At its spring meeting May 3, the Board of Trustees of Washington University in St. Louis elected two new members, re-elected six members and elected officers, among other actions, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton.
The two new trustees are:
• Rakesh Sachdev, president and chief executive officer, Sigma Aldrich.
• Diane M. Sullivan, president and chief executive officer, Brown Shoe Co.
Four trustees were re-elected for a second four-year term. They are:
• George W. Couch III, president, Couch Distributing
• David V. Habif Jr., retired director, Teaneck Radiology Center
• W. Patrick McGinnis, president and CEO, Nestlé Purina PetCare Co.
• Mary Ann Van Lokeren, retired chairman and CEO, Krey Distributing Co.
Two former regular-term trustees also were elected. They are:
• Jerald L. Kent, president and CEO of Cequel III LLC
• Lawrence E. Thomas, partner, Edward Jones
In addition, the board elected its officers for 2013-14:
• Stephen F. Brauer, chair
• Craig D. Schnuck, vice chair and chair-elect
• David W. Kemper, vice chair
• John F. McDonnell, vice chair
Wrighton gave an update on construction projects on both the Danforth and Medical campuses. On the Danforth Campus, the Bauer Hall and Knight Hall additions to the Knight Executive Education Center are on schedule.
Work on the Delmar Loop Student Living Initiative continues, with demolition of the site complete and shoring under way. Whittemore House recently opened again for business after being closed for renovations since January. The renovation and additions to McMillan Hall are progressing swiftly, and renovations to the fifth floor of Monsanto Hall are nearly complete.
On the Medical Campus, move-in is nearly complete for the Orthopaedic Surgery Department, which is moving from the West Pavilion and Queeny Tower to the fifth floor of the BJC Institute for Health. Offices for the Department of Internal Medicine are being developed in the Wohl Clinic. Work is nearing completion on the fourth floor of the Biotechnology Center to relocate and consolidate chemist researchers in the Division of Radiological Sciences.
Finally, a new access ramp from I-64 at Tower Grove Avenue is under construction under the direction of the Missouri Department of Transportation. The project is expected to take about 18 months.
Wrighton made special note of the fact that Newark Mayor Cory Booker has been selected to give this year’s Commencement address May 17. Booker also will receive an honorary degree at the university’s 152nd Commencement exercises, as will five other individuals:
• Marilyn Fox, civic leader, philanthropist and community volunteer;
• Martin L. Mathews, president, CEO and co-founder of Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club;
• Peter Rosen (MD ’60), one of the international leaders in the field of emergency medicine and one of the pioneers and founding fathers of the specialty;
• Juhani Pallasmaa, a leading international figure in contemporary architecture, design and art culture and one of Finland’s most prolific and influential architects, educators and critics; and
• Howard Wood (BSBA ’61), co-founder of two of the nation’s most successful telecommunications companies.
During the ceremony, WUSTL also will bestow academic degrees on approximately 2,800 members of the Class of 2013.
Chancellor Wrighton reported on the success of the sixth annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), which was held on campus Friday through Sunday, April 5-7, bringing more than 1,200 students from 75 countries and all 50 states to exchange ideas and solutions to effect real change to pressing global issues. CGI U gave the participants — 200 of whom were WUSTL students — a much-needed boost, Wrighton said.
Wrighton reported that Richard H. Gelberman, MD, a world-renowned expert in hand and wrist microsurgery, and James V. Wertsch, PhD, founding director of one of the most successful and innovative global scholarship programs in the world, will receive the university’s 2013 faculty achievement awards.
Gelberman, the Fred C. Reynolds Professor and head of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, will receive the Carl and Gerty Cori Faculty Achievement Award. Wertsch, vice chancellor for international affairs, director of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy and the Marshall S. Snow Professor in Arts & Sciences, will receive the Arthur Holly Compton Faculty Achievement Award.
They will receive their awards and give presentations of their scholarly work during a ceremony in December.
In other faculty news, Wrighton noted that three members of the faculty have recently been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. They are: Joan Strassman, PhD, professor of biology in Arts & Sciences; Stephen M. Beverley, PhD, the Marvin A. Brennecke Professor in Molecular Microbiology and head of the Department of Molecular Microbiology, in the School of Medicine; and Robert D. Schreiber, PhD, Alumni Endowed Professor of Pathology and Immunology, Professor of Molecular Microbiology and co-leader of the Tumor Immunology Program of the Siteman Cancer Center at the School of Medicine.
Also, Elliot Lawrence Elson, PhD, the Alumni Endowed Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics in the School of Medicine and adjunct professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The chancellor reported that Holden Thorp, PhD, who will become WUSTL’s provost in July, has been named chair of a new National Research Council committee charged with establishing and promoting a culture of safety in academic laboratory research.
Professor Gerald L. Early, PhD, an internationally-renowned essayist and American culture critic, was recognized with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame during an April 11 induction ceremony in front of the Moonrise Hotel in The Loop.
Reporting on student achievements, Chancellor Wrighton noted especially the success of the recent student-organized Relay for Life event. More than 1,600 people participated in the 12-hour, overnight walk April 13 and 14, which raised $220,287 for the American Cancer Society.
On the issue of rankings, Wrighton reported to the trustees on several recent media-generated lists in which WUSTL fared favorably, including BloombergBusinessweek citing the Olin School of Business as one of the top 10 undergraduate business schools for entrepreneurship; CBS Money Report naming WUSTL one of 25 private colleges with the happiest freshmen based on retention rates (96.5 percent); and being named one of the 25 healthiest colleges in the U.S. by Greatist.com.
Wrighton recognized the extraordinary accomplishments of many of the university’s athletic teams, noting especially the No. 14 men’s tennis team, which shocked No. 3 Emory University 5-4 April 28 to win the 2013 UAA Championship. The UAA Championship was the second in school history for Washington University. Washington University gains the league’s automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division III Championship, which will be announced May 6.
The men’s track & field team won its fifth-straight outdoor conference title, while the women’s team finished as the runner-up at the UAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships held April 27-28 in New York. The men won seven individual conference titles, while the women recorded four.
In other actions, the board received reports from the following standing committees: nominating and governance, compensation, development, global engagement, educational policy, honorary degree, medical finance, university finance, audit and the alumni board of governors.
The board received a review of the year from student representatives to the board: Joshua Aiken, a junior in Arts & Sciences from Chandler, Ariz.; Mamatha Challa, a graduating senior in Arts & Sciences from Orland Park, Ill; and the graduate/professional student representatives David Collier, a law student from the Kansas City area; and Michael Lee, a medical student from Berkeley, Calif.; as well as from faculty representative William W. Clark, PhD, Faculty Senate Council chair and professor of otolaryngology.
Wrighton also welcomed new student representatives to the board. They are: Tiffini Hyatt, a junior in Arts & Sciences from Edwardsville, Ill.; Sean Dula, a junior in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts from Nashville, Tenn, who is studying abroad this semester in Florence, Italy; Timothy McHugh, a law student from the Ft. Bragg, N.C., area; and Hugh Bender, a PhD student in developmental biology from Wilmington, Del.
New trustees
Rakesh Sachdev serves as president and chief executive officer of Sigma-Aldrich Corp., a $2.6 billion global life science and high technology company headquartered in St. Louis. He joined the company in 2008 as chief financial officer and chief administrative officer. He took on the additional role of senior vice president-international in 2009. In November 2010, Sachdev was promoted to president and chief executive officer.
Prior to joining the company, he served as senior vice president and president, Asia Pacific at ArvinMeritor Inc., where he also held numerous other leadership positions in finance, strategy and general management since 1999. He previously was with Cummins Inc., where he started in 1981 and left as chief financial officer of the Automotive Business Unit, again serving in various other positions over many years. From 1978 to 1981, he was a research and teaching assistant at the University of Illinois-Urbana Graduate School of Engineering. He was a sales engineer at Larsen & Toubro Ltd. in Delhi, India, from 1977-78.
A native of India, Sachdev earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in the late 1970s. He obtained a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Illinois and completed an MBA at Indiana University.
Sachdev also serves on the board of directors of Regal Beloit Corp., Beloit, Wisc., (NYSE: RBC) and the Saint Louis Zoo Association. He is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, St. Louis Science Center and the Olin Business School National Council at Washington University.
Diane M. Sullivan is president and chief executive officer of Brown Shoe Co., where she oversees the $2.6 billion company and more than 14,000 associates around the globe. Sullivan joined Brown Shoe Co. in 2004 as president and assumed the additional role of COO in 2006. She was elected to the company’s board of directors in 2007. In January 2011, she was named president and chief executive officer, formally moving into the position at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in May 2011.
Sullivan grew up in New England and earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and graduated cum laude from Boston College during the second year the School of Management was open to women. At Boston College, she received the Patrick J. O’Connell Award for Excellence in Marketing. She went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration from Babson College in Wellesley, Mass.
After finishing graduate school, Sullivan’s early years in her career were spent in key marketing and sales positions, including working on the M&M’s and Snickers brands at M&M/Mars. She also worked at The Mennen Company in product development and at H.P. Hood, one of the largest branded dairy operations in the U.S.
Sullivan eventually found her way into fashion footwear, spending a decade at The Stride Rite Corp., starting as president of the Stride Rite brand, and then serving as president and COO of the corporation and as member of the board of directors. She also held the position of group president for Tommy Hilfiger, Stride Rite Children’s and Sperry brands.
In St. Louis, Sullivan previously served on the Board of Directors for Barnes-Jewish Hospital and was chair of the Patient Care, Quality and Safety committee. Currently, she serves on the board of directors of BJC HealthCare in St. Louis. Sullivan is a member of Civic Progress and a member of the Enterprise Holdings Inc. Board of Directors.
In addition, she serves on the boards of the Two Ten Footwear Foundation, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), and the Fashion Footwear Association of New York (FFANY) and on the advisory board of the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
As a guest lecturer, she has presented at St. Louis University, Washington University and Webster University, and also served as executive-in-residence at the University of Missouri. In 2010, the Two Ten Footwear Foundation honored her with the A. A. Bloom Award for outstanding volunteer service.