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A new era for public health has begun at Washington University in St. Louis, marked by a two-day celebration welcoming Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, as the inaugural Margaret C. Ryan Dean of the School of Public Health and the Eugene S. and Constance Kahn Distinguished Professor in Public Health. The events featured a public lecture as part of WashU’s Assembly Series and a formal installation ceremony honoring the leaders and donors who have laid the foundation for the new School of Public Health. The ceremony signified the launch of WashU’s first new school in a century, an ambitious undertaking aimed at transforming public health research, education and practice.

The Washington University Make-a-Thon is an event in its second year in which WashU students design and produce a prototype of a functional tech device for people with disabilities. People from different fields work together to create a product for a person with a disability, said Marit Watson, an occupational therapy professor at the university.

Two Washington University in St. Louis faculty members are being honored by the Academy of Science – St. Louis for their contributions to science: Peng Bai, an associate professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering, and Ram Dixit, a professor and chair of biology in Arts & Sciences. The awards will be presented at the Outstanding St. Louis Scientists Awards Ceremony April 3 at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Michael Mazzeo, dean and the Knight Family Professor at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, recently announced the launch of a new health initiative — part of the school’s five-year strategic plan — that envisions Olin as the premier institution for the business of health and an engine for innovation at WashU. The health initiative promises to address multifaceted challenges in the health industry by forging collaboration with innovators throughout WashU and the region.

Washington University is known far and wide as a top notch place to go to college. But here in our hometown, you call us WashU, and you know us not just as a great school, but as the place to go when you need answers to complicated medical questions – like you did about 2.5 million times in 2024 – or when you’re looking for a meaningful job with great benefits – like 22,000 of your neighbors have done.

A partnership between WashU Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) and T-REX, a regional non-profit innovation hub, is opening doors for students eager to explore careers in the dynamic geospatial industry. In late January, prospective students interested in CAPS’ Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Certificate program gathered at T-REX to discover how GIS is transforming St. Louis’ workforce and to gain insight into potential career pathways.

One day, while sitting in his “Social Inequality in America” class, St. Louis Fellow Brodhi Ramirez ‘27 listened to a teaching assistant discuss the role that the legal and social justice organization, ArchCity Defenders, played in the Ferguson Uprising. “I got chills for a minute, and that same day, I sent Jacki [Langum, Deputy Director of ArchCity] an email,” Ramirez said. Needless to say, he got the job. Ramirez spent the summer at ArchCity as a St. Louis Fellow, supporting their mission of providing pro bono legal and social services support to St. Louisans. 

Mac Barnes ’26, a 2024 Transform Grant recipient of the Gephardt Institute’s St. Louis Impact Fund, unveiled his exhibit, “Quilts as Civic Engagement: An Interactive History of St. Louis and the Delmar Region,” on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Coinciding with the grand opening of WashU’s Community Engagement Office, located in Delmar DivINe at 5501 Delmar Blvd. in St. Louis’ Central West End, hundreds of visitors viewed and praised Barnes’ quilt, posed for photos and asked the WashU junior about his inspiration and process.  

WashU’s School of Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) is launching a new program that prepares adult learners for high-demand jobs in medical and research laboratories. The program will create career pathways for workers and meet the needs of local businesses.

Flint Fowler, a Washington University alumnus, received the annual Rosa L. Parks Award at the 38th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration on Monday, Jan. 20.