Trustees meet, elect new board members and officers

At its spring meeting, held Friday, May 5, the Board of Trustees at Washington University in St. Louis elected five new members, re-elected four members and elected officers, among other actions, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton.

The five new board members elected to four-year terms are:

  • Scott W. Fancher, MS ’84, EMBA ’92, senior vice president of Program Management, Integration & Development Programs, Boeing Co., Seattle;
  • Jon Feltheimer, AB ’72, chief executive officer, Lionsgate, Santa Monica, Calif.;
  • Andrea J. Grant, AB ’71, JD ’74, partner, DLA Piper, Washington;
  • James M. McKelvey Jr., AB ’87, BS ’87, co-founder and general partner, Cultivation Capital, and co-founder and director, Square Inc., San Francisco; and
  • David L. Steward, founder and chairman of the board, World Wide Technology Inc., St. Louis.

Four trustees were re-elected for a second four-year term. They are:

  • Jerald L. Kent, president and CEO of Cequel III LLC;
  • Rakesh Sachdev, CEO, Platform Specialty Products Corp., West Palm Beach, Fla.;
  • Diane M. Sullivan, CEO, president and chairman, Caleres; and
  • Lawrence E. Thomas, partner, Edward Jones.

Three former regular-term trustees also were elected. They are:

  • Corinna Cotsen, owner, Edifice Complex, Santa Monica;
  • Eugene S. Kahn, former CEO, Claire’s Stores, and former chairman and CEO, The May Department Stores Co.; and
  • James V. O’Donnell, president and CEO, Bush O’Donnell & Co.

The board also elected four trustees emeritus. They are:

  • David V. Habif Jr., retired, Naples, Fla.;
  • Robert E. Hernreich, retired professional sports owner, Paris;
  • Andrew E. Newman, chairman, Hackett Security Inc.; and
  • Mary Ann Van Lokeren, retired chairman and CEO, Krey Distributing Co., Boca Grande, Fla.

In addition, the board elected its officers for 2017-18:

  • Craig D. Schnuck, chairman emeritus of St. Louis-based Schnuck Markets Inc., board chair;
  • Stephen F. Brauer, chairman, Hunter Engineering, vice chair; and
  • David W. Kemper, chairman and CEO, Commerce Bancshares Inc., vice chair.

In his report to the trustees, Wrighton noted two recent important administrative appointments: Anthony J. Azama, senior associate athletics director for external operations at Columbia University, as the John M. Schael Director of Athletics, effective July 1; and Stephanie Kurtzman, as the Peter Sortino Director of the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement.

Wrighton reported that the Admissions Office had a busy spring recruitment season including holding highly successful signature events in Los Angeles, Dallas and Greenwich, Conn., where admitted students had the opportunity to interact with faculty, alumni and staff.

He also gave an update on university construction projects. Among the projects, he noted that demolition has begun for converting the old Shriner’s Hospital at the Medical Campus to apartments; upgrades are in the works for the Central West End MetroLink station; and the newly expanded Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital opened May 1.

Wrighton noted that, among other athletic accomplishments this spring, the women’s track and field team captured the title at the 2017 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championship, bringing to 21 the number of overall national championships in school history. The Department of Athletics is ranked No. 1 in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Division III standings, which rate athletics programs from around the country.

In addition to the chancellor’s report, the faculty representative to the board, Rebecca Hollander-Blumoff, chair of the Faculty Senate Council and professor of law, and the outgoing student representatives to the board provided reviews of the year.

Arts & Sciences graduating seniors Rohan Khazanchi, a biology major, and Norah E. Rast, a global health and the environment major, represented undergraduate students on the board.

Alexandra M. Keane, a second-year medical student, and Wei Zhu, a May degree candidate in the School of Law, were the graduate student representatives.

Wrighton also welcomed the new student representatives to the board. They are: juniors Peter G. Dissinger in the Olin Business School, and Megan G. Wolf, in the College of Arts & Sciences; Ramin M. Lalezari, a dual-degree student completing an MD and an MBA; and Kadeem G. Ricketts, third-year JD/MBA student.

In addition, the trustees heard reports from the following standing committees: compensation, development, educational policy, global engagement, honorary degree, medical finance, nominating and governance, university finance and Alumni Board of Governors, and they received a written report from the audit committee.

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