University News

Contact:
Barbara Rea - (314) 935-5297
barbara_rea@aismail.wustl.edu
Event commemorating national
tragedy opens fall 2002 Assembly
Series

[St. Louis, MO., 8-21-02] - Revised 9-11-02

A
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
who directed his paper's coverage
of September 11, and a "Ground
Zero" volunteer will share the
podium during a special Washington
University Assembly Series event
marking the one-year anniversary
of the terrorist attack on the
United States.
The event, which is the first
lecture of the Assembly Series'
fall 2002 season, will be held
at 11 a.m. Sept. 11 in Graham
Chapel.
The
Assembly Series program dedicated
to the anniversary of 9/11 is
the first of two events planned
by Washington University that
day. An evening program, set
for the Quad at 7 p.m., will
offer another opportunity for
reflection and remembrance.
The evening program will offer
brief remarks from members of
the Washington University community,
a choral and dance performance,
and a candlelight vigil.
In
addition, Washington University
will host a blood drive from
5 -- 10 p.m. in Friedman Lounge,
Wohl Center.
All
Assembly Series programs are
also free and open to the public
and held primarily in Graham
Chapel. The chapel is located
just north of Mallinckrodt Center
(6445 Forsyth Blvd.) on the
Washington University campus.
For Assembly Series information,
visit the Web page http://www.wupa.wustl.edu/assembly.
As
national editor for the Boston
Globe, Kenneth J. Cooper
is responsible for the paper's
domestic news coverage, and
it is from this vantage point
that he will share the challenges
inherent in covering the unprecedented
disaster as it unfolded. Sarah
M. Kaufman, a recent Washington
University graduate who now
lives and works in New York
City, will discuss her experience
as a volunteer near "Ground
Zero."
For
most of Cooper's 25 years in
journalism, he has focused on
government, politics and social
issues. A Washington University
graduate, his first job was
with the St. Louis American,
then the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
He left St. Louis in 1980 to
join the Boston Globe
as a reporter covering general
assignments, the Boston schools
and the Massachusetts State
House. It was at the Globe,
at the age of 28, that Cooper
received a Pulitzer Prize for
his contribution to a 13-part
series called "The Race Factor."
The expose examined institutional
racism in Boston, focusing on
affirmative action at private
colleges in the Boston area
and comparing race relations
in the New England city to those
in Philadelphia and Miami.
 |
Kenneth J. Cooper speaking at Graham Chapel on 9-11. |
In
1986, Cooper became the first
African-American national correspondent
of the Knight-Ridder newspaper
group, covering major political
stories including the 1988 presidential
campaign of Michael S. Dukakis.
From there he went to the i,
covering national education
issues, as well as Congress.
From 1996 to 1999, Cooper served
as the Post's South Asia
bureau chief, where he covered
eight developing nations. In
addition, Cooper has penned
a Washington column as well
as feature stories for the now-defunct
Emerge magazine, and
for Essence, Black
Issues in Higher Education,
St. Louis Journalism Review,
ThinkIndia.com and the Washington
University Magazine.
Before graduating from Washington
University in 1977, where he
received a degree in English,
Cooper was active in campus
activities, serving in student
government and the Association
of Black Students, and being
the news editor of Student
Life, the campus newspaper.
Cooper
remains an active alumnus and
is a member of the board that
publishes and advises Student
Life. In 1989, Cooper received
the University's Distinguished
Alumni Award. Active in professional
organizations, he belongs to
the National Association of
Black Journalists, and for several
years he directed a minority
journalism workshop for high
school students.
 |
Washington University graduate Sarah Kaufman speaks at Graham
Chapel on 9-11. |
Sarah
M. Kaufman graduated from Washington
University in 2001, where she
studied science writing with
a focus on computer science.
Throughout her tenure, she was
active in a number of student
organizations. She wrote for
Student Life, served
as an editor for four years,
and helped facilitate the incorporation
of the newspaper. She was a
member of Thurtene, a junior
honorary, serving as vice president
of that organization and helping
organize the student-run Thurtene
Carnival. Furthermore, Kaufman
served as a counselor for new
students and led an "alternative"
spring break program for students
to refurbish homes for low-income
families.
Since
graduating from Washington University,
Kaufman has worked as communications
associate with The New York
Academy of Medicine, a non-profit
medical research institution
dedicated to enhancing the health
of the public in urban areas.
Originally
from New Rochelle, NY, and now
a resident of New York City,
Kaufman was more than 100 blocks
from the twin towers when they
were hit, but volunteered late
nights weekly for several months
afterwards at a refreshment
tent near Ground Zero. She has
also attended recently-held
public meetings to discuss future
plans for the World Trade Center
site.
The
public is welcome to all the
above-mentioned events. For
additional information, call
314-935-4620 or visit the university
Web page (http://www.wustl.edu).
| More pictures from 9/11 |
 |
Kate Ogorzaly from New York, NY signs the book of thoughts at
Graham Chapel.
|
 |
An overflow of students gather outside Graham Chapel to listen to the assembly.
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