Neighbor

News

March/April 2023

(Photo: Google Maps)

WashU Proposes Mobility Safety Improvements for the Skinker Boulevard and Forest Park Parkway Intersection

The Skinker DeBaliviere Community Council and Washington University held a virtual community meeting on March 27 for the neighbors in Skinker DeBaliviere and Parkview to discuss an intersection improvement project the university has proposed in coordination with the City of St. Louis Board of Public Service (BPS) and Streets and Traffic Departments. The proposed work is meant to improve safety at the Skinker Boulevard and Forest Park Parkway intersection. Located immediately east of the Danforth Campus entrance, the intersection is an area that experiences high traffic use from the convergence of vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders.

In the meeting, university representatives and consultants from WSP – the traffic and mobility consultants hired by WashU for this project – discussed improvements included in the proposal, as well as a preliminary timeline to finalize the plan, bid and permit the work, and the construction process. Among other feedback, Skinker DeBaliviere and Parkview neighbors suggested separating bike lanes on the west side of the intersection, in addition to the proposed lanes on the east and south sides. Approval to include a bike lane on the west side depends on feasibility, which the university will explore in discussions with the city.

WSP also explained how, in 2020, they were able to capture helpful community feedback concerning the intersection as part of their separate work on the Skinker DeBaliviere Neighborhood Traffic Calming Study. This study, completed in conjunction with BPS staff, Alderwoman Shameem Clark Hubbard and former Alderwoman Heather Navarro, focused on streets and areas interior to Skinker DeBaliviere and did not include the border streets and external intersections. However, in the process, neighbors still expressed their thoughts on a broad range of approaches to improve safety in the Skinker and Forest Park Parkway intersection.

During the meeting, the university and WSP outlined the following improvements to enhance safety for all users:

Improvements to ADA accessibility at the corners of the intersection
Modifications to make crosswalks highly visible
Adjustments in signal operations to reduce conflicts and allow more time for pedestrians to cross
Separate crosswalks for bicycles and pedestrians similar to the approach implemented at the Skinker and Lindell and Skinker and Forsyth intersections
Installation of bollards at the corners to enhance awareness for drivers and pedestrians

WashU is managing these improvements in partnership with the City of St. Louis’s Board of Public Service. After completion of design and all necessary governmental approvals, the work will be competitively bid and submitted to university leadership for approval of funding. We are attempting to expedite this process as much as possible, and are targeting construction during the summer months of this year.

Chancellor Martin's State of the University Address

Chancellor Andrew Martin gave his annual State of the University address on March 23. In it, he provided updates on WashU's academic distinction, student access, and continued commitment to St. Louis.

District-University Partnership Shakes Up St. Louis School Leadership

**This story originally appeared at The74million.org, a non-profit, independent news organization focused on education in America.

In a school system that has lost tens of thousands of students and recently regained local control from a state takeover, educators are piloting a new leadership model hoping to mend teachers', staff and students' strained relationships to St. Louis schools and lure families back.

Featured Stories

(Courtesy photo)

College Student Recounts Her Social Media Breaking Point and How She Stopped 'Scrolling Mindlessly' | CNN

The scrutiny of some Big Tech and social media platforms is running high as TikTok's CEO faces grilling before lawmakers. WashU sophomore, Emma Lembke, is among those taking action against what she sees as the harmful effects of social media on her generation.

Sterling K. Brown to Give WashU's 162nd Commencement Address

Award-winning actor, and St. Louis Native, will deliver the 2023 Commencement address at Washington University in St. Louis.

University helps launch STARS College Network

Washington University in St. Louis has teamed up with 15 of the nation's leading public and private higher education institutions to launch STARS College Network (Small-Town And Rural Students), a new effort to help students from small-town and rural America enroll in, succeed at and graduate from the undergraduate program of their choice.

(Photo: Matt Miller/School of Medicine)

Scientists Aim to Develop Vaccine Against All Deadly Coronaviruses

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis scientists Michael S. Diamond and Sean Whelan lead a team working to minimize the risk of another devastating coronavirus pandemic by designing a vaccine that reduces sickness and death caused by all potentially deadly coronaviruses, including ones that have not yet affected people. The research is supported by an $8 million grant from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

(Photo: UPI/Alamay)

Taylor Family Center for Student Success to set 'new standard' for universities

Washington University emeritus trustee Andrew Taylor, executive chairman of Enterprise Holdings, and his wife, Barbara, have made a $15 million gift to establish the Taylor Family Center for Student Success. The center will connect students to resources, a community of peers — and access to social capital.

(Photo: Reginald Lee/Washington University)

Washington University Research Spurs Changes to Global Guidelines

Results of a major clinical trial in Africa led by Mark Manary, MD, professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have prompted a change in global guidelines for therapeutic food.

(Photo: Washington University)

WUPD Completes Training to Support People with Sensory Issues

The Washington University Police Department (WUPD) has completed training to recognize and support people experiencing sensory overload situations during police interactions. The training helps officers better identify the actions of a person experiencing a sensory overload crisis.

Puppies Bear, Brookie Train to be Therapy Dogs

After a "ruff" start, rescue puppies Bear and Brookie have a new home at Washington University in St. Louis where they are training to be therapy dogs. The pups reported for duty a week ago and already have hundreds of human friends and their own Instagram account, Comfort Dogs of WUPD .

WU in the Community

Washington University's Neighborhood C.A.R.E. (Connect, Advocate, Respect, Engage) team had a presence at the 16th Annual Loop Ice Carnival. See below for photos taken by Sunghei Han, our Parkview Gardens Neighborhood Liaison.

(Photo: Sunghei Han)

Neighborhood C.A.R.E. ice sculpture

(Photo: Sunghei Han)

Flux Infernos Fire Performers

(Photo: Sunghei Han)

Magic tricks

CAMPUS UPDATES

ThurtenE Carnival - April 14 - 16

Free Admission!

Fri, April 14: 4 pm — 8 pm

Sat, April 15: 11 am — 8 pm

Sun, April 16: 11 am — 8 pm

ThurtenE Carnival is back for 2023!

ThurtenE Carnival is the nation's oldest and largest student-run carnival. This year's theme is "Music and Melodies," highlighting the rich and historic music scene of St. Louis.

Be on the lookout for a postcard from our office with more information on pricing and parking for the carnival.

Arts and Culture

WUDance Collective: 'GENESIS'

April 7 & April 8

April 7 @ 8 P.M.

April 8 @ 8 P.M.

Edison Theatre

Washington University Dance Collective serves as the Performing Arts Department’s resident dance company. Please join us for an evening of dance derived from deep personal reflections on our most valued experiences in the world.

The Air That Inhabits: 2023 MFA in Visual Art Thesis Exhibition

April 8 @ 10 A.M.

Kemper Art Museum, Garden Gallery

The air that inhabits features thesis projects by the MFA in Visual Art candidates in the 2023 graduating class of the Sam Fox School’s Graduate School of Art. The exhibition title is taken from the poem “Variation on the Word Sleep” by Margaret Atwood, chosen by the candidates for its evocation of both the physical and the poetic.

Diaspora Dialogues: African Art Influence across the Atlantic

April 13 @ 5:30 P.M.

Kemper Art Museum

Following a self-guided tour of African Modernism in America, join the annual Diaspora Dialogues event, a conversation among Black women in St. Louis organized by Vitendo4Africa and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. International Awareness and Involvement Committee. This year’s theme will center on a transnational discussion of African art and its connections to African American artists, the social and political roles of art in African and African American contexts during the 1950s and 1960s, and the importance of teaching these histories to challenge Western notions of African art.

Eubie!

May 3 - May 21

Wednesdays and Thursdays @ 7 P.M.

Saturdays @ 8 P.M.

Sundays @ 3 P.M.

Edison Theatre

The House of Atreus is burdened by an old curse and trapped in a cycle of retributive violence. How can justice be achieved without piling new crimes on top of old ones? Ellen McLaughlin’s gripping adaptation of the trilogy by Aeschylus explores the intimacy of violence and the centrality of actions by women in this ancient Greek story about the foundations of the law.

Washington University's Department of Music and the Performing Arts Department have teamed with the Edison Theater and the Kemper Art Museum to create one Web site that lists the exhibition and performance opportunities on the Washington University campus. Click the link below to learn about upcoming events, as well as links to other arts and cultural programming.

arts.wustl.edu

Please check the Edison Theatre's COVID-19 Policy for up-to-date policies and protocols.

Edison Theatre COVID-19 Policy

To Purchase Tickets

Order by phone

314-935-6543

Order online

edison.wustl.edu

University People

Alexandria Taylor

Manager, Off Campus Housing

Alexandria joined the University and the Neighborhood CARE team in January. As the Manager for Off Campus Housing, Alexandria is responsible for supporting and providing education for both undergraduate and graduate students living in the neighborhoods around the Danforth Campus. She also supervises the Neighborhood Liaisons - university staff working part time, providing resources and guidance for off campus students.

Alexandria is passionate about providing students with the resources they need to be successful while at the university and beyond. Her role at WashU provides the opportunity to guide students as they develop their unique journey towards adulthood.

When she is not working, she likes to go to the gym, spend time with her family, read, and explore the many joys life has to offer.

Washington People: John Jachimiak

Two of the largest student groups at Washington University in St. Louis are led by one very busy junior: John Jachimiak. As co-president of Heart for the Unhoused, Jachimiak travels to shelters across the region to conduct health screenings. And as president of the campus QuestBridge chapter, Jachimiak gives scholars resources, a voice and, most importantly, a community.

Washington People: Mike Runiewicz

Whether meeting one-on-one with a new student or modeling a bold initiative like the university's new need-blind admissions policy, Mike Runiewicz, assistant vice provost and director of Student Financial Services at Washington University in St. Louis, is committed to making Washington University more accessible to students.

Previous Editions

January/February 2023

Calendar of Events

April

07 | 8 P.M. WU Dance Collective: GENESIS

*****Edison Theatre

08 | 12 P.M. Tennis & 12 P.M. and 2 P.M. Softball

08 | 8 P.M. WU Dance Collective: GENESIS

*****Edison Theatre

09 | 11 A.M. Softball

10 | 4 P.M. Tennis

12 | 2:30 P.M. Baseball

14 | 2 P.M. Tennis & 3 P.M. Baseball

15 | 12 P.M. and 3 P.M. Baseball

16 | 10 A.M. Tennis & 11 A.M. Baseball

16 | 7 P.M. Great Artists Series '23: Augustin Hadelich, violin,

*****E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall, 560 Music Center

18 | 5:30 P.M. Book Making Workshop: Calligraphy,

*****Olin Library, Special Collections Classroom

20 | 8 P.M. Opening: F**king A

*****A.E. Hotchner Theatre

26 | 3 P.M. Baseball

27 | 3 P.M. and 5 P.M. Softball

28 | Last Day of Classes

29 | 12 P.M. and 2 P.M. Softball

May

03 | 7 P.M. Opening: Eubie!

07 | 3 P.M. University City Symphony Orchestra,

*****Recital Hall, 560 Music Center; FREE ADMISSION

08 | 7:30 P.M. Jazzing Up the Day for Mom,

*****E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall, 560 Music Center

13 | 8 P.M. Band Together Pops Concert,

*****E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall, 560 Music Center; FREE

********ADMISSION

15 | Commencement

22 | 7:30 P.M. All About You Again,

*****E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall, 560 Music Center

Washington University in St. Louis

Office of Government and Community Relations

Phone: 314-935-5752

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