Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington University in St. Louis has relied on its own people power and experts to help guide the community through one of the most difficult times imaginable. The institution continues to lean on them as we move forward — together — to advance our shared commitment to research, teaching and learning.
It’s in this spirit that a new initiative is rolling out. Bright Ideas seeks to tap into WashU’s people power, to obtain input from the entire community on ways we can streamline, shift and adapt to benefit the university in lasting, sustainable ways — now and beyond the current challenge.
“Washington University in St. Louis is a community of innovators, thinkers, planners and doers,” said Henry S. Webber, executive vice chancellor for civic affairs and strategic planning. “Faculty, students and staff all have unique insights and ideas to share that can help improve our campus and community. Bright Ideas will tap into those insights and focus on actionable ways so we can make sustainable changes that will benefit the university now and moving forward.”
Bright Ideas will solicit ideas to:
- Improve and streamline operations;
- Save costs; and
- Generate new revenue.
Participation is encouraged from the entire campus community; each and every idea will be considered for future implementation.
“We all made large sacrifices to shore up the university through this difficult period, and we are extremely grateful for everyone’s efforts,” said Beverly R. Wendland, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. “While we deeply appreciate what it took to get to this point, we also realize it’s an opportune time to think about a robust positioning for the university that lasts well into the future. Our faculty, staff and students might see things in their day-to-day experience that could be tweaked or improved that are not necessarily evident to all of us. We look forward to reviewing their creative solutions.”
Starting today, those ideas can be submitted using a simple online survey, and employees may give ideas anonymously if they are more comfortable doing so. For more information about Bright Ideas and how you can contribute, visit the Bright Ideas website.
