Supported by the Office of Mission and Identity, Saint Louis University employees recently participated in a Civil Rights immersion trip. The group of nine, led by Patrick Cousins, pastoral formation director in Mission and Identity, took a road trip from SLU’s campus in St. Louis to sites in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia after the spring semester ended.

Saint Louis University provides an institutional framework to support men and women seeking religious vocations. Founded in 1889, SLU’s College of Philosophy and Letters oversees undergraduate and graduate programs oriented by the Jesuit commitment to intelligent service of faith and justice in dialogue with culture. The programs provide the philosophical and intellectual background needed for further studies in theology and ministry for future priests and nuns, as well as engaged laity within the Catholic Church.

Helen De Cruz, Ph.D., the Danforth Chair in the Humanities at Saint Louis University, died Friday, June 20, 2025. She was 46. The Belgian-born philosopher examined why and how humans engage in pursuits that seem remote from the immediate concerns of survival and reproduction, such as theology, mathematics, and science.

The Saint Louis University-Jesuit Worldwide Learning (SLU-JWL) program offers remote bachelor's degrees to international students displaced by conflict, lack of opportunity, and poverty in places such as refugee camps in Kenya and Malawi. One student, Dictor Olame, reflected on his experience as a SLU student in the Kakuma refugee camp in North-Western Kenya.

In the weeks following a devastating tornado that tore through St. Louis on May 16, hundreds of households have turned to a centralized Disaster Assistance Center (DAC) at Chaifetz Arena for assistance.

Anuj Gandhi is a Fulbright Scholar. A year after being chosen as an alternate, Gandhi has been chosen for a Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Award. With the Award, the recent Saint Louis University graduate intends to "investigate how globalization-based acculturation influences Indian young adults' attitudes toward mental health and treatment options."

A stretch of Laclede Avenue that has undergone major development since President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., and First Lady Fran Pestello, Ph.D., arrived at Saint Louis University 11 years ago now has a new name.

The City of St. Louis, in partnership with the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency and Saint Louis University, opened a Disaster Assistance Center (DAC) on Monday, June 9, to serve as a central space for tornado-affected residents to connect with agencies offering guidance, resources, and assistance related to recovery and long-term support. The DAC will take place inside Chaifetz Arena.

Four nursing educators in Saint Louis University's Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing have been honored with a St. Louis Magazine's 2025 Excellence in Nursing Award. This recognition underscores the dedication and leadership of SLU's nurse educators in advancing the profession and shaping the future of health care.

Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., has been named president emeritus, effective July 1, and the Student Government Association has launched a new scholarship in honor of Pestello and his spouse, Fran Pestello, Ph.D.

William S. Sly, M.D., professor emeritus of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, died Saturday, May 31, 2025. He was 92. An alumnus of Saint Louis University, Sly was an internationally known physician and scientist. He is perhaps best known for his work on the disease that now bears his name - Sly syndrome, also called mucopolysaccharidosis type VII (MPS-VII). His research team described the first patient with the disease, and later he helped develop an FDA-approved treatment.

R. Lauren Miller, Ed.D., assistant professor of mathematics and statistics at Saint Louis University, argues that a solid foundation in statistics provides people with numerical literacy and reduces math anxiety. Miller will present “A Case for High School Statistics” at the Curiosity by TEDx St. Louis event on Saturday, May 31, at the Missouri History Museum.

Saint Louis University chef Daniel Brewer, MS, RDN, is hosting a special fundraising event at his home this weekend featuring an innovative taco menu that draws from a variety of global influences. Proceeds will benefit Action St. Louis.

Study participants will be infected with the influenza virus while under the care of a medical team in order to learn more about how healthy people’s immune systems respond to an influenza infection.

In February 2025, the SLU/YouGov Poll asked 900 likely Missouri voters which regional style of American barbecue was their favorite. Kansas City style came out on top, with 41 percent of voters selecting it as their favorite barbecue style, more than double the 17 percent who favored St. Louis style.

Saint Louis University President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., never planned on a career in higher education. During his commencement address Saturday morning in front of a packed crowd at Chaifetz Arena, Pestello said that when he was the one graduating from college 51 years ago, he wanted to be a radio host. Along the way, things changed, and he ended up having a lengthy career in education. As he prepares to step down as SLU's 33rd president at the end of June, he told the Class of 2025 about how his plans changed early and often.

Saint Louis University's Center for Vaccine Development will enroll up to 30 adult volunteers in a clinical trial to study the safety and immune response elicited by a new investigational vaccine for West Nile virus. Currently, there is no approved vaccine or treatment for illness caused by West Nile virus. A previous study of an earlier version of this vaccine showed the vaccine was safe and well-tolerated. Building on these findings, this new study will assess an updated version of the vaccine.

When Cardinal Robert Prevost stepped out onto the balcony in St. Peter’s Square as Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, Saint Louis University doctoral student Fr. Jack Tierney O.S.A. cheered along with the rest of the world’s Catholics. Tierney is a member of the Midwest Augustinians, the same religious Order that produced Pope Leo XIV. Their paths frequently crossed as brother friars.

A team of aviation science students from Saint Louis University's School of Science and Engineering are heading to Oshkosh, Wisconsin this weekend for the 2025 National Intercollegiate Flying Association Competition.

Lawrence Francis Barmann, Ph.D., emeritus professor of American Studies, died April 25, 2025. He was 92.