At its winter meeting Dec. 4, the Board of Trustees elected Andrea J. Grant, J.D., a prominent Washington, D.C., attorney, to the Board, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton.
Grant is a partner with DLA Piper in the District of Columbia. She earned two degrees from the University — a bachelor’s degree in 1971 and a juris doctorate in 1974. She has been an active supporter of the University.
In his report to the Board of Trustees, Wrighton said that undergraduate admissions for fall 2010 are proceeding ahead of the record-setting pace set by the class entering in August 2009. He noted that the overall application numbers would not be known until January 2010. He also said that many volunteers have hosted events for prospective students and their families across the nation, making particular note of an event in October hosted by Trustee Louis Hutt and his wife Nellie for the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., region under the auspices of the Black Alumni Council.
On construction updates, Wrighton reported that work on Stephen F. and Camilla T. Brauer Hall for the School of Engineering & Applied Science proceeds ahead of schedule with a move-in completion date expected to be approximately April 5, 2010. He said that the LEED design for the structure is intended to achieve Gold certification for its environmental and energy innovations.
He also reported that construction continues on the South 40 for a new residential house, dining facility and the infrastructure to support it.
On the Medical Campus, the largest building constructed in University history — the BJC Institute of Health at Washington University — is on target for a construction completion of Dec. 11 for the top floors with external work on the plaza, and other floors are intended for completion between March and June 2010. This project also is on track as a LEED Gold-certified project.
Wrighton made special note of the fact that Washington University took a lead role in the decoding of the genome for corn, an accomplishment that will speed efforts to develop better crop varieties in meeting the world’s demands for food, feed and fuel.
He also pointed out that the University, as of Sept. 30, had been awarded more than $80 million in funding from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support research across a broad range of projects, including cancer, renewable energy, Alzheimer’s disease, climate change and diabetes. As of that date, University faculty had received 207 awards with the largest single award of $10 million to the Genome Center to map mutations for 20 different types of cancer.
Wrighton announced three appointments:
• Gerhild S. Williams, Ph.D., the Barbara Schaps Thomas and David M. Thomas Professor in the Humanities, associate vice chancellor, special assistant to the chancellor for academic affairs and professor of German, of comparative literature, and of women, gender and sexuality studies, all in Arts & Sciences, has been named vice provost.
• James V. Wertsch, Ph.D., the Marshall S. Snow Professor in Arts & Sciences, director of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy and director of the International & Area Studies Program in Arts & Sciences, has been named associate vice chancellor for international affairs.
• Priscilla Stone, Ph.D., director of overseas and undergraduate programs in the International & Area Studies Program and adjunct associate professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences, has been named assistant provost for international education.
Wrighton closed his remarks by recognizing the extraordinary accomplishments of the women’s volleyball team, which captured its 10th national NCAA Division III championship Nov. 21. He also noted that the women’s soccer team appearance in the NCAA Division III final four held Dec. 4 and 5 in San Antonio, in which the women finished second. This was the team’s second appearance in the final four.
He also said that DIII News named both the men’s and women’s basketball teams the No. 1 programs for the first decade of the new millennium, with head coaches Mark Edwards and Nancy Fahey being recognized as the best coaches of the decade.
In other actions, the Board received reports on University planning as well as reports from the following standing committees: development, educational policy, University finance, medical finance, audit and the alumni board of governors.
Andrea J. Grant
In her work at DLA Piper, Grant has represented a wide range of marketers and refiners of petroleum products, practicing before a variety of federal agencies, including the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Treasury and Commerce and the Environmental Protection Agency.
She concentrates on import and export petroleum transactions, including regulations of the U.S. Customs Service, Commerce and restrictions imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
In addition, she has worked for many years in the legislative area before those committees of the U.S. Congress with jurisdiction over energy, environment, transportation, international trade and taxes.
Before entering private practice, she served as attorney to the Oil Import Appeals Board, which helped establish and implement the petroleum import policy of the nation in the early 1970s. She is a member of the American Bar Association.