At its Oct. 5-6 meeting, the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees heard an update on the university’s endowment, welcomed new trustees and heard a presentation by Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton on the university’s Plan for Excellence.
In a special presentation, Wrighton highlighted the goals achieved so far through the Plan for Excellence, the university’s long-range, strategic planning process that began in 2006 when deans, directors of various centers and initiatives, and heads of the university’s central fiscal units developed strategic plans for the decade from 2010 to 2020.
Wrighton said that the overarching goal of the Plan for Excellence is “to enhance our leadership today to benefit America and the world tomorrow.”
The trustees also heard from Eric Upin, interim chief investment officer (CIO) and a university trustee, who updated the board on the fiscal year 2017 endowment performance and noted the appointment of Scott L. Wilson as the next CIO at Washington University Investment Management Company.
For the fiscal year that ended June 30, Upin shared that the Washington University endowment pool generated an 11.3 percent return, increasing the endowment pool to roughly $8 billion.
Wilson, who will join the university Nov. 27, oversees Grinnell College’s nearly $2 billion endowment. Upin said that Grinnell’s endowment generated a nearly 19 percent return during fiscal year 2017, one of the highest-returning portfolios during that period.
The board also received a report from Wrighton that included updates on admissions, athletics and construction.
Wrighton reported new policies that the Office of Undergraduate Admissions recently implemented to show its commitment to access, including one that waives the $75 application fee for families whose income is $75,000 or less. This policy aligns with the university’s current no-loan policy for students with family incomes of $75,000 or less.
He also noted that Admissions has been in touch with many prospective students and their high schools from the areas impacted by hurricanes and earthquakes and is allowing flexibility in the application process for these applicants.
In his update on the numerous construction projects, he noted the progress made during the university’s most ambitious summer construction schedule. Among the highlights is the “striking” transformation of the east end of the Danforth Campus and continued progress on the Olin Library renovation.
Among the School of Medicine construction projects he highlighted is one in north St. Louis County. The medical school is creating a hemodialysis center that will provide in-center and home modalities dialysis to serve patients in north St. Louis County with end-stage renal disease.
Wrighton noted that the Department of Athletics is off to a great start, with six teams ranked in the top 20 in NCAA Division III, including the defending national champion women’s soccer team, ranked second with a 10-0-1 record. He said Lizzy Crist, a 2017 alumna who helped lead the women’s soccer team to its national championship last fall, is a Top 9 finalist for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The winner will be announced at an awards dinner Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.
In addition to the chancellor, student representatives to the board, Megan G. Wolf, a senior majoring in mathematics with minors in economics and in psychological and brain sciences, all in Arts & Sciences; and Catherine Hoyt Drazen, a PhD student in rehabilitation and participation science, presented to the board.
In addition, the trustees heard reports from the following standing committees: audit, educational policy, global engagement, university finance and Alumni Board of Governors, and they received a written report from the medical finance committee.
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