In St. Louis, For St. Louis

Arch Grants recently announced its 2024 cohort, awarding $1.7 million in equity-free grants to 20 groundbreaking startups. A quarter of them have current WashU ties.

AIA St. Louis, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects, has presented awards to the Office for Socially Engaged Practice for the Gateway Pavilion designed by Assistant Professor Wyly Brown and Cody Heller, MArch ’24, for his Year End Show 13.0 exhibition design.

Arch Grants has announced its 2024 cohort, awarding $1.7 million in equity-free grants to 20 groundbreaking startups. These companies, selected for their potential to drive economic impact and innovation, reflect the strength and growth of St. Louis’ entrepreneurial ecosystem. Among this year’s winners, five startups boast ties to Washington University in St. Louis, underscoring not only the university’s focus on fostering innovation but also a desire to see WashU entrepreneurs engage in St. Louis, grow their businesses here, and contribute to the economic development of the region.

Sean Joe, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the Brown School, has been named a 2024-2025 Institute for Economic Equity research fellow by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. As one of nine scholars selected for the cohort, Joe will conduct in-residence research focused on promoting economic inclusion and addressing systemic barriers to equity. Joe leads HomeGrown StL, a consortium of 120 municipal and community organizations he established in response to the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson. He plans to use the fellowship to drive initiatives that improve the economic mobility of Black boys and young men. 

Changing the world starts right here in the place we call home. Siteman Cancer Center, with the support of WashU Medicine physicians and BJC HealthCare, is working to reduce the barriers to cancer screening, and improve prevention and access to care by listening to, visiting and serving underserved communities across the St. Louis region.

The St. Louis Reparations Commission released its final report last month, outlining St. Louis’ deep history of slavery and systemic discrimination and the continued impact on Black residents. The report also offered recommendations for city officials to repair the harm caused by racial injustice. The commission’s work spanned 18 months and included collaboration with local and national experts, city leaders and community members. WashU faculty members contributed significantly to the work.

The School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis will recognize this Veterans Day with the grand opening of its new Veterans Law Clinic. Through the clinic, law students can assist low- and moderate-income veterans in such matters as requesting upgrades of their discharge characterization and correction of military records. Sarah Narkiewicz, associate dean for clinical education at the law school, said the clinic aims to fill a need in the St. Louis region.

WashU has joined a regional effort to collect a new hard-to-recycle material: election yard signs. A special collection is taking place Nov. 6-14 on the Danforth, North and West campuses to get the volume required for the recycling facility to accept and process the plastic signs and metal frames.

On October 18-19, the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis marked a major milestone with the launch of its first-ever two-day professional development summit, Policy and Equity: Collaborative Frameworks for Inclusive Change. The event allowed attendees to choose between two specialized tracks: one focusing on advocacy strategies and the other on data and evidence. In her opening address, Dorian Traube, the Neidorff Family and Centene Corporation Dean of the Brown School highlighted the strong turnout, calling it a testament to the community’s commitment to structural reform.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, and the Washington University in St. Louis Athletic Complex is ready to welcome students, faculty, staff and neighbors who are registered to vote in St. Louis County. For the first time, the Medical Campus also will host a polling place at the McDonnell Medical Sciences Building, 4565 McKinley Ave., for voters registered in the city. Polls open at 6 a.m Tuesday and will remain open until all voters in line by 7 p.m. have voted.