The Washington University in St. Louis community came together Nov. 9 at its annual Founders Day celebration to honor the outstanding achievements of some of the university’s most distinguished faculty, alumni and friends. The event was held at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel.
Four faculty were among those recognized at the event, which was established in 1953 to celebrate the institution’s founding 100 years earlier.
Distinguished Faculty Award
The Distinguished Faculty Award recognizes outstanding commitment to the intellectual and personal development of students.
This year’s recipients are Robyn A. LeBoeuf, the Joyce and Chauncy Buchheit Distinguished Professor in Marketing and co-vice dean of faculty and research at Olin Business School; and Robert D. Schreiber, the Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Distinguished Professor in the Department of Pathology & Immunology and director of the Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs at the School of Medicine. He is also co-leader of the Tumor Immunology Program at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine.
Faculty Achievement Awards
Also recognized were recipients of the annual Faculty Achievement Awards, known as the Arthur Holly Compton Faculty Achievement Award and the Carl and Gerty Cori Faculty Achievement Award.
The Compton Award is given to a distinguished member of the faculty from one of the seven Danforth Campus schools and the Cori Award to a faculty member from WashU Medicine. All full-time, active WashU faculty members are eligible to receive the Faculty Achievement Award.
The recipient of the Arthur Holly Compton Faculty Achievement Award is Fred M. Ssewamala, MSW ’99, PhD ’03, the William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor and
founding director of the International Center for Child Health and Development at the Brown School and the Global Research Network faculty fellow in the Office of the Provost.
The recipient of the Carl and Gerty Cori Faculty Achievement Award is Christina A. Gurnett, MD, PhD, the A. Ernest and Jane G. Stein Professor of Developmental Neurology and director of the Division of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology at WashU Medicine and chief of neurology at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Distinguished Alumni Awards
The Distinguished Alumni Awards recognize outstanding professional achievement, public service, exceptional service to Washington University or all three.
Recipients this year are:
- Charles M. Baum, MD ’87, PhD ’87, chief executive officer, Terremoto Biosciences;
- Jennifer A. Behr, BFA ’96, founder and creative director, Jennifer Behr LLC;
- Russell S. Schwartz, AB ’77, senior vice president and head, original programing business affairs, Starz;
- Bill Siedhoff, BS ’68, MSW ’73, director of the Department of Human Services (retired),St. Louis; founder and administrator, William F. Siedhoff Foundation;
- Kelli P. Washington, BSBA ’94, chief investment officer, The California Endowment; and
- Leung Tung Peter Young, BS ’80, chief executive officer, Chemcentral Group; director of sales marketing, Scapa Scandia Taiwan Ltd.; and chief executive officer, Ming Yuan Chemicals Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
Robert S. Brookings Award
Presented by the Board of Trustees, the Robert S. Brookings Award honors individuals for their extraordinary dedication and generosity to Washington University.
This year’s honorees are Jeffrey T. Fort, retired co-owner and co-founder of Motive Creative, a Los Angeles-based digital production facility, whose transformative support of WashU Medicine has advanced research in neuroscience and the visual sciences in life-changing ways, and Diana and Roy Vagelos, pioneers of scientific discovery, innovation and service-oriented leadership who have been instrumental in strengthening life science research and interdisciplinary education at WashU.
To see a recording of the event or for bios of the honorees, visit the Founders Day website.
