On Monday, 30 members of the new class of St. Louis Fellows gathered at Stix House for a social to welcome them to the Gephardt Institute. While others are abroad or were otherwise obligated, all 45 new Fellows will be in St. Louis this summer to effect positive change.

After a record number of applications, a packed week of back-to-back interviews, and a rigorous selection process, the Gephardt Institute announces its largest class of St. Louis Fellows in the program’s nearly 20-year history.  

“WashU is in St. Louis and for St. Louis,” said Executive Director Stephanie Kurtzman. “The St. Louis Fellows Program offers a transformative pathway for students to contribute to the progress and vitality of the St. Louis region, and prepare for a lifetime of civic leadership wherever they live and work in the future.

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Engage St. Louis

Engage Democracy

Lead Change

The Gephardt Institute hosted its third annual Civic Action Week last week, Feb. 17-23, to highlight civic and community engagement opportunities and issues across campus through events largely proposed and hosted by WashU student groups, schools and departments. The first two years of Civic Action Week saw 12 and 16 events, respectively. But in 2025, nearly 30 of the Gephardt Institute's campus partners proposed programming that connected their work to civic engagement. 

Shown, events and topics included (clockwise from top left) direct democracy opportunities like citizen initiatives; promoting advocacy through screenprinting and apparel; a discussion about how interwoven LGBTQ+ communities can take action; a screening of the immigration documentary "Borderlands: The Line Within" and a panel with its producers; a panel on ageism and end-of-life care issues; a one-mile run to encourage students to practice mindfulness as they take civic action; a School of Law panel on executive orders and presidential power; and a "Welcome Hour STL" event to connect WashU students with locally resettled refugees. 

To see the full lineup of 2025 Civic Action Week events and descriptions, visit our blog. 

January 13, 2025 marked the one-year anniversary of the passing of Jane Gephardt, Congressman Dick Gephardt’s wife of 57 years. Jane played a key role in the establishment of the Gephardt Institute. To honor Jane, we have a goal of establishing the Jane Gephardt Memorial Fellow at the Institute. The St. Louis Fellows Program actively engages students with the challenges and aspirations of the St. Louis community and prepares WashU students to become lifelong civic leaders. A generous donor will match the first $100,000 in gifts. Please consider a meaningful gift to fund this effort. Please give here. 

New this year, the St. Louis Fellows Program will offer a specific opportunity to help address gun violence in the region. 

The forthcoming Arnold Family Fellow — created through a vision and gift from Jane Arnold JD ’93 and her children — is part of the new class of St. Louis Fellows and will be granted to a student who applied for the program with an expressed interest in addressing gun violence.  

“We are conscious of the fact that we are very fortunate to not feel threatened by guns, by police, by absence of opportunity,” Arnold said. “You can't have that conversation as a family without thinking about the absence of 

privilege suffered by others.” 

The expansion demonstrates both the trust that the Gephardt Institute has earned from community partners and supporters of the St. Louis Fellows Program, and that students are arriving at WashU already driven to impact societal issues. 

“These two factors have fostered our drive to increase the number of Fellows in the program and dive deep into some of our society's most challenging issues,” said Sam Babb, Associate Director for Community Engagement at the Gephardt Institute. 

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2024 St. Louis Fellow Mia Phutrakul ‘25 is among the students who applied for and received a Partnership Extension Grant from the St. Louis Impact Fund, to continue the work that she began last summer at EarthDance Organic Farm School.

The Gephardt Institute awarded $11,100, through the St. Louis Impact Fund, to nine St. Louis Fellows and Civic Scholars to support their goals to make deeper impacts in the community-engaged work they began last summer. 

These Partnership Extension Grants help students extend their time with the organizations they partnered with during the summer to continue making tangible change in the region. 

“For Gephardt, we see this as a ‘win-win’ because St. Louis Fellows and Civic Scholars receive funding for their continued working hours, while our community partners receive continued increased capacity to advance their mission-critical work in the St. Louis region,” said Sarah Nash, Community Engagement Manager at the Gephardt Institute.

Continue reading this story on our blog.

Kate Kirchdorfer '26 signs an oversized check for a local nonprofit organization last April, at the conclusion of her Spring 2024 Philanthropy Lab course after accepting proposals and vetting the organizations. Kirchdorfer became an Ambassador to The Philanthropy Lab national organization, and has continued successfully championing more funding for St. Louis nonprofits.

In 2024, The Philanthropy Lab national organization granted $62,500 to nonprofits in the St. Louis region through their Ambassador Board. These organizations were championed not only by WashU students, but even a student from Stanford University.  

Offered in partnership with the Gephardt Institute, Philanthropy Lab is a sociology course designed to give students a theoretical and practical understanding of philanthropy. 

The course seeks to spark and expand students’ interest and participation in philanthropy by delving into its sociological and historical roots and its role in addressing social issues. 

The course is guided and funded by The Philanthropy Lab national organization, which also supports similar courses at universities across the country.

Continue reading this story on our blog.

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Upcoming Elections in the St. Louis Region:

Missouri No Excuse, In Person Absentee Voting (Early Voting):

Two weeks before each Missouri election, voters may cast their ballot at a variety of locations in their voting jurisdiction. St. Louis City voters may find locations here; St. Louis County voters may find locations here. 

Elections in Other Counties and States:

If you vote outside of St. Louis, you may have upcoming elections. Click here to see what elections are scheduled in your home state. 

Find more voting resources at vote.washu.edu

Civic Action Week
Photos by Brandon Juarez-Ramos '28

Arnold Family Fellowship
Marley Wiemers '25

Partnership Extension Grants
By Marley Wiemers '25

Philanthropy Lab Grants
By Marley Wiemers '25

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