A banker, investor and politician – all graduates of the Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis – will serve as keynote speakers this month at the school’s three different degree ceremonies.
Koster
Missouri Attorney General, Chris Koster (EMBA ’02) will address the Executive MBA graduates in a ceremony May 8 in Simon Hall. Koster was sworn in as the 41st Attorney General of the state of Missouri in January 2009. He campaigned on a platform of prosecuting fraudulent Medicaid providers; cracking down on violations of workers’ rights; aggressively enforcing Missouri’s environmental laws; and supporting law enforcement in fighting the spread of methamphetamines and preventing urban crime. Prior to serving in the Missouri Senate from 2004-2008, he was the Cass County Prosecuting Attorney for ten years. Koster has an undergraduate and law degree from the University of Missouri.
Avram Glazer (BSBA ’82), will deliver the keynote address at the Undergraduate Diploma and Awards Ceremony at 11:30 a.m., May 21 in the Athletic Complex immediately following the all-University Commencement. Glazer serves as co-chairman of the English football club Manchester United. The Glazer family also owns the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After receiving his Olin BSBA, Avram Glazer graduated from the Washington College of Law at American University.
Bob Frick, (EN ‘60, MBA ’62), will deliver the keynote address at the Graduate Diploma and Awards Ceremony on at 3 p.m., May 21, in the Athletic Complex. Following an impressive 23-year career with Bank of America Corporation, Bob now owns a real estate firm and serves as a director of several corporations in the biotechnology, software, and film industries.
Frick
A member of Olin’s National Council, Frick and his wife, Barbara, share a deep passion for education and Olin, which fueled the establishment of the Robert and Barbara Frick Professorship in Business Strategy, currently held by Todd Zenger. An active philanthropist, Frick recently completed an amazing 500-mile, cross-country bike ride, raising nearly $80,000 for Habitat for Humanity.
“We are proud and honored to have such accomplished Olin alumni return as speakers at our commencement ceremonies and to help us celebrate this next impressive class of graduates,” said Mahendra Gupta, dean and the Geraldine J. and Robert L. Virgil professor of accounting and management.
The all-University commencement exercises begin at 8:30 a.m., May 21 in Brookings Quadrangle. WUSTL will bestow more than 2,800 academic degrees on more than 2,700 students. Steven Chu, a Nobel laureate, U.S. Secretary of Energy and a strong advocate for alternative energy sources, will deliver the Commencement address and receive an honorary doctor of science degree.