Sophomore Morgan DeBaun will be the next SU president and Eliot Walker, John Harrison York, Kirsten Miller and Cody Katz will be the next VP Finance, VP Programming, VP Administration and VP Public Relations respectively.

“We’re really ready to hit the ground running,” DeBaun said. ““We ran as a team and I’m happy that we won as a team.”

No members of junior Nate Ferguson’s competing Bold slate were elected to executive office.

Of the ten proposed SU constitutional amendments on the ballot, five passed.

Among those that passed was the amendment to create the Diversity Affairs Council.
Additionally four of junior Trevor Mattea’s proposed amendments passed including an amendment that would allow individual students to appeal to treasury.

Check back soon for more information

Students and chefs gathered in Tisch Commons on Tuesday evening for the first annual North vs. South Champion Chef Competition, sponsored by Bon Appétit. Selected students and Bon Appétit chefs participated in a vegan tempeh recipe cook-off, which was part of a series of events surrounding eco chef and cookbook author Bryant Terry’s visit to campus. The teams included the North Side and South 40, with four student chefs participating on each team. Team North was led by DUC chef Justin Keimon, and South 40 chef Gary Suarez led Team South. Above, senior Patrick Fahey cooks for Team North as Keimon, left, supervises him. Team South won the cook-off. Judges for the event included Terry; Catherine Neville, editor in chief of Sauce Magazine; Chris Desens, award-winning chef; Provost Edward Macias; and James Dodge, chef and cookbook author. (Perry Stein | Student Life)

Ralph Quatrano, former interim dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and former chair of the biology department, was selected as the new dean of the engineering school. (Christopher Lo | Student Life)

He was a seemingly unlikely choice. A professor with no formal engineering background, Ralph Quatrano was selected as the new dean of the engineering school—a school with five distinct departments.

But Quatrano—former interim dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and former chair of the biology department—said that his unique background would help integrate interdisciplinary studies within the engineering school.

“I am a strong believer in interdisciplinary kind of work, so for me, I want to go over barriers,” Quatrano said. “I want to be able to facilitate and encourage and nurture interaction at the interfaces of what appears to be diverse disciplines, diverse cultures.”

Quatrano, a biologist, admitted that he is unfamiliar with many aspects of the engineering school, but said he faced similar challenges when he became dean of Arts & Sciences.

Arts & Sciences houses 20 departments, 21 programs and 380 faculty. In comparison, the engineering school has five departments and 80 faculty members.

“I will be the first to say that I am not an engineer,” Quatrano said. “I have a big steep learning curve [in regards to] mechanical, civil and electrical engineering.”

Quatrano’s appointment

Quatrano begins his tenure as dean designate starting March 1, 2010, serving a four-month transition period. His tenure will officially begin in July. He succeeds Senior Professor of Biomedical Engineering Salvatore Sutera, who has served as the interim dean of the School of Engineering & Applied Science since July 1, 2008.

The appointment comes two years after the former dean of the engineering school, Mary Sansalone, resigned from her post amid controversy. Throughout her less than two years as dean, Sansalone came under fire for several significant changes, including the merging of several departments and budget cuts in response to the school’s financial situation.

The search for a permanent engineering dean started in December 2009 when Provost Edward Macias encouraged faculty members to submit applications and nominations.

The University only conducted an internal search for the new dean.

Macias said that hiring a non-engineer to head up the school is not unprecedented, and that Quatrano’s diverse experience brings a lot to the engineering school.

“He’s an outstanding scientist and is very familiar with broad areas of science,” Macias said. “He’s been an excellent leader as a department chair both here and before he came here.”

Quatrano said he is no stranger to the field of engineering despite never holding a position in the engineering school. As a biologist, he has conducted many cross-discipline studies with the engineering school.

“One of the reasons why I was approached is because I was already interacting with so many people in engineering,” he said.

A University agenda?

Given Quatrano’s biology background, some have speculated that his appointment signifies an increasing emphasis on biomedical engineering.

Ranked 10th in the nation, biomedical engineering is the highest-ranked department in the engineering school, according to the U.S. News & World Report rankings.

Quatrano said his appointment is not indicative of any University agenda. He plans to be upfront and learn about disciplines he is less familiar with such as mechanical and electrical engineering.

Quatrano has also committed to carrying out the engineering school’s strategic plan– the “Plan for Excellence” that Sansalone set forth in 2007 under the direction of the administration. The plan is part of the University-wide strategic plan.

The plan seeks to develop cross-school initiatives and modernize the engineering school by reorganizing departments. Most notably, the plan eliminated the aerospace and civil engineering majors. The plan also includes the construction of three new buildings for a combined total space of 500,000 square feet. The first phase of consutrction will be completed in the fall of 2010 with the opening of Brauer Hall.

Sansalone came under fire for inadequate communication as she implemented the plan.

Faculty reactions

Faculty members within various departments noted the multi-disciplinary nature of the engineering school and viewed Quatrano’s leadership and professional background as an opportunity to build new bridges within the school.

Pratim Biswas, chair of the Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering Department, said Quatrano has worked on environmental initiatives with the department in the past.

“He’s very interested in areas such as bio-energy and is concerned with environmental issues, and wants to see it thrive here at Washington University,” Biswas said. “He will be quite knowledgeable and will help us move ahead at full speed.”

Biomedical engineering professor Larry Taber said that there could not have been a better choice than Quatrano at this time.

“I think he brings much needed fresh blood,” Taber said. “It will help us strengthen our ties with the Department of Biology.”

Diversity

The engineering school has come under criticism in the past for not having tenured and tenure-track faculty from any underrepresented minority.

According to the “Report on Trends in Faculty Diversity: Washington University Danforth Campus,” underrepresented minorities include blacks, Native Americans and Hispanics.

Quatrano said that he will follow the lead of the provost and make diversifying the faculty a priority in his agenda.

“I think that [diversifying the faculty] is probably the number one awareness that I have in searching for any position—diversity and competence,” Quatrano said. “I feel strongly that we must pay attention to diversity, and diversity at all levels, from age to race to everything.”

Hiring new faculty

Quatrano said it will be hard to hire new faculty amid the tough economic climate, but added that the engineering school will continue to hire new people and must look for new faculty members to better the school’s reputation.

Even though the school is under a staff freeze, the school can still hire new faculty as long as it maintains the same net number of faculty members. When a faculty member retires or leaves the school, another person can be hired in his or her place.

“Every school has economic problems now, and I think it is really important to show that we are moving ahead,” Quatrano said. “I think its important to let everyone in the country know that we are searching, we are active, whereas other universities are not only not searching but pulling back on offers already made.”

Rankings

Quatrano cited the engineering school’s ranking as one of the school’s greatest weaknesses.

The School of Engineering & Applied Science is ranked 46th on the U.S. News & World Report list—the lowest of any of the schools at the University.

The key to improving the rankings in each school, Quatrano said, is research.

“If you look across the board in engineering, the infrastructure is there, there are really good people, but you need to really push ahead on the research,” Quatrano said.

Since grants are so competitive, receiving funding would help the University gain higher national recognition.

Quatrano said he would also emphasize peer review and would work to ensure that each faculty member can conduct research effectively.

“It’s not just a question of getting money, it’s peer review of your science—recognition by your peers in a scientific community about how good your science is, Quatrano said. “You need to make sure your top researches are happy, because you don’t want discourage them.”

Clean coal and alternative energy

Over the past year, the undergraduate student body has criticized the engineering school for accepting the term “clean coal” and receiving funding for further research into its viability as a form of energy production.

Quatrano noted that the engineering school would continue research clean coal and its uses, but that the research would not overshadow other forms of energy.

“We are not excluding other measures to enhance our energy production,” Quatrano said. “This [clean coal research] was an opportunity. We had expertise in house, and it was an opportunity to get the kind of research funding that would allow some of our faculty to develop this.”

Nevertheless, Quatrano emphasized that information on the University’s clean coal research must be transparent.

“As dean, I would say that since we have an opportunity to do clean coal, let’s make sure we do it right and that we state everything clearly and accurately by what we mean by ‘clean coal,’” he said.

Harry Alper, a junior who has been outspoken about the University’s use of the term ‘clean’ in reference to coal, said that as dean, Quatrano should listen to students’ concerns.

“He should listen closely to what the students are saying about the consortium, and should try to step back from the political ties if he can,” Alper said.

Working with undergraduates

Senior Dan Brewster, president of EnCouncil—the student government for the engineering school—said that the members of EnCouncil have no qualms about Quatrano’s background and that the council looks forward to woking with him.

“If the [University] is confident that he is the right person for the job, then we stand behind him,” Brewster said. “We are excited to have Quatrano with us. We are looking for someone who is a big proponent of engineering, someone who thinks engineers can do big things, and someone who will work with us.”

Quatrano echoed EnCouncil’s enthuasiasm.

“Students are obviously a big part of the school and I want to hear what they have to say,” Quatrano said. “I like people who are vocal, and I look forward to hearing [from them] in the future.”

(COURTESY OF KENNY ANDERSON)

Johnson, an associate professor of biology from Tuskegee, Ala., was one of three professors killed in Friday’s shootings at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).

UAH Professor of Biology Amy Bishop is charged with opening fire on her colleagues during a faculty meeting last Friday in a shooting spree that left three faculty members dead and three others injured.

The other two fatalities were Gopi Podila, the chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences, and Associate Professor of Biology Maria Ragland Davis.

Bishop is said to have had a violent past that included the 1986 shooting of her 18-year-old brother which was ruled as an accidental death.

The New York Times quoted anonymous faculty members who said that Bishop did not receive tenure and subsequently appealed the department’s rejection. The shooting occurred on the day the initial decision was upheld.

In the wake of Johnson’s death, his classmates have reconnected across the country to commemorate the friend they remember as a kind and quiet man with an unforgettable sense of humor.

Adriel Johnson (center) with Wash U friends Mike White ‘79 and Rommie Loudd ‘79. (Courtesy of Sheldon Ames)

Isbell and her husband live near Johnson in Huntsville. Her husband, Irvin Isbell, was Johnson’s roommate for two years at Washington University.

The WUSTL Black Alumni Network Web site—which is not affiliated with the University—and alumni Facebook pages have been flooded with an outpouring of condolences and memories of Johnson.

“It’s not often that we meet lifelong friends. In 1975, freshman year, I met Adriel,” Sheldon Ames, a close friend and 1979 Washington University graduate, wrote in response to classmate Jan Boyd’s Facebook status that honored Johnson.

One of his Wash. U. suitemates, Alvin Blackshear, wrote: “I am deeply saddened by this news. Adriel was a suitemate of mine during my freshman year and was always supportive and understanding of a not-so friendly nerd from NYC (me). His style and manner was something that years later I admired and was thankful for. I regret never having told him that he had a very positive impact on my life at Wash. U.”

During his years at Washington University, Johnson, a biology major, participated in several intramural sports and was an active member of the Black Students Association.

“Adriel enjoyed being a college student at Washington University,” said Donald Wilkerson, Johnson’s freshman and sophomore year roommate. “We enjoyed all aspects of the life. It was fun for us. We recognized that it was one of those experiences that you only have once and I think we took advantage of it.”

Wilkerson said that their lives at the University revolved around sporting events and Johnson was very enthusiastic about the Battling Bears.

“He was a hard worker. Very competitive,” Wilkerson said. “A sweet guy.”

After graduating from Washington University, Johnson went on to earn two master’s degrees, in population genetics and muscle protein biochemistry. He graduated with a Ph.D. in 1989 from North Carolina State University.

In his professional life, he was chairman of the biological sciences department at the UAH and focused his research on cell biology and nutritional physiology.

There he was active in encouraging minority students to further their education and go to graduate school.

Johnson was the director for the UAH chapter of the Alabama Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation.

Irvin Isbell Jr., the son of Johnson’s Wash. U. classmates Irvin and Janice Isbell, attended the UAH as a chemical engineering major, and said that Johnson served as a mentor to him and encouraged him to attend graduate school.

“He was a very encouraging professor,” Isbell Jr. said. “He would tear you down then build you back up as a stronger person. His presence will be greatly missed.”

Isbell was a part of the scholarship program that Johnson oversaw.

“He gave us all a chance by putting us on the scholarship program. We are going to miss him.”

Johnson is survived by his two sons and his wife, Jacqueline Johnson, a veterinary professor at Alabama A&M University.

ZBT is currently prohibited from having any programming and is essentially a non-functioning body.

“A temporary suspension simply means that we, along with their national headquarters, are investigating alleged policy violations and that the chapter should not put itself in an even more difficult situation by continuing in a business-as-usual manner,” Director of Greek Life Michael Hayes wrote in an e-mail to Student Life on Sunday. “It protects all of the stakeholders.”

The alleged infractions occurred during the recruitment process that ran from Jan. 23 to Feb. 3. The fraternity’s recognition was suspended on Friday, February 5.

Student Life could not confirm details about the alleged recruitment infractions.

According to Kurt Wall, president of the interfraternity council (IFC), ZBT was not allowed to participate in bid acceptance night on Saturday as other fraternities were.

Prospective members who were extended bids from ZBT met with chapter leaders and David Wallace, coordinator for housing programs in the Greek Life Office (GLO), and were told that ZBT was not currently accepting new members but that they could potentially accept their bids in the coming weeks pending the results of the investigation.

If applicable, prospective members could also accept a bid they received from another fraternity.

The first part of the investigation will occur Monday when sophomore Lian States and junior Zachary Buckner—the vice president of standards for the Women’s Panhellenic Association and IFC respectively—meet with Hayes to determine whether ZBT will face the Greek Life Standards Board.

Wall said that it is likely that the case will reach the board.

The Greek Like Standards Board consists of States, Buckner and one delegate from each sorority and fraternity chapter. The board is the self-governing judicial body for fraternities and sororities and conducts hearings for chapters that have violated University, state, or Greek Life policies.

At stake are the fraternity’s national and University recognition, which are not necessarily contingent upon one another.

If ZBT loses its national recognition, it could also lose its house. The fraternity chapter is housed in an off-campus apartment on Forsyth Boulevard. The apartment is owned by the national ZBT organization.

But Wall said that the outcome of the investigation does not have to be an all-or-nothing result.

“There are intermediates between the two extremes,” Wall said.

Wall noted that the ZBT chapter has been cooperating with the GLO, IFC and the standards process.

Junior Andrew Bort, president of ZBT, said that he was confident that the chapter would come out of the investigation as a recognized fraternity chapter.

“We believe that we are in the right here,” Bort said. “So we are pretty sure that we will come out of this just fine.”

Wall said that the investigation would likely be completed in one or two weeks.

Biology professor Ralph Quatrano was named the dean of the School of Engineering on Friday afternoon.

Quatrano comes to the post as the immediate past dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences and the Spencer T. Olin Professor of Biology in Arts & Sciences. He served as interim dean of Arts & Sciences from July 1, 2008, until June 30, 2009, when Gary Wihl took over the position.

Quatrano succeeds Salvatore Sutera, senior professor of biomedical engineering, who has served as the interim dean of the School of Engineering & Applied Science since July 1, 2008. Quatrano will serve as dean designate starting March 1, 2010, serving a four-month transition period. His tenure will officially begin in July.

“Ralph Quatrano has been an outstanding academic leader at Washington University for over a decade,” Chancellor Mark Wrighton said in a news release.

Although Quatrano has held no official positions in the engineering school, he said that biology and the field of engineering are closely intertwined and he hopes to build strong interdisciplinary relationships within the school.

“Engineering and the physical sciences are intimately related to the future of the life sciences,” Quatrano said in a University-issued news release. “It is going to be very important in the next decade that the biological and medical sciences integrate with engineering, and I feel that this position, looking back from engineering into the life sciences, will be exciting and challenging for me.”

The appointment comes two years after the former dean of the engineering school, Mary Sansalone, resigned from her post amid controversy. Throughout her less than two years as dean, Sansalone had come under fire for several controversial changes, including the merging of several departments and budget cuts in response to the school’s financial situation.

Tenured faculty within the school submitted a petition to Wrighton calling for Sansalone’s removal. She announced that she would step down in February 2008.

The search for a new permanent engineering dean started in December 2009 when Provost Edward Macias encouraged faculty members to submit applications and nominations for the position.

The applications were reviewed by the Advisory Committee on the Appointment of the Dean of Engineering, co-chaired by Macias; Joseph Ackerman, chair of the chemistry department; and Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert, associate professor of biomedical engineering. Other members of the committee include professors; department chairs; Evan Kharasch, interim vice chancellor for research; and Chris Kroeger, associate dean for engineering and applied science.

Senior Dan Brewster, president of EnCouncil—the student government for the engineering school—said that EnCouncil is looking forward to working with Quatrano.

“I think it’s great that we have a new dean and someone who has experience with Wash. U,” Brewster said. “We are all excited to have him. We haven’t heard of any changes that he will be implementing, but EnCouncil will look forward to working with him,” Brewster said.

Quatrano joined the University faculty in 1998 as the chair of the department of biology.

In his professional life, Quatrano’s research focuses on understanding the mechanisms behind molecular and cellular mechanisms controlling seed development.

Quatrano earned his bachelor’s degree in botany with honors from Colgate University in 1962; his master’s degree in botany from Ohio University, Athens, in 1964; and his doctorate in biology from Yale University in 1968.

Security in the area north of the Delmar Loop has been increased, but police have not yet been able to identify the perpetrator.

The location of the attack is under the jurisdiction of the University City Police, and according to Don Strom, chief of the Washington University Police Department, WUPD is providing additional patrols to aid in the heightened security efforts.

Michael Ransom, captain of the University City Police Department, did not provide details, but he said that the police are currently working on some leads in the investigation.

The victim was found beaten in her apartment building at around 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 21, 2009.

According to a University news release, a Quadrangle employee performing maintenance discovered the victim, a tenant in the building, who was then taken to a hospital, where she is currently reported to be in stable condition.
The building, located on the 700 block of Syracuse Avenue in University City, is owned by Quadrangle Housing, a University affiliate that owns and manages off-campus apartments for Washington University students and faculty.

As students flood back to campus for spring semester, the University is working to ensure that students are safe living off campus.

On Tuesday—the first day of classes—Hank Webber, the executive vice chancellor for administration, sent an e-mail to the members of the University community and said that crime data indicates that campuses of the University are located “in relatively safe urban areas and [data] indicates a reduction in violent crime over recent years.”

But he added that students can expect additional safety precautions this semester, including an increase in the number of blue light phones north of campus beginning this spring, upgrading the safety features in Quadrangle housing by moving laundry rooms out of the basement where possible, and installing panic buttons in laundry rooms that must remain in the basement.

The University is also working on increasing its ability to communicate information on serious crimes in surrounding areas.

Senior Ethan Stern lives directly north of the Loop and said he feels safe in the area despite the recent attacks.

“I wouldn’t do anything stupid,” Stern said. “I don’t walk around late at night. I think that knowing that the cops are around makes me feel pretty safe.”
Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call the University City Police Department at 314-725-2211 or Crime Stoppers at 866-371-TIPS.

Josh Goldman contributed to this story.

Security in the area has been increased, but police have not yet been able to identify any suspects.

The Ph.D. student in Arts & Sciences from New Delhi, India  is still in critical condition and has been unable to speak with police and provide a description of her attacker, according to Capt. Michael Ransom of the University City Police Department.

Ransom did not provide details, but said that the police are currently working on some leads.

The student was found beaten in her apartment building at around 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 21.

According to a University press release, a Quadrangle employee doing maintenance discovered the victim, a tenant in the building, who was then taken to a hospital where she is currently reported to be in critical condition.

The building, located on the 700 block of Syracuse Avenue in University City, is owned by Quadrangle Housing, a University affiliate that owns and manages off-campus apartments for Washington University students and faculty.

The University City Police Department found no sign of forced entry into the building.

Don Strom, chief of the Washington University Police Department, sent out a crime alert to members of the off-campus community. The alert stated that the assault is believed to have occurred on Sunday, Dec. 20.

A subsequent e-mail was sent to the entire University community alerting members of this crime, which occurred one block north of the Delmar Loop.

The e-mail said that the University is offering counseling and support to other residents in the building and has also offered to help students move to another location if they feel unsafe in the area.

University City police and Washington University police are increasing security patrols in the area.

“U-City upped the amount of security in the area last night and today. The University communicated earlier in the day to students living off campus and the police contacted people who live in that building and that area,” said Steve Givens,  associate vice chancellor for public affairs. “We’ve been in direct contact with the students off campus and have posted information on doors.”

The University City Police Department is handling the investigation of this crime.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the University City Police Department at 314-725-2211 or Crime Stoppers at 866-371-TIPS.

Check back  for more information as this story develops.

The John. C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics opens in January. For the center to be successful, Danforth emphasized that all opinions on the role of religion in politics must be analyzed and discussed in an academic manner. (Joshua Goldman | Student Life)

The University announced this morning that it received a $30 million endowment gift from the Danforth Foundation to establish a center for religion and politics on campus.

Set to open in January 2010, the center will examine the role of religion in American political discourse.

Five new faculty members to be given endowed professorships will be recruited to help with the efforts of the center. These new faculty members will be specialists in the area of American politics and religion and will hold joint appointments with the center and another existing academic department.

The center will be called, The John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics, and is named after John Danforth, a retired Republican senator who represented Missouri in the U.S. Senate for 18 years.

Based on both his political and religious background, Danforth’s involvement in the establishment of the center comes as no surprise. The former senator is an ordained Episcopalian priest and in recent years has drawn headlines about his vocal opposition to what he deems as the Republican Party’s transformation into a group of conservative Christians. In 2006 he authored a book titled, Faith and Politics: How the “Moral Values” Debate Divides America and How to Move Forward Together.

“Historically, the responsibility for this kind of dialogue has most often been left to universities with religious connections,” Danforth said in the press release. “But great non-sectarian institutions like Washington University combine rigorous academic standards with traditions of civil conversation, and that’s why this is the perfect place for such a center.”
Wayne Fields, the Lynne Cooper Harvey Distinguished Chair in English at the University, was named as the center’s founding director. Fields has been at the University since 1968 and is the founding director of the University’s American Culture Studies Program.

Wrighton, Fields and Danforth were all present to announce the center’s creation at a press conference in Washington D.C. at the National Press Club.

This announcement comes just months after Wrighton announced a 30 percent endowment decline from its peak value two years ago.

The three leaders will meet at 3 p.m on campus for another press conference. Check back for more information.