peter Henderson, piano.

Nicolas del Grazia, clarinet

Nichtman has held the position of Second Flute with the St. Louis Symphony since the 2003-04 season. She has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Fort Wayne Philharmonic, as well as the Britt and Brevard Music Festivals.

Acclaimed as a clarinetist of "great artistry and virtuosic command of the instrument" (The Clarinet magazine), del Grazia has appeared as soloist, chamber and orchestral musician throughout the United States and Europe. Currently assistant professor at Arkansas Tech University, he is a regular member of Aguava New Music Studio, heralded as "brilliant" by the Washington Post.

Henderson, associate professor of music at Maryville University, performs frequently as an ensemble keyboardist with the Saint Louis Symphony, often delivering pre-concert lectures from the Powell Hall stage. His is a member of the Ilex Piano Trio, with Saint Louis Symphony violinist Kristin Ahlstrom and cellist Anne Fagerburg Jacob.

Peter Henderson, piano

Subsequent concerts in the Chamber Music Series will feature Winter Opera St. Louis (Oct. 30), Debra Hillabrand and the Chamber Project St. Louis (Nov. 20) and the Trinity Piano Trio(Dec. 2).

All performances are free and open to the public. The Danforth University Center is located at 6475 Forsyth Blvd. For more information, call (314) 935-5566 or email daniels@wustl.edu

Senior Cole Bishop took his award-winning photograph as he hiked Mount Fyffe, located south of the equator near the New Zealand town of Kaikoura.

"It was mid-winter there and the sun sets at 5 p.m.," said Bishop. "It's a pretty incredible place. New Zealand has these huts all over the back country for hikers."

These rustic outposts offer no electricity or running water, but Bishop and his friends were happy to take shelter there as they trekked up and down the 5,250-foot mountain. The photo captures Bishop's friends playing with LED poi spinning lights.

Bishop is studying earth and planetary sciences, in Arts & Sciences, but is passionate about photography. He shoots for the First Year Center, the Career Center and student groups. 

The student contest, a first, was sponsored by the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Summer Programs & Conference Services and University College. For more information, visit wustl.edu/summer.

The Blues and the Abstract Truth, by St. Louis saxophonist Oliver Nelson (1932-75), is among the most influential jazz albums of the 1960s, a masterpiece of modern arrangement that filters blues structures through post-bop cool.

On Thursday, Sept. 12, Washington University—Nelson’s alma mater—will host a seven-piece jazz ensemble, led by veteran trumpeter Randy Holmes, in a tribute to Nelson’s music and career.

The free performance, titled “The Music of Oliver Nelson: Blues and The Abstract Truth,” is presented as part of the fall Jazz at Holmes Series and begins at 8 p.m. in Holmes Lounge.

William Lenihan, director of jazz studies in Arts & Sciences, notes that the album The Blues and the Abstract Truth featured one of the finest jazz sextets ever assembled. In addition to Nelson himself, the line-up included trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, alto saxophonist Eric Dolphy, bassist Paul Chambers, pianist Bill Evans and drummer Roy Haynes.

“My reason for programming these particular works is to bring to our students a music with the depth of expression, the collage of sounds and the language present in modern jazz of the 60's,” Lenihan says. “Blues, bop and European classical music—all come together under the craft of a composer trained at Washington University."

Oliver Nelson

Born in St. Louis in 1932, Nelson left home in his late teens to play saxophone with the Louis Jordan big band. In 1952 he joined the U.S. Marines, where his travels helped expose him to the world of 20th-century classical music. He returned to St. Louis in 1958 to study music at Washington University.

"I remember with affection Oliver’s zest for living, which he best expressed through his music,” says Robert Wykes, professor emeritus of music in Arts & Sciences, who taught Nelson theory and composition.

“As a student, he just didn’t absorb information—he devoured it!,” Wykes adds. “And when it reemerged in new compositions it was all Oliver. He was a memorable, inspiring man of unique talent."

From St. Louis, Nelson moved to New York, where he played with big band trumpeter Erskine Hawkins and was a house arranger at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. In 1967 he settled on the West Coast where he composed music for television (Columbo) and film (Death of a Gunfighter), and arranged music for Last Tango in Paris.

Nelson returned to campus in 1969 to direct a five-week clinic that included a guest appearance by renowned bassist Ron Carter. In 1971, he was honored by Washington University with a Founders Day Distinguished Alumni Award. He died in 1975, at age 43.

The Jazz at Holmes fall line-up will continue Sept. 19 with saxophonist Chad Evans and his quartet, followed on Sept. 26 by the Roman pianist Antonio Figura and his trio.

Jazz guitarists Eric Slaughter and Tom Byrne will bring their quartet to campus Oct. 3. Tenor saxophonists Willie Akins, Freddy Washington and Paul Demarinis will join forces Oct. 10, followed on Oct. 24 by a tribute to the legendary drummer Joe Charles.

Saxophonist Jeff Anderson and his quartet play traditional and modern jazz Nov. 7. The Ashley Tate Dance Company will present “Freedom Jazz Dance,” an evening of jazz and dance improvisation, Nov. 14. Pianist Carolbeth True and her trio perform Nov. 21.

On Dec. 5, the regular, Thursday-night series will conclude for the fall with a performance by Washington University jazz performance students, under Lenihan’s direction. However, on Dec. 6, renowned jazz artists Gary Peacock (bass), Marc Copland (piano) and Joey Baron (drums) will present a special Friday concert, cosponsored by the Department of Music, in the 560 Music Center.

Jazz at Holmes

Sponsors of Jazz at Holmes include: College of Arts and Sciences, Student Union, Congress of the South 40, Department of Music in Arts and Sciences, University College and Summer School, Campus Life, Danforth University Center and Event Management, Community Service Office, Office of Student Involvement and Leadership, Greek Life Office, Office of Residential Life.

For more information contact Sue Taylor at staylor@wustl.edu or 314 862-0874; or follow Jazz at Holmes on Facebook.

Faculty and administrators at Washington University in St. Louis with ideas for improving the campus environment for women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and other diverse groups are encouraged to apply for a Diversity and Inclusion Grant.

Proposals are now being accepted for program initiatives that strengthen and promote diversity on campus, including differences in gender, race, ethnicity, geography, socioeconomic status, age, politics, philosophy, disability, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Office of the Provost funds the Diversity and Inclusion Grant program, which is now in its fourth year. The program so far has awarded nearly $740,000 in grant money for 37 projects.

Sid Hastings

Professor Gerald L. Early speaks during a discussion last spring on the "Delmar Divide," which refers to the racial and socioeconomic differences delineated by St. Louis' Delmar Boulevard. "Delmar Divide: A Campus Conversation" was one of the winning Diversity and Inclusion Grant proposals last year. 

The deadline for submission of 2013-14 Diversity and Inclusion Grant proposals is Tuesday, Oct. 29. All applications must be submitted online. To apply, visit here.

Funding is one-time only, and awards will range in size up to a maximum of $30,000. More information about the grants can be found here. 

The Campus Diversity Collaborative will host a brown bag lunch session from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30, in the Mallinckrodt Multipurpose Room on the Danforth Campus for individuals interested in the Diversity and Inclusion Grants.

The session will offer insight from past grant winners, a chance to brainstorm and share grant ideas, and time to network and seek collaborators across the university. Drinks and desserts will be provided.

To attend, RSVP by Sept. 20 at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Diversitysession.

The Advisory Committee for the Diversity and Inclusion Grants, which is co-chaired by Adrienne D. Davis, JD, vice provost and the William M. Van Cleve Professor of Law, and Alfreda Brown, director for the St. Louis Regional Higher Education Recruitment Consortium and Human Resources project manager for diversity, will review the proposals.

The other 2013-14 advisory committee members are:
• Mariagiovanna Baccara, PhD, associate professor of economics in the Olin Business School;
• Angela Brown, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine in the Cardiovascular Division;
• Beth Elliott, director of finance and student/academic affairs in the Program in Audiology and Communication Sciences;
• Kathy Flores, PhD, professor and associate chair of material sciences in the School of Engineering;
• Chris Freeland, associate university librarian;
• Clarissa Hayward, PhD, associate professor of political science in Arts & Sciences;
• John Heil, PhD, professor of philosophy and of philosophy-neuroscience-psychology, both in Arts & Sciences;
• John Russell, PhD, professor of developmental biology in the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences;
• Sebi Thomas, senior project leader in Information Services and Technology; and
• Timothy Thornton, assistant vice chancellor for finance and director of financial planning.

Successful proposals should involve collaboration within or across departments, units, or schools; demonstrate tangible results (e.g. metrics of success for the short term as well as metrics to measure future impact); and include departmental or school funding support (financial and/or other).

Particular weight will be given to proposals that address retention of diverse faculty and administrative staff and work environment and recruitment.

Questions or comments may be addressed to Davis at adriennedavis@wustl.edu or Brown at alfredabrown@wustl.edu.

The committee will announce the winning proposals around Jan. 20, 2014.

Carol Camp Yeakey, PhD, founding director of the interdisciplinary program in Urban Studies and of the Center on Urban Research and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis, is one of 23 scholars selected as 2013 fellows by the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Yeakey

Yeakey, a professor of education, of urban studies, of international and area studies and of American culture studies, all in Arts & Sciences at Washington University, is being recognized by AERA for “exceptional scientific or scholarly contributions to education research or significant contributions to the field through the development of research opportunities and settings.”

The new fellows were nominated by their peers, selected by the Fellows Program Committee, and approved by the AERA Council. They join 534 current AERA Fellows.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Yeakey began her education career as a public school teacher and administrator in the Chicago Public Schools. She later earned a doctorate in organization theory and public policy from Northwestern University and completed postdoctoral work at Yale University.

Prior to coming to WUSTL in 2004, she served on the graduate faculty at the University of Virginia. She also has served on the graduate faculties of Purdue University, Rutgers University and the Teachers College at Columbia University. She has been a Rockefeller Fellow and a Bush Fellow at the Bush Center for Child Development and Social Policy in the Department of Psychology at Yale University; a Ford Fellow of the National Academy of Education; and a Dartmouth Fellow at the Center for the Study of Comparative Politics and Inter-group Relations in the Department of Sociology at Dartmouth College.

Her areas of research are organizational politics and social welfare policy as said policy pertains to children, young adults and families in urban areas. The co-author or co-editor of 13 book volumes, she has served as a senior research scientist at the Kellogg Foundation; the Children's Defense Fund; the College Board; the Josiah Macy Foundation; and the Educational Testing Service.

She was awarded AERA’s Distinguished Career Contribution Award in 2010.

AERA is the national interdisciplinary research association for approximately 25,000 scholars who undertake research in education. Founded in 1916, aims to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good.

Helen Power, PhD, whose career as a lecturer of English and as coordinator of women’s studies, both in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, spanned more than 30 years, died Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013, after suffering a heart attack at her home in St. Louis. She was 77.

A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8, in Hurst Lounge, Duncker Hall.

An obituary will appear in an upcoming Record.

The Online College Database has named Washington University in St. Louis one of “50 Colleges Committed to Saving the Planet.” The university earned a place on the list because of its environmental policy major.

The major is one of three offered by the Environmental Studies program in Arts & Sciences.

Tiffany Knight, PhD, associate professor of biology and director of the Environmental Studies program, said it is a new major, so it is exciting that it is being acknowledged.

The Department of Political Science in Arts & Sciences has shown commitment to the environment by creating the major and has plans to expand it, adding even more course offerings.

The College Database called the environmental policy major “a rigorous journey through the tangled web of politics, bureaucracies, public opinion, regulation, the global political economy, sustainability, global oil battles, climate change, genetically altered foods, air and water quality, and biochemistry.”

Bill Lowry, PhD, professor of political science and a member of the Environmental Studies faculty, organized the environmental policy major, which he refers to as interdisciplinary.

“We have five foundational courses that everybody has to take, which include Introduction to Environmental Biology, Introduction to Environmental Earth Science and Introduction to Environmental Policy, plus the anthropology department’s flagship course on environmental issues, Culture and the Environment, and finally a course on environmental ethics taught either by a political scientist or a philosopher,” Lowry said.

Students are also required to take courses on research methods but are then free to choose from an array of temptations that include the Politics of Bureaucracies, The Politics of Regulation and Negotiating Major Legislation in Congress.

Lowry is particularly happy with the Introduction to Environmental Policy, currently taught by Scott Krummenacher, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate in political science. 

“Scott is a dedicated teacher who is also involved in many environmental activities outside of campus. He can thus integrate a scholarly approach with real world experiences,” Lowry said.

Students interested in the requirements for the environmental policy major can find them at http://enst.wustl.edu/programs/environmental-policy. The other two majors in the program are environmental biology and environmental earth science.

At 2 p.m., Bomani will participate in a panel discussion on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) research and education in the Women’s Building Formal Lounge, also on the Danforth Campus. Both events are free and open to the public.

Acclaimed baritone Ian Greenlaw will present WUSTL's 2014 Liederabend Sept. 29 in the 560 Music Center.

In 1837, the composer Robert Schumann proposed to Clara Wieck, a brilliant 18-year-old concert pianist. But Clara’s father refused permission—adamantly so, sparking a long and bitter legal fight.

But in 1840, Clara turned 21 and no longer required her father’s consent: at last, the couple was free to marry. The prospect sent Schumann into a creative frenzy. He wrote 168 songs that year, including his celebrated Dichterliebe (“Poet’s Love”), a 16-song cycle based on short poems from Heinrich Heine’s Buch des Lieder ("Book of Songs").

At 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, baritone Ian Greenlaw will perform the entire Dichterliebe cycle, as well as works by Franz Schubert and Edvard Grieg, as part of WUSTL’s annual Liederabend.

Literally translated as “evening of song,” Liederabend is a German term referring to a recital given by a singer and pianist, particularly of works by 19th-century Austrian or German composers. Schumann’s Dichterliebe is widely considered among the genre’s foundational works.

Accompanying Greenlaw will be pianist Sandra Geary, teacher of applied music.

Ian Greenlaw

Greenlaw, who grew up in St. Louis, has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among others.

He appeared with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as the soloist in Bartók’s Cantata Profana, and as Peter in Opera Theatre of St. Louis’s  Hansel and Gretel. Last spring, he starred in Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, which launched Union Avenue Opera’s 19th Festival Season.

The Chicago Sun-Times characterized Greenlaw as “possessing a voice both strong and sweet, and matinee idol good looks.” The Washington Post noted that he has “elegant stage presence, a subtle sense of humor and a splendid voice.”

The Liederabend is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the departments of Music and Germanic Languages and Literature, both in Arts & Sciences.

It takes place in the Ballroom Theater of the 560 Music Center, located in University City at 560 Trinity Ave.

For more information, call (314) 935-5566 or e-mail daniels@wustl.edu.

Swindler Bernie Madoff fascinates Tamara King, JD, director of judicial programs at Washington University in St. Louis.

When did he start cheating? High School? College?

“It had to start sometime,” King said. “How did he get away with it? And why did he think cheating was okay?”

King wants to be clear: cheating at Washington University is not okay. 

That’s why the Office of Student Conduct has released a video that outlines the university’s academic integrity policy and confronts the reasons why some students cheat. 

Produced with the help of Dirk Killen, PhD, associate dean and academic integrity officer in the College of Arts & Sciences, and the university’s five academic integrity deans, the video also features students and faculty members discussing why intellectual honesty matters.

“We want to have a conversation early about our expectations and what it means to join an academic community,” King said. “The video is a proactive way to teach students what it means to be an ethical and honest person in your scholarship.”

Sharon Stahl, PhD, vice chancellor for students, will send a letter to upperclassmen urging them to watch the video. Freshmen were required to view the video and take a quiz about the university’s academic integrity policy before arriving on campus. Students needed to score 100 percent to pass.

“It’s one thing to talk about academic integrity in very broad terms, but to give students concrete examples that make them stop and think is so important,” Stahl said. “It’s vital for students to reflect on these issues — the philosophical reasons for the policy and why each of us makes this commitment — before joining the community.”

King says no student arrives at Washington University planning to cheat. And yet, 15 to 40 academic integrity cases are adjudicated every semester. The primary culprit — time, or the lack thereof.

“Time management is the number one reason students cheat,” King said. “We don’t believe people come here to cheat, but they put themselves in predicaments. This may be the first time for many students that they have to work at time management. So the video says, ‘When you find yourself in this predicament at 3 a.m., here is what we don’t want you to do.’”

King concedes that academic integrity can be a tricky concept. Of course, a student should never sit for a friend’s final or buy a term paper off the Internet. But when is collaboration actually cheating? And what distinguishes inspiration from plagiarism?

“Look at art. Great artists learn from other artists,” King said. “So how do you teach academic integrity? It’s different than teaching it in the business school. So we tell faculty, ‘Talk about this on the first day of class, address it on the syllabus, set the parameters.’ But if a student is unsure, it is ultimately his or her responsibility to clarify expectations with faculty.”

King hopes the video and ongoing discussions about academic integrity will dispel any notion that cheating is somehow a victimless crime. Again, King cites Madoff. His cheating cost victims billions of dollars.

“Our graduates will be in charge of patient health care, building bridges, creating businesses,” King said. “In all of these areas, trust is important. 

“​If you are an engineering student and you cheat, that goes to your integrity. What happens if you get into the workplace and are building structures that people actually go inside? It’s a real easy connection between academic integrity and being an ethical, law-abiding, positive citizen of the world.”

Helen Power, PhD, who made an indelible mark on the women’s studies program at Washington University in St. Louis, died Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013.

Power, who was 77, suffered a heart attack at her home in St. Louis. A memorial service was held on campus Sunday, Sept. 8.

Power’s career as a senior lecturer of English and as a senior lecturer and coordinator of women’s studies, both in Arts & Sciences at WUSTL, spanned more than 30 years.

During her 10 years as coordinator, she is credited with helping expand the interdisciplinary program, now called Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS), by adding resources, faculty, courses, a professorship and connections with faculty throughout campus.

“Helen Power was a vital part of the Women and Gender Studies Program at Washington University for over 20 years. Without her the program may not have survived those years,” said Mary Ann Dzuback, PhD, associate professor and director of WGSS.

“She made critically important contributions to Women and Gender Studies, to the lives of the students and faculty who have known her, and to Washington University.

“She was an exemplary citizen of the university in her teaching, her collegiality and her service,” Dzuback continued. “We in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies are all grateful to have been a part of and to continue this amazing woman’s life work.”

Inspirational teacher

Power, who was born Oct. 9, 1935, in Chicago, graduated from the University of Chicago in 1955 and worked as a writer, editor and reporter.

She moved to St. Louis when her late husband, Richard, took a position at Saint Louis University law school.

After earning both a master’s (1964) and doctoral degree (1966) in English from Washington University, she joined WUSTL’s Department of English as a lecturer.

When she was asked to fill in for a colleague and teach a women’s literature course, it set her career in a new direction.

After joining the Women’s Studies Program as an instructor in 1983, Power immersed herself in the discipline. She developed several courses, was named the program’s associate coordinator and then coordinator in 1992 when Joyce Trebilcot, one of the program’s founders, retired.

According to a 1999 Washington People profile of Power, her teaching was so inspirational that Susan Stiritz, PhD, then a doctoral candidate in English literature, gave a $1 million gift to the women’s studies program after taking a course taught by Power.

Stiritz’ husband, William, followed with a $500,000 challenge grant, creating the first endowed professorship in women’s studies, the Susan E. and William P. Stiritz Distinguished Professorship.

Power helped raise funds for the matching grant to provide continued support and development of the program.

Nancy E. Berg, PhD, professor of Hebrew and comparative literature in Arts & Sciences, had been friends with Power since Berg arrived on campus in 1990. Berg said Power was not only a gifted mentor to students but also to fellow faculty.

“Helen was gracious and witty,” Berg said. “She helped me countless times think through or revise a paper, or a class, or response to a colleague, and, as she did for many others, she helped me become a better reader, writer, teacher, scholar.”

In 2007, the program honored Power, who had retired in 2005, by establishing the Helen Power Award for Scholarship and Service, which is presented annually to a graduating senior in WGSS.

Power is survived by a daughter, Carla Power (Antony Seely) of Brighton, England; son Nicholas Power (Penelope Haskew) of San Juan Island, Wash.; and four grandchildren.

The family has requested that memorial gifts be made to Planned Parenthood or the St. Louis Food Pantry.

This map indicates the worldwide reach of this year's Washington University in St. Louis Fulbright student scholarship recipients.

Some faculty members also will participate in Fulbright programs this year, though those announcements aren’t expected until sometime this fall. 

“The Fulbright U.S. Student program offers unique opportunities for our students with international interests in all disciplines and degree programs, and WUSTL has an outstanding faculty review committee that helps applicants submit the best possible application,” said Amy C. Suelzer, PhD, assistant director of International and Area Studies in Arts & Sciences and Fulbright Program adviser for WUSTL. 

“Whether pursuing an English teaching assistantship or a self-designed research project, our applicants always impress us through their level of academic achievement, their dedication to their field of study and their commitment to the ambassadorial character of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Their success is a tribute to the strength of both our applicants and our process,” Suelzer said.

Below are some details about the students, who hail from Arts & Sciences, the Brown School and the School of Engineering & Applied Science. The students also share their thoughts and plans, in their own words.

Brayden Borcherding
Earned a bachelor’s degree in international and area studies, with a second major in Spanish, both in Arts & Sciences. Borcherding will work in the Foreign Languages Department of the University of Cartagena in Colombia, helping with English instruction and developing students’ knowledge of American culture. Borcherding also will undertake a social project.

“My ambition is to work with marginalized groups, like urban poor, to offer English language resources to those who don't normally have access to them.”

“Studying abroad in Chile cemented my attraction to living and working in Latin America. In the end, I am incredibly happy and fortunate to have been awarded this scholarship and am eager to take advantage of my time here in Colombia!”

Sophie Bracken
Earned a bachelor’s degree in Chinese, with a second major in anthropology, both in Arts & Sciences. Bracken will be teaching English to first- through fifth-grade students at Chongqing Elementary School in Taichung, Taiwan.

“Our job is to provide an opportunity for local students to interact with a native English speaker. This helps students understand that English is a mode of communication, not just something they are required to learn in school. … We also bring creative ideas and cultural experience into the class — for example, we teach students about holidays celebrated in the U.S. and the diversity of the U.S. population.”

“I hope to use this year to gain a professional command of Mandarin, while my work in the classroom will allow me to engage with the community in a useful way. I have yet to identify my career ambition and am looking to use this year to gain some perspective on my future goals.”

Carolyn Carpenter
Earned a bachelor’s degree in international and area studies, with a second major in political science, both in Arts & Sciences. Carpenter will be teaching conversational English as well as American culture at a co-ed public high school in Cheonan, South Korea.

“I knew I wanted to do something I would never have the chance to again before heading off to law school. I have always been interested in Korea and Korean culture for a number of academic and nonacademic reasons, so Fulbright Korea seemed like a good fit for me. 

“By spending a year as a Fulbright grantee, I anticipate learning not only about Korea but also about myself and the ways I have a tendency to think or act as an American.”

Reilly Ellis
Earned a bachelor’s degree in Chinese in Arts & Sciences. Ellis will be co-teaching English, with a local English teacher, in Taiwan, and helping out with school activities such as the English club and holiday celebrations.

“During my time here, I'm excited to get to know and help out my students as well really dig into the culture and language.”

Daniella Farah
Earned a master’s degree in Islamic and Near East Studies in Arts & Sciences. Farah will be teaching English in Turkey.

Jennifer Head
Earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. Head will be working on a research project in Ethiopia.

She plans to work to fortify local edible oils and flour with vitamin A. Vitamin A shortage has devastating effects on Ethiopian children, causing blindness and increasing the mortality rate.

“I plan to work with local food processing companies, manufacturers and universities to research existing fortification processes and design (procedures) for the fortification of edible oils and wheat flour. 

“During three prior trips to Ethiopia, I worked with 96 remarkable and ambitious children at the Mekelle School for the Blind. Aspiring journalists, professors and soccer players, their chances of achieving their dreams are limited by their impaired vision or blindness. These students are my primary motivation for this project.”

Bartlomiej Kudrzycki
Earned a bachelor’s degree in physics, with a second major in Germanic languages and literatures, both in Arts & Sciences. Kudrzycki will be teaching English at a Montessori elementary school in Berlin.

“I am looking forward to sharing discussions about German and American culture and learning about the public school system in one of Europe’s major metropolises. I am very excited about living in one of the cultural and cosmopolitan centers of Europe.”

Joanne Li
Earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, with a second major in environmental studies, both in Arts & Sciences. Li will help teach English and promote U.S. culture at a Brazilian federal university, working with Brazilian graduate students who study English. 

The goal is to bolster the English language programs at the country’s federal universities ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympic Games being held in that country.

“As an anthropology major, I had the opportunity to spend four months in Brazil through an SIT study abroad program. I look forward to returning to Brazil in order to improve my Portuguese, further understand the country’s preparation for the 2014 World Cup, and deepen my interest in global health.”

Bianca Lopez
Doctoral student in history in Arts & Sciences, working in the field of medieval history. Lopez will conduct archival research for a dissertation, specifically 15th-century last wills and testaments from the region of Le Marche, Italy.

“These documents indicate devotion to the Holy House of Loreto, a pilgrimage shrine thought to be the birthplace of the Virgin Mary, brought to Italy by angels. During my Fulbright year, I hope to uncover much more detail about the social and religious rise of this pilgrimage shrine, and how it became a medieval political, economic and devotional center.”

Hollee McGinnis
Doctoral student in social work. McGinnis will conduct research for her dissertation on the mental health and academic achievement of adolescents growing up in orphanages and adoptive families in South Korea.

"As a woman who was adopted from South Korea, I have been immersed, both personally and professionally, in adoption and permanency for abandoned and orphaned children. 

“I am excited to get to learn more about the child welfare system in Korea provided by this Fulbright grant and to contribute to knowledge on how best to support orphaned and vulnerable children.”

Alina Sigmond
Earned a bachelor’s degree in history, with a second major in Spanish, both in Arts & Sciences. Sigmond will be teaching English in Spain.

Victoria Wesevich
Earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy-neuroscience-psychology in Arts & Sciences. Wesevich will be working at the Uppsala Child & Baby Lab of Uppsala University in Sweden. 

With supervision by lab manager Gustaf Gredebäck, PhD, she will use an eye-tracking measure to test 8-month-old infants’ understanding of the collaborative nature of joint actions.

“I cannot be more grateful for this opportunity and am excited to begin my project in beautiful Sweden. Continually surrounded by inspiring and driven scientists, I just hope the 10 months don’t fly by too quickly.”

Fulbright Program

The students are among the more than 1,700 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad this academic year through the Fulbright Program, the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. 

It’s designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of other countries.

Fulbright grant recipients are chosen based on their academic or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential. The program operates in more than 155 countries worldwide.

Congress established the Fulbright Program in 1946 under legislation introduced by then-Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The program’s primary funding source is an annual appropriation to the U.S. State Department.

Image by Rachel Eliza Griffiths via poetryfoundation.org.

Phillip B. Williams

The 2013 Ruth Lilly Fellowships, announced last week, are intended to encourage the further study and writing of poetry. The program is open to all U.S. poets between 21 and 31 years of age.

Williams, a Chancellor’s Graduate Fellow at Washington University, was born in Chicago in 1986. He is the author of the chapbooks Bruised Gospels (Arts in Bloom Inc., 2011) and Burn (YesYes Books, 2013). 

“I sit down. I write. Or, I sit down and I stare at the page,” said Phillips in an interview with the Hunger Mountain arts web site.“My process is one of jumping into it and waiting to see what happens. Usually if I am staring at the page for too long, I’ll scribble down images. Eventually connections will surface and I find myself following whatever paths become available.”

Williams is a Cave Canem graduate and the poetry editor of the online journal Vinyl Poetry. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Blackbird, Callaloo, Kenyon Review Online, Painted Bride Quarterly, The Southern Review andWest Branch, among others. 

Poetry by Williams and the four other 2013 fellowship recipients will be featured in Poetry magazine’s November issue and on poetryfoundation.org. 

The Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship program is organized and administered by the Poetry Foundation in Chicago, publisher of Poetry magazine.

“Since Harriet Monroe’s founding of Poetry in 1912, to Ruth Lilly’s endowment of these fellowships in 1989, to our constant search for fresh new voices today, Poetry has always sought work that enlivens our sense of what poetry is worth and what it can do,” said Don Share, editor of Poetry magazine, in announcing the 2013 winners.

“This year’s group of fellows—which includes poets whose passions range from community service to woodworking to scholarship—is especially inspiring because their extraordinary talents are so deeply informed by the way in which they have composed their lives.”