Think back to your time at Washington University. Did it change you? Did it change what you thought possible for your life — the path you took, the work you chose, the person you became?
It changed me. I came here for my doctorate, and it’s here I had my first academic leadership role. The path to my chancellorship took several satisfying turns, but my return to WashU was a homecoming that has resulted in the most meaningful work of my life.
I know that for Distinguished Trustee Andy Bursky, AB ’78, BS ’78, MS ’78, and Jane Bursky, AB ’78, the answer to the question I posed to you is a definitive yes. WashU is where their story began — not just their professional stories, but their life story together. They met here as students, their daughter was educated here, and for five decades, this university has been part of the fabric of their lives.
“Jane and Andy’s relationship with WashU has always been profoundly forward-looking. … The Burskys’ contributions to WashU have always been about faith in what can be.”
Chancellor Andrew D. Martin
Jane and Andy’s relationship with WashU has always been profoundly forward-looking. Many people seek to give back to their alma mater in gratitude for the ways it changed them, and to say thank you for what was. The Burskys’ contributions to WashU have always been about faith in what can be.
After many years of support for scholarships and innovative health initiatives at WashU, this spring the Bursky family made a landmark commitment of $200 million through our With You campaign — the largest gift to WashU in our history — to accelerate the work of our new School of Public Health, now named the Andrew M. and Jane M. Bursky School of Public Health. Not only is their investment a jaw-dropping act of generosity; it is a profound vote of confidence in what WashU can do.
The Bursky School of Public Health is the first such school to be established since the COVID-19 pandemic revealed how fragile our established public health systems could be. The Bursky family’s gift provides the means to build a school specifically designed for the challenges we face right now. Jane and Andy knew they wanted to help WashU change the world, and they recognized that the moment provided an opportunity to maximize their impact.
Is it important to give back to the people, places and institutions that change us? I believe it’s an essential component to building a life of meaning, whether our contributions are large or small, or even financial at all. And I believe we can do this best when we shift our orientation. Instead of thinking about what we owe, let’s think about what we hope to build.
The same visionary spirit that inspired the Bursky family’s gift is what motivates so many of WashU’s supporters, whether they contribute to a scholarship, offer a summer internship, sit on a national council or simply answer the call on WashU Giving Day. Whatever your connection to this university, I invite you to imagine what change you’d like to see in the world, and what giving forward might mean to you.
