In St. Louis, For St. Louis

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. HARP has already reached nearly 1,000 St. Louis-area residences.

The Summer Teacher Researcher Program administered by WashU’s Institute for School Partnership (ISP) is one of many ways the ISP supports partnership and outreach opportunities between WashU faculty and local educators.

The Prevention Research Center at WashU (PRC) was first funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1994. Its goal was to develop and implement evidence-based strategies to reduce health disparities and improve public health outcomes. Today, the PRC at WashU focuses on prevention strategies for chronic diseases, including cancer, obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Rather than working in isolation, this multidisciplinary team — comprising faculty, staff and students — engages directly with communities, taking a grassroots approach to co-design and implement solutions.

At its heart, the St. Louis Fellows Program at Washington University is a commitment to the region. And St. Louis Fellows make St. Louis stronger, healthier and more vibrant through their summertime actions, such as dressing bullet wounds at the Bullet Related Injury Clinic, supporting caregivers at the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Missouri Chapter, and developing education programs at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. WashU’s Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement manages the program and covers the full cost of stipends for the fellows.

A beloved St. Louis tradition for 52 years, the Great Forest Park Balloon Glow and Race attracted nearly 150,000 attendees over two days in September. WashU sponsored one of 47 balloons on display at Emerson Central Fields in Forest Park. At the main stage, Chancellor Andrew D. Martin expressed his pride in St. Louis, while WashU’s Chamber Choir serenaded the crowd with “Up, Up and Away.”

The story of St. Louis often is told through the language of division. North versus south. City versus county. The legacy of segregation and the stubborn persistence of the Delmar Divide. Over the last decade, The Divided City, an urban humanities initiative at Washington University in St. Louis, has sponsored dozens of classes, seminars and research projects grappling with those difficult histories and their contemporary effects. This fall, building on that work, WashU will launch a new initiative: The Engaged City. Funded by a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the Office of the Provost, the Engaged City aims to highlight St. Louis’ cultural resources — and to reframe how the city sees, understands and talks about itself.

WashU Olin’s CELect St. Louis, a program of the Center for Experiential Learning, pairs teams of undergraduate and graduate students with local startups, allowing them to gain real-life consulting experience. CELect St. Louis students Reagan Edwards, JD 2025, and Nico Stuart, BUCS 2025, described the kickoff event for their semester projects, including their initial meetings with clients.

The WashU Infectious Diseases Division’s Bridge to Health Program partnered with other state and community organizations including Street Med STL, the Missouri Department of Social Services, the Missouri Department of health and Senior Services, and Vivent Health to provide HIV and Hepatitis C testing as well as linkage to care services at three events throughout St. Louis. 

The Penelope Shackelford Professorship in Pediatric Infectious Disease, established through the estate of Kevyn Schroeder, will enhance the Department of Pediatrics’ ability to recruit and retain exceptional faculty members. In addition, payout from the endowment will provide ongoing funding to support recipients’ clinical and research programs — and their efforts to improve infant and child health.

A small but mighty team of WashU Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) staff were in New Orleans recently sharing how the CAPS English Language Programs (ELP) Empower program is changing lives for new Americans – immigrants and refugees – in St. Louis. The Empower program was recognized earlier in September by the World Trade Center St. Louis as part of the annual Growing Global celebration where it was revealed that St. Louis leads the nation in foreign-born population growth with a 23.2% year-over-year increase from 2022-2023.