Help for struggling school comes - literally - from Out of the Blue

The sky-high ceiling of the cavernous West End Community Center provides a fitting metaphor for the collection of 30 children clustered beneath.

The youngsters -- an array of third-, fourth- and fifth-graders from Clark Elementary School taking part in a new after-school literacy program dubbed "Out of the Blue" -- possess, like all children, promise and potential of towering proportions. Helping them stretch their scholastic heights every Friday afternoon are 20 Washington University students.

But the strolling pace taken as the college students walk the Clark children from the elementary school to the community center belies an underlying urgency: Out of the Blue programming is aimed toward increasing literacy for the Clark students, whose test scores must be raised in order for the school to keep its accreditation.

Roars, not scores, were the focus last Friday. Acting out characters from the African folk tale "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears," the Clark students paraded around the center masquerading as jungle animals -- lions proving to be the king in terms of popularity.

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Money managers

Budding institutional money managers at the John M. Olin School of Business are designing, building and managing a currency investment fund this semester, the first non-equity fund to be managed by students in the Investment Praxis course.

They'll begin with $200,000, the first installment of a $1-million commitment to the University from Max "Mickey" S. and Deborah "Debbie" Stern, staunch University supporters in Orchard Lake, Mich., and parents of two daughters -- Michelle, a senior in Arts & Sciences, and Natalie, a high school sophomore.

"This generous commitment allows us to add to the Olin School's strong portfolio of experiential-learning opportunities," Dean Stuart I. Greenbaum said. "The most compelling way to learn is by doing."

"Praxis," the practical application or exercise of a branch of knowledge, is an apt description of the course, because participating students learn and apply money-management skills. The course, which began in 1997, has to this point offered experience only in managing an equity fund, which involves trading company stocks. Now, students may join either the equity-fund or the currency-fund section of the course, depending on their interests, skills and experience.

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Nicholson is first Stiritz Professor

Linda J. Nicholson, Ph.D, has been named the first Susan E. and William P. Stiritz Distinguished Professor in Women's Studies. A formal installation ceremony will take place in the fall.

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Net tool helps win grants

An innovative Internet tool is helping faculty around the world find new funding opportunities, collaborate with researchers in their fields and promote their research.

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