In St. Louis, For St. Louis

Launched May 12, “The Eye” reflects WashU Professor Rebecca Messbarger’s commitment — as co-founder and former director of the medical humanities minor in Arts & Sciences — to engaging students in community-facing projects that bridge humanistic inquiry and public health. “While our subjects will vary, along with the angle and intensity of our vision, we will always begin where we live: in the city of St. Louis,” said Messbarger, who also has an appointment in WashU’s School of Public Health.

On Thursday, April 24, a closing ceremony event for Philanthropy Lab — a WashU Sociology course co-sponsored by the Gephardt Institute — granted $70,900 among 22 local nonprofit organizations. That’s in addition to $62,500 already granted to St. Louis nonprofits in 2025 via the course, which was championed by former students of the course who were “ambassadors” with the national The Philanthropy Lab organization.

Last year, with funding from the Gephardt Institute’s St. Louis Impact Fund, three students at the WashU School of Medicine hosted a series of workshops aimed at helping St. Louis seniors take a more active role in their own health and well-being. 

The May 16 tornado that devastated parts of the St. Louis region was on the ground for just 24 minutes. The cleanup will take months, maybe years. Several Washington University in St. Louis teams, as well as numerous individual employees and students, have answered the call to help through service and donations — showcasing WashU’s commitment to St. Louis.

The Living Earth Collaborative (LEC) combines the resources of WashU, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Saint Louis Zoo to understand, protect, and promote biodiversity in St. Louis and around the world. Through extensive conversation and collaboration, the LEC’s researchers are addressing pressing environmental problems that would be too big for one institution to tackle on its own.

Offered since 1997, the Live Near Your Work program remains popular with employees of both WashU and BJC. Over the years, it has supported more than 500 faculty and staff members in providing a total of $4.4 million in forgivable home loans for down payments and closing costs. Live Near Your Work’s primary goal is neighborhood stabilization via affordable and attainable home ownership. To better support that aim, and areas close to campus and the hospital, the program will adopt several modifications starting July 1.

In the wake of the devastating tornado that struck the St. Louis area on Friday, May 16, thousands of volunteers have mobilized to aid in the recovery efforts. Among them was a group from the WashU Brown School – students, alumni, and faculty – who joined the effort on Tuesday, May 20, providing support in one of the city’s hardest-hit neighborhoods.

The visitors’ room at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center (MECC) is a place of hard surfaces. There are tile floors, cinderblock walls, glass dividers and heavy steel doors. But on May 14, the room echoed loudly with the sounds of celebration. Roughly 100 guests made the drive to Pacific, Mo., to honor new graduates of the School of Continuing & Professional Studies’ (CAPS) Prison Education Project (PEP). Eleven students earned associate in arts degrees. A twelfth earned a bachelor’s degree in integrated studies.

In the hours and days following the deadly tornado, the WashU community quickly mobilized to help its neighbors. WashU’s “In St. Louis, For St. Louis” Initiative team is engaged with community partners to keep up with rapidly shifting community needs. They are keeping their website updated with opportunities for the WashU community to help.  For groups of three or more who wish to volunteer together, the United Way Volunteer Center has specific opportunities listed to sign up as a group. 

Ten of the 36 graduating high school seniors in WashU’s College Prep Program will attend WashU this fall, receiving a total of $820,000 in financial aid from Washington University in St. Louis. Other students have received offers from the University of Pennsylvania, Louisiana State University, Saint Louis University and some 60 state and private universities, community colleges and historically Black colleges and universities. The College Prep Program (CPP) is an immersive four-year experience that prepares talented first-generation, limited-income high school students from the St. Louis region to succeed in college.