Claire Gauen

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Politics and fairy tales

Dec 5, 2024 | source.washu.edu | Liam Otten |Claire Gauen

In 2018, more than 1,700 candidates ran for the U.S. Congress. And 98% had websites. Most featured lengthy biographies. “So here’s a dataset for a behavior that encompasses almost everyone in Congress,” says Betsy Sinclair, professor and chair of political science in Arts & Sciences. “And no one in my field was studying it.”Billy Acree, professor of Spanish in Arts & Sciences, noticed something else. The biographies followed certain rules. “Beginnings are always humble. The politician leaves home.
A perfect fit for WashU

Dec 5, 2024 | source.washu.edu | Constance Gibbs |Claire Gauen

Lori Coulter, MBA ’99, co-founder and CEO of apparel company Summersalt, started her first business before she was old enough to drive a car. While her brother played American Legion baseball, she operated a concession stand for spectators. She secured inventory at a local warehouse store using funds from her first angel investor: her mother. Coulter’s entrepreneurial spirit continued at Baylor University, where she drafted business plans as an undergraduate marketing student.
Saving forests and alleviating poverty

Dec 5, 2024 | source.washu.edu | Julie Kennedy |Claire Gauen

Walking 7.5 miles in the rain to gather information from a fishing village in Madagascar isn’t every college student’s cup of tea. But the nine sophomores in the Pathfinder Fellows in Environmental Leadership program were ready for this type of challenge.
Committed to expanding WashU connections

Oct 14, 2024 | source.washu.edu | Ginger O’Donnell |Claire Gauen

Reginald “Reggie” Binford Jr., BSBA ’03, BS ’03, came to WashU knowing that he wanted to study at the intersection of finance and technology. Having the chance to earn dual degrees from Olin Business School and the McKelvey School of Engineering, alongside a scholarship, cinched his decision to enroll. While a student, he developed a passion for entrepreneurship, fueled by his participation in courses like “The Hatchery,” in which students design and pitch startup ventures.
Falling for fall prevention

Oct 14, 2024 | source.washu.edu | Claire Gauen

A motion-activated nightlight in the hall. A bench in the shower. Non-slip tape on rug corners. Practitioners like Susan Stark, professor of occupational therapy at WashU Medicine, have long turned toward these simple, proven strategies to reduce a person’s risk of falling. Through the Home Hazard Removal Program (HARP), a one-on-one intervention system Stark designed, she strives to bring these kinds of solutions to as many older adults as possible.
Food for thought

Oct 14, 2024 | source.washu.edu | Claire Gauen

When Elzbieta Sklodowska, PhD ’83, began her WashU teaching career in the early 1990s, she mostly taught sprawling survey courses that led students from pre-Hispanic culture up to contemporary literature. This fall, she’s guiding undergraduates through a similar range of eras and materials, but with a delicious twist. Her fall 2024 course “Not a Piece of Cake” centers on culinary encounters throughout Latin American history.
A life of words

Oct 14, 2024 | source.washu.edu | Claire Gauen

More than 30 years ago, Leslye Lyons, AB ’79, sat down with a book club for the first time. As a new mom stepping aside from a career in social work, Lyons craved social connection. She didn’t expect to discover a passion that would lead to the birth of a literacy organization serving thousands of children and families. “I fell in love with the process of reading and discussing books,” Lyons recalls.
A new era for the humanities

Aug 7, 2024 | source.wustl.edu | Claire Gauen

When I graduated from my PhD program in 2003, I entered a buoyant academic job market and chose WashU from among a number of attractive tenure-track positions. In the 20-plus years since then, the number of tenure-track jobs across the humanities has plummeted, and a very different academic workforce has emerged. The financial crisis of 2008 initiated a free fall that the pandemic only intensified, with many permanent faculty positions now replaced by temporary ones across a spectrum of precarity.
Greetings from WashU

Aug 7, 2024 | source.wustl.edu | Claire Gauen

Right now, the Washington University Alumni Association is in full-on welcome mode. From June through October, a group of dedicated staff and volunteers organize WashU Welcome events to greet new alumni, recent transplants and other members of the university community in cities across the country. Nearly 2,000 alumni, parents and friends connected — or reconnected — at 14 parties in 2023.
Health and hope in Montana

Aug 7, 2024 | source.wustl.edu | Claire Gauen

As Tescha Hawley, MSW ’02, drives along the rural roads near Harlem, Montana, she rattles off some of the recent developments of her nonprofit, the Day Eagle Hope Project. Her phone’s camera bounces on the dashboard as she sketches out her plans, every example underscored by a desire to do even more. To start, she just learned that a $2 million grant proposal she wrote on behalf of the Fort Belknap Indian Community has gone through.