Plus, Alumni Physicians on the Frontlines, Students Stepping Up and More
May 2020
đCongratulations CCAS Class of 2020!đ
The CCAS community celebrated the Class of 2020 during four livestreamed ceremonies showcasing graduates of the CCAS doctoral, master's and undergraduate programs. Among the featured speakers was President and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Daniel Weiss, BA â79, who challenged graduates to embrace this âunprecedentedâ moment. âWhen the world is disrupted, there are opportunities to learn...chances to do things better.â CCAS Dean Paul Wahlbeck congratulated graduates for their âresilience in the face of difficultyâ and encouraged them to resist the temptation to look inward. To view the four ceremonies, as well as videos featuring student reflections and congratulatory wishes from alumni, visit the CCAS Celebration webpage.
As the coronavirus turned New York hospitals into crisis zones, Doctors Luke Fey, BS â13, and Alexandra Cummings, BS â14âformer Columbian College biology studentsâput themselves in harmâs way to confront a global medical emergency.
A joint investigation by Columbian Collegeâs Institute of Data, Democracy and Politics (IDDP) and BuzzFeed journalist Craig Silverman (above), IDDPâs inaugural Knight Fellow, uncovered a billion-email sales campaign for overpriced facemasks.
When nonfiction writer Mark Olshaker, BA â72, co-authored a 2017 book about killer germs with an infectious disease expert, they warned about being ill-prepared for a pandemic. Now, the COVID crisis is proving all their predictions true.
Online communities that distrust establishment health guidance are more effective than government health agencies at reaching and engaging audiences, according to a Nature journal study led by Physicsâ Neil Johnson.Â
How has the COVID crisis changed the world for students and their families? First-year students in Assistant Professor of Writing Christy J. Zinkâs seminar shared their journal reflections on confronting new fears and finding new inspirations.
Meet two Columbian College students who are making a difference in their communities through mask-making and volunteer work at a foodbank. âEveryone is trying to find a way to do anything to help out,â said senior Leisha Mahajan.
FLARE, an electric shuttle service co-founded by alumnus Chris Yeazel, BA â06, MPA â14, collects donations for Virginia food assistance centers. The former history majorâs service transports more than 800 pounds of donated food on every run.
A team of innovators led by CCAS students won first place in the tech venture track of the 12th annual GW New Venture Competition. They are developing a method to mass-produce a red blood cell product to improve the supply chain.
Noteworthy
Alison Brooks (Anthropology) was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, joining the countryâs leading researchers in one of the highest professional honors among scientists.
Emily Green, BA â06, (Political Communication) won a Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting for the This American Life episode âThe Out Crowd.â
Sarah Wagner (Anthropology) received a $97,509 grant from the National Science Foundation to study funerary practices, pandemic confinement and the implications for COVID-19 transmission.
