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 | SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, GWB NO. 2 IN LATEST RANKINGS: Washington University School of Medicine and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work are both ranked second in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report magazine, which released its graduate and professional rankings April 2. The Department of Biomedical Engineering, founded in 1997, moved up two spots to 14th, and the School of Law advanced five spots to a tie for 20th.
 RUNWAY SHOW THAT LAUNCHED JUNIORS' FASHION CELEBRATES 75TH ANNIVERSARY: Fashion today is about the new, the hip, the cool and -- above all else -- the young. But such was not always the case. In 1929, a student fashion show at Washington University in St. Louis changed the apparel industry forever by launching the juniors' dress. On May 2, the School of Art's Fashion Design Show celebrated its 75th anniversary with a Paris-style runway extravaganza at the Saint Louis Galleria.
GALLERY OF ART TO BE NAMED AFTER KEMPER: The first art museum west of the Mississippi River is getting a new name and a new, state-of-the-art building designed by one of the world's premier architects, thanks to a $5 million gift from one of Missouri's most prominent families. On April 14, the University broke ground on the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, a 65,000-square-foot, limestone-clad structure that is one of two new buildings designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki as part of the $56.8 million Sam Fox Arts Center.
Research
 CUTTING CALORIES CUTS HEALTH RISKS: People who severely restrict their caloric intake drastically reduce their risk of developing diabetes or clogged arteries, the precursor to a heart attack or stroke. In fact, a study by Washington University researchers showed some risk factors were so low they were comparable to those of people decades younger. "It's very clear from these findings that calorie restriction has a powerful, protective effect against diseases associated with aging," says John O. Holloszy, M.D., professor of medicine, who directed the study.
CARBON IN DUST PARTICLES OLDER THAN SOLAR SYSTEM: Washington University researchers have identified organic material in interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) gathered from the Earth's stratosphere that was made before the birth of our Solar System. "Our findings are proof that there is presolar organic material coming into the Solar System yet today," says Christine Floss, Ph.D., senior research scientist in earth and planetary sciences and physics.
BRAIN CHANGES IN TOURETTE SYNDROME: Scientists have known for years that abnormal activity involving a brain chemical called dopamine is somehow connected to the movements and vocalizations, or tics, associated with Tourette syndrome. Now neuroscience researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have found that brain activity in these patients is abnormal during memory tasks as well.
Features
 SACAGAWEA'S SECRET? As the nation commemorates the 200th anniversary of the 1804-06 Lewis and Clark Expedition, the explorers' journals are being scrutinized as never before, as evidenced by new interpretations of Sacagawea's "illness" on the trip west. The truth behind a curious incident in the health of Sacagawea, the only woman on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, may have been obscured by the literary convention of describing women's health issues in euphemistic terms that are unfamiliar today.
OVERCOMING APARTHEID: As South Africa prepares to celebrate its first decade of democracy, hard evidence shows that the nation's success can be credited to its steadfast faith in the power of truth to promote national healing and reconciliation. James L. Gibson, the Sidney W. Souers Professor of Government, bases this conclusion on his landmark survey of opinions held by 3,700 South Africans, a representative sampling of all the country's major racial, ethnic, and linguistic groups.
SCIENCE, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, AND THE 1904 WORLD'S FAIR: April 30, 2004, marked the 100th anniversary of the 1904 World's Fair, an event that showcased science advancements which startled the imagination a century ago and foretold technology still in place today. Washington University played a large role in the fair that predicted the development and mass use of electricity and the x-ray, not to mention the infant incubator, the private automobile, and a number of other everyday staples of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Heard on Campus
"Today, at the Sam Fox Arts Center dedication, we celebrate the marriage of two powerful institutions, the art school and the art museum. . . . it is a natural and necessary marriage. Very little art survives that can be said to be totally self-generated. That is to say, that whatever artists create must find a supportive resonance in the society around them. Take Lascaux, or take the Sistine Chapel. The art there serves the ceremonial beliefs of the society which engendered them. The mark of our culture -- indeed, our civilization -- is the great effort it makes to preserve its art."
- Frank Stella, keynote speaker at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Sam Fox Arts Center on April 14.
Kudos
Jill Carnaghi, Ph.D., director of campus life and assistant vice chancellor for students, has received the 2004 Excellence in Practice Award from the American College Personnel Association.
Timothy J. Eberlein, M.D., director of the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, the Spencer and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor, the Bixby Professor of Surgery, and chairman of the Department of Surgery, has been named editor in chief of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, the official scientific publication of the American College of Surgeons. With more than 66,000 subscribers, this journal is one of the widely circulated in its field.
Overcoming Intolerance in South Africa: Experiments in Democratic Persuasion, a book co-authored by James L. Gibson, Ph.D., the Sidney W. Souers Professor of Government, is co-recipient of the first Alexander L. George Book Award from The International Society of Political Psychology.
On April 1, freshman pitcher Laurel Sagartz threw the first perfect game in WUSTL softball history on her 19th birthday as the Bears won at Missouri Baptist University, 3-0. Sagartz struck out six batters. The team completed the regular season on May 2 with a record of 31-3.
Announcements
Washington University's 143rd Commencement will begin at 8:30 a.m. on May 21 in Brookings Quadrangle. Thomas L. Friedman, columnist for The New York Times and three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, will deliver the Commencement address for the Class of 2004 and receive the honorary degree, doctor of laws.
Reunion 2004 is scheduled for May 20-23. For information on events, accommodations, and travel, visit the Reunion 2004 Web site.
WUSTL Links
About @ Washington University in St. Louis
This newsletter is prepared by the staff of the Office of Special Development Communications Projects and the Office of Alumni and Development Programs. It is intended to provide a summary of what is happening at the University. Alumni, parents, and friends of the University for whom we have valid e-mail addresses automatically receive @ Washington University in St. Louis as a service of the University.
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