News highlights for January 7, 2011

National Law Journal

AALS defeats bid to boycott hotels engaged in labor disputes

1/7/2011

Labor strife among hotel workers in San Francisco has created some headaches for the more than 3,000 legal educators attending the 2011 annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools, but the organization has declined to adopt a resolution directing the group not to hold meetings at venues involved in labor disputes. Washington University in St. Louis School of Law Dean Kent Syverud spoke against the resolution, saying the group should follow the direction of the AALS executive committee, which opposed the resolution. “If we pass the resolution, we are seriously undercutting the leadership of the organization,” he said. Link to Article

MyHealthNewsDaily

Extremely obese people face increased risk of dying from H1N1 flu

1/7/2011

Extremely obese people are nearly three times more likely to die from H1N1 flu than people of normal weight, according to a new study. The finding goes against the previously held idea among health care professionals that the elderly are the group with the highest risk of death from the flu. “The 2009 H1N1 influenza virus had a much greater impact on relatively young individuals, when compared to the old seasonal influenza,” said Dr. Steven J. Lawrence, assistant professor of medicine at Washington University at St. Louis School of Medicine, who was not involved with the study. Link to Article

KOAA-TV
Researcher link family history of alcoholism with risk for obesity
01/05/2011

New research from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that people with a family history of alcoholism may also be at higher risk for obesity. Researchers found the link was especially strong among women. Link to Broadcast See also Calgary Herald (Canada), Time Magazine

Forbes.com
Debating the $1,000 genome
01/07/2011

A blog post saying that medicine would never see a $1,000 genome generated some fantastic debate, including some arguments that the $1,000 genome is possible for those who really want it. A lot has changed since 2006, when Washington University researcher Elaine Mardis published a paper estimating that it would cost about $100,000 for an individual to obtain his or her genome. Link to Article

TMCnet.com
Louise Reiss: headed historic Baby Tooth Survey in St. Louis
01/07/2011

Louise Zibold Reiss died Jan. 1, 2011, at her home near Miami. She was 90 and had suffered a heart attack in October. Reiss, who moved to St. Louis in 1954, became the first director of the now-historic Baby Tooth Survey in St. Louis. She, along with prominent researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, founded the Greater St. Louis Citizen’s Committee for Nuclear Information, which collected baby teeth and tested them for radioactive fallout from atomic testing. Link to Article

WWBT-TV
WUSTL ranks high in Kiplinger “best value” list

01/05/2011

Kiplinger’s magazine has released its ranking of the nation’s best values in college education, including a number of universities in Virginia. Washington University in St. Louis ranked higher than the University of Richmond with tuition at more than $54,000 a year. Belmont University in Nashville ranked lower with tuition at under $32,000. The University of Richmond’s tuition is just over $51,000. Link to Broadcast

STLtoday.com
Science Center names Needleman interim chief
01/07/2011

Extract: Philip Needleman, a former Washington University pharmacology professor and chief scientist at Monsanto, temporarily will take the reins at the St. Louis Science Center while it searches for a permanent president and chief executive. Don King left that position on Dec. 31 to lead the Museum of Flight in Seattle. Needleman has spent more than a year as interim president. Link to Article

STLtoday.com
Danforth plant center announcing plans for expansion
01/07/2011

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, one of the world’s premier plant science research centers, announced today that will launch a “new period of expansion and impact.” The Danforth Foundation’s last major grant — $70 million — will go to the Danforth Plant Science Center. Last fall, the John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics at Washington University opened its doors, thanks to a previous $30 million grant from the foundation. Link to Article See also St. Louis Beacon

KPLR-TV

WUSTL programs offer tips for smoking cessation in New Year
01/06/2011

St. Louis and St. Louis County regulations banning smoking any many public spaces are now in place, but what about those addicted to nicotine? How can they keep their New Years resolution to stop smoking? News 11s Kim Hudson is live at Washington University School of Medicine with some answers. Dr. Kate Wolin of Washington University stresses that those who want to stop smoking will need help. Link to Broadcast

STLtoday.com
Ex-CIA agent arrested here, accused of sharing secrets
01/07/2011

Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer, was arrested in St. Louis Thursday on charges of leaking government secrets to a national newspaper. Sterling, 43, who now works as a senior investigator in St. Louis for health insurance giant Wellpoint Inc., was indicted on 10 counts related to obstructing justice and disclosing national security information. Sterling’s online profile suggests that he received a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1992. Link to Article See also St. Louis Beacon

St Louis Globe-Democrat
UMSL earns Carnegie community engagement recognition
01/07/2011

The University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) has earned a 2010 Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. UMSL was recognized for the depth and breadth of its institutional commitment and engagement to the greater community. UMSL partners with Washington University, the Missouri Botanical Garden, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis University to support CORTEX, supplies academic research facilities and life science incubators. Link to Article

St. Louis Business Journal

Forsee leaving University of Missouri

1/7/2011

University of Missouri System President Gary Forsee is stepping down immediately because his wife is battling cancer. Steve Owens, general counsel, was appointed as interim president. Owens has overseen the president’s office on Forsee’s behalf since Dec. 2. The university board will immediately begin a search for the system’s 23rd president. Link to Article

Huffington Post

An In-depth Interview with Drew Faust, President of Harvard University

1/5/2011

Drew Faust, President of Harvard University, discusses recent developments in teaching and learning, financial aid and accessibility, growing university-wide collaboration, leadership in higher-education, the advancement of women and gender equality, the role of religion in curriculum, bridging research to practice, and the future of the institution. Link to Article

New York Times

Georgia’s hope scholarships threatened

1/6/2011

Parents of students at the University of Georgia have had a little extra cash in their pocket because of the one of the state’s most cherished perks — the Hope scholarship. The largest merit-based college scholarship program in the United States it offers any Georgia high school student with a B-average four years of free college tuition. But the Hope scholarship program is about to be cut by a new governor and Legislature facing staggering financial troubles. Link to Article

NCAA.org

DIII athletes receive high marks in first grad-rate report

1/5/2011

Data from the first year of a two-year pilot program in Division III to assess student-athlete academic performance reveals that student-athletes are graduating at rates comparable with or higher than those of their student body counterparts. Black student-athletes graduated at a 50 percent federal rate among pilot schools, compared with 54 percent for black students. Link to Article