At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting Thursday and Friday, March 3 and 4, the trustees heard presentations from School of Medicine faculty and received a report from Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton that included updates on administrative appointments, admissions, athletics, construction and diversity efforts.
On Thursday afternoon, six medical school faculty members gave talks on topics that included controlling immune activation, tuberculosis, responding to the Zika virus threat, and the role of microbial and viral genes in human health and disease.
During Friday’s business meeting, Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, the Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor and director of the Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, gave a presentation on “The Gut Microbiome and Childhood Undernutrition: Looking at Human Development from a Microbial Perspective.”
In his remarks to the trustees, Wrighton noted the recent appointments of three key university positions: Mary McKernan McKay, director of the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work, as dean of the Brown School, effective July 1; Dedric Carter, associate provost and associate vice chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship, as vice chancellor for operations and technology transfer, effective July 1; and Justin X. Carroll, associate vice chancellor for students and dean of students, as interim director of athletics from March 1 through June 30, 2017.
Carroll succeeds Josh Whitman, who was named athletic director at his alma mater, the University of Illinois. Washington University will conduct a national search for an athletics director in 2017.
Wrighton reported that the Admissions Office has received more than 29,000 applications for the upcoming first-year class. Decision notices will be released soon.
Diversity efforts
Wrighton noted the positive response to last month’s Day of Discovery & Dialogue, the second annual universitywide gathering that explored Washington University’s ongoing efforts to become a more diverse and inclusive community.
Held Feb. 24-25 on the Medical and Danforth campuses, the Day of Discovery & Dialogue 2016: A Focus on Inclusion continued conversations that began last February and were inspired by events in the St. Louis region in 2014.
The chancellor also shared with the trustees the university’s progress toward increasing diversity among faculty, staff and students. Among the highlights he noted were increasing matriculation of Pell grant-eligible undergraduate students from 5 percent three years ago to greater than 11 percent this year and launching a pilot course, “Identity Literacy,” for first-year students that deepens their awareness of the difference identity can make in how people interact with each other.
Athletics highlights
In reporting on athletics, Wrighton noted the Feb. 12 dedication ceremony naming the Field House playing court for Mark Edwards and Nancy Fahey in recognition of their 35th and 30th anniversaries as the men’s and women’s basketball coaches, respectively.
Fahey’s No. 9-ranked basketball team was selected to host the 2016 NCAA Division III Championship first and second rounds Friday-Saturday, March 4 and 5, in the Field House.
Wrighton noted that the men’s and women’s track & field teams both finished first at the 2016 UAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. It was the fifth time in school history the Bears have swept the team titles at the UAA Indoor Championships.
The men’s basketball team won its final five games of the season to finish with a 15-10 overall record, and the men’s and women’s tennis teams both competed at the ITA Indoor National Championship in February, with the women placing fifth and the men seventh.
The men’s and women’s swimming teams had 19 student-athletes qualify to compete March 16-19 at the 2016 NCAA Division III Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in North Carolina.
‘Dining with Decision-Makers’
Wrighton was pleased to note the success of a recent event Lori White, vice chancellor for student affairs, organized that brought together a dozen undergraduate students, several trustees, the chancellor and White for substantive discussions and a unique opportunity to interact with each other over dinner.
Called “Dining with Decision-Makers,” the Feb. 11 event at Harbison House included a discussion in which the students were asked five questions: Why did you choose Washington University; what can we do to retain more Washington University graduates in St. Louis; what can we do to improve the Washington University experience; who are your favorite professors; and what do you like best about Washington University?
Construction updates
Wrighton gave updates on a number of university construction projects. On the Danforth Campus, he noted that substantial completion of the Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center is approximately 14 weeks away. The facility will open in August, and a building dedication will be held in October.
With plans underway for the Olin Library Main Street and Tower, work will begin in May after Commencement. Jolley Hall renovations will be completed by mid-May, and Bryan Hall renovation plans are underway.
Planning continues for the multiple projects that comprise the east end master plan, including the Hub Pavilion, Jubel Hall, Weil Hall, a Kemper Museum addition, a welcome center and an underground parking facility, all set to begin construction after the May 2017 Commencement.
On the Medical Campus, construction continues on the Mid Campus Center administrative office building to be used jointly by BJC and the School of Medicine. The building at 4500 Parkview is being demolished to provide a staging area during construction and then green space after the Mid Campus Center is completed.
He noted that the Central West End MetroLink station’s appearance is being enhanced and infrastructure updates are underway in 4511 Forest Park Parkway and the Clinical Sciences Research Building.
In his remarks to the board, Wrighton also noted recent and upcoming professorship installations and numerous research awards, including $60 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the School of Medicine’s McDonnell Genome Institute to study the genetics of common diseases and $13.7 million from the National Cancer Institute to School of Medicine researchers to create new therapies for multiple myeloma.
The chancellor acknowledged the recent deaths of six members of the Washington University community: Richard W. Davis, professor emeritus of history in Arts & Sciences, who died Dec. 25, 2015, at age 80; Edward T. (Tad) Foote II, dean of the Washington University School of Law from 1973-1980, who died Feb. 15 at age 78; Daniel J. Leopold, research associate professor of physics in Arts & Sciences, who died Dec. 10, 2015, at age 61; Jason S. Goldfeder, MD, a revered teacher in the Division of Medical Education of the Department of Medicine at the School of Medicine, who died Dec. 9, 2015, at age 45; Charles L. Roper, MD, a groundbreaking cardiothoracic surgeon and a professor emeritus of surgery, who died Dec. 17, 2015, at age 90; and Herbert (Herb) Weitman, who served as the university’s director of photographic services for more than four decades, who died Jan. 12 at age 89.
The trustees observed a moment of silence and passed memorial resolutions in memory of Wilfred R. Konneker, PhD ’50, a trustee emeritus since 1997, who died Jan. 7 at age 93, and Donald E. Lasater, who served on the board from 1973-1997 and as an emeritus trustee from 1997-2010, who died Feb. 5 at age 90.
Student representatives to the board provided comments. Presenting were Shyam K. Akula, a senior majoring in biology in Arts & Sciences, and Ashley M. Macrander, a PhD candidate in the Department of Education in Arts & Sciences.
In addition, the trustees, under Chair Craig D. Schnuck, chairman emeritus of Schnuck Markets Inc., heard reports from the following committees: development, educational policy, global engagement, medical finance and university finance; and received written reports from the audit and Alumni Board of Governors committees.
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