Campus & Community

With his round glasses, amused diction and stiff, patrician carriage, Harold Ramis (AB ’66), was the coolest nerd in the room, a deadpan bomb-thrower, an ironist for the ages. You were never sure if he was joking. That was half the joke.

Whether he did or did not cut down that cherry tree, George Washington loved trees. He planted hundreds on his Mount Vernon estate. And, by George, Washington University in St. Louis has a direct descendent of one of those trees on its Danforth Campus. WUSTL’s horticuluturists have taken special care of the tree since receiving the seedling in 1991. One of 60 seedlings sent to sites around the country, only 12 offspring remain of Washington’s tulip poplar.

A suspended jogging track, a three-court gymnasium, state-of-the-art fitness equipment and team locker rooms are among the features planned for the new Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center. The center is scheduled to open in 2016.​​

A major commitment by Donald Jubel, on his family’s behalf, to honor his late parents will provide the impetus for the next phase of physical expansion for Washington University in St. Louis’ School of Engineering & Applied Science.

David M. Kipnis, MD, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, died at his home Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014, after a long illness. He was 86.

William F. Tate, PhD, the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences and chair of the Department of Education at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named the next dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and vice provost for graduate education. He will succeed Richard Smith, PhD, who steps down July 1.

Washington University in St. Louis has named Vanessa Walby as its new volleyball coach, Athletics Director John Schael announced. Walby comes to WUSTL after a six-year stint as the volleyball coach at the University of Chicago.

After 36 years of leading the Washington University in St. Louis Department of Athletics, John Schael announced he would retire at the conclusion of the 2013-14 school year. Schael’s final day as director of athletics will be June 30.​

Some School of Medicine faculty members were appointed with tenure or promoted with tenure at the Board of Trustees meeting Dec. 6. Read more for details.

In response to the recently announced boycott of Israeli academic institutions by several organizations here in the United States, I wanted to assure you that as a university we strongly oppose this activity.