News

Cultivate is the first funding initiative of the school’s Food and Agriculture Research Mission (FARM), which invests in practical, scalable solutions that connect agriculture, nutrition and public health to build healthier, more resilient communities. The initiative invests in projects with near-term potential to change practice and policy. Track 1 awards up to $40,000 for one year to help early-career investigators test promising ideas. Track 2 provides up to $250,000 over two to three years for established interdisciplinary teams advancing pilot studies that can scale.

After nearly two decades in pharmaceutical sales, Coach Melody McClellan, a member of the Confluence Collaborative’s Community Collaborative, pivoted to a career as an entrepreneur and now Wellness Expert/Strategist. McClellan founded Unwrap You, a wellness consulting practice that offers corporate programs, motivational speaking, youth programming, and a 90-day course. We spoke with McClellan about her […]

A Q&A with Aja La’Starr Owens about her journey as an author, the importance of diverse representation in children’s literature, and her mission to help families develop a love for literacy together. 

The first annual convening of WashU Public Health’s Solutions through Planetary Health Research (SPHERE) network explored how infectious disease risk is changing as the environment changes, and why coordinated, multisectoral collaborations are essential to respond effectively.

A Q&A with the Missouri Department of Conservation about their work in St. Louis; the transformative impact of their educational programs; and research questions they hope to explore with WashU scholars. 

The Confluence Collaborative for Community Engagement successfully convened its first research symposium, “Bridging Research and Community: A Symposium on Community-Engaged Research,” on October 15, 2025, at the Delmar DivINe.

The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis has announced the launch of Design Openings. Created in collaboration with the Kranzberg Arts Center and the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, this multiyear initiative invites interdisciplinary St. Louis design teams to animate public life in the Covenant Blu Grand Center neighborhood […]

College Bound is an organization that empowers students in St. Louis facing systemic barriers to achieve transformative lives of higher education and economic possibility through an individualized, holistic, and multi-year investment.   The Confluence Collaborative spoke with Milton Mitchell Jr., College Bound’s Chief Executive Officer, and Kaleigh Lawrence, College Bound’s Chief Philanthropy Officer, about the […]

The Confluence Collaborative sat down with Froggi VanRiper, Co-Director of WashU’s Sustainability Exchange, to discuss the approach of the Exchange, the value of interdisciplinary work, and how WashU can support community-engaged courses.  Faculty and staff from the Sam Fox School, College of Arts & Sciences, and McKelvey School of Engineering launched the Sustainability Exchange in […]

A cross-disciplinary team of WashU researchers has received a five-year $3.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to expand its work studying the human health effects of flooding in communities in the Mississippi Delta and the St. Louis Metro East region of Illinois.

The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis is partnering with Food Outreach, a St. Louis-based nonprofit, on a two-year pilot project exploring how best to support the nutritional needs of cancer patients as they transition off their medically tailored meal program.

Meridith Perkins is the Executive Director of Forest ReLeaf, an organization whose mission is to enrich communities by growing and planting trees through the power of people and partnerships.   This conversation with Meridith focuses on Forest ReLeaf’s tornado response efforts, how the organization partners with community members, and what questions Forest ReLeaf is exploring as […]