Dear Colleagues:
As this academic year comes to an end I want to share with you plans the University is initiating shortly after Commencement, and I also want to review with you some of the achievements and milestones of the past academic year.
As always, I am proud to work with such an exceptional group of faculty, staff, and students. All of you are working hard so that we might all enjoy the benefits of our diverse campus community, our academic accomplishments, and the knowledge that we are expanding the intellectual resources of the world. Each and every one of us makes a contribution to the benefit of this community, and we strive to create and maintain an atmosphere in which all of us can be productive contributors to the process of learning, discovery, and service.
The strength of Washington University is built from the work and creative efforts of our faculty and students, and I am proud that we now have more than 20 departments and academic areas that are ranked by external validators in the top ten in the nation. But the continuing improvement of our research and scholarly activities goes beyond academic honors as measured in rankings, prizes, and memberships in national and international academies.
Throughout the past year many of our students have been recipients of scholarly honors and awards that will carry them forward into graduate study and postdoctoral activities. In the last few days, for example, Laura Kleinman was awarded a Truman Scholarship for graduate study toward promising careers in public service and Jessica Friedman was named a Udall Scholar for her commitment to and previous work on the environment. Both are juniors in Arts & Sciences. Outcomes like these are the result of a dedicated community that works toward success for all of its members, and that is why I treasure the opportunity to lead this University and to see us collaborate with one another to make such good things happen.
We continue to grow in strength and quality. While there are 25,000 members in our community — faculty, students, and staff — we put great emphasis on the individual and on the development of each person’s capabilities and contributions to the University as a whole.
It is for all of these reasons that I am pleased that we have decided to especially recognize one long-standing member of the community, his family, and the family foundation. Bill Danforth in particular embodies the very qualities I honor here. The renaming of the Hilltop as the Danforth Campus will serve as a testament to the ability of individuals to affect meaningful and significant change. The Danforth legacy has enabled us to create extraordinary scholarships, facilities, and operating resources to build on our century-and-a-half of momentum and the half-century legacy represented by Bill Danforth as a teacher, scholar, researcher, administrator, and visionary.
Just last week we unveiled a “Benefits Plan for the Future,” which will provide a more flexible and complete benefits program for all of our faculty and staff. We continue to address the nationwide pressures faced by institutions regarding cost containment, while remaining competitive in our compensation, tuition and fees, and our overall benefits package. Specifically, we are addressing retirement savings plans, tuition assistance, the rising costs of health insurance, health savings accounts, and retiree health insurance.
At a time when the news media report challenges to retirement and pension funds, as well as dramatic reductions in health benefits and downsizing, Washington University continues to have a healthy and strong enterprise that must continue to serve all those who work here, from those devoted to support and administrative functions to those who are rewarded for exceptional skills and talents providing life-saving healthcare, cutting-edge technological discoveries, and great teaching and scholarship. Every member of the community can make a positive contribution to enhance our quality and impact, and all should share in the benefits that stem from our collective efforts. That said, we also are pledged to the careful and prudent stewardship of the resources that are provided to us through tuition paid by students and their families, research support from government and foundations, gifts from alumni and friends, and support from clinical services derived from our physicians and partner hospitals. Our wise use of these resources assures our continuing strength as we look to the future and meet the challenges of the era ahead.
The University remains committed to environmental responsibility and to finding ways to conserve energy while providing greater service. Starting this summer we will be providing qualifying faculty, students and staff with all-points Metro passes that will allow them free access to MetroLink and MetroBus on both sides of the river in urban and suburban Illinois and Missouri. Five MetroLink stops will serve our campuses so that everyone from our lower-paid workers to distinguished faculty can now opt for public transportation paid for by the University. We are especially pleased that we are able to make these passes available to employees of our contracted companies — a group of workers to whom we have made commitments to help improve wages and to provide greater access to benefits.
This past year I am proud that we were able to develop a generous entry-level wage that is well above starting average hourly compensation levels in the St. Louis region. We also are working hard to provide access to healthcare for contracted company workers who are such a vital part of the University’s operation. In the coming year we will provide additional significant funds toward continuing the improvement of circumstances for lower-paid workers. To this end we are committed to fair labor practices respecting those who work for the University, as well as those who work for contractors providing services to our community.
As we make progress in serving our community, we are mindful of the challenges presented by improving the University’s infrastructure. I am pleased that we are going to initiate several important construction projects following commencement, including the first stage in our longer-term plans to construct a much-needed University Center. Before we are able to start construction of a University Center in about two years, we must first construct an underground garage for up to 500 cars. Construction on this project will begin after Commencement and will represent a half-year of excavation and removal of materials to make this possible. This will be a temporary challenge, and I ask for our community’s patience in this first step toward constructing the University Center for our students. And as always, there will be continuing smaller projects, such as an extension to The Village parking facility and improvements to heating and cooling delivery systems.
Over the summer we will see the completion of our long-awaited Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum and Earl E. and Myrtle E. Walker Hall at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. We will be announcing dedication plans soon as we anticipate the important contribution these facilities will make not only to arts and design education, but also as a resource for the entire St. Louis region through the University’s exceptional collection of fine art — much of which has not been exhibited because of limited gallery space.
Most importantly, I want to thank each member of this community for the role that you play in making this such a fine place to study, live and work. The accomplishments of the past year and the promise of the next embody the rich tradition of more than 150 years and a future filled with discovery of the unknown, new interpretations of what is known, creative achievements, basic understanding of the human organism and cures for its afflictions. This is why our enterprise is so important and why I personally thank you for your engagement and commitment to the future of Washington University.
Sincerely,
Mark S. Wrighton
Chancellor