Features

Alumna Laura Adams McKie helped build a museum that teaches visitors about the suffrage movement and the prison where women were sent for picketing for the right to vote.

On May 30, 2020, WashU alumnus Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley became the first astronauts in NASA’s history to launch from a commercially built and operated spacecraft, the SpaceX Crew Dragon. For the Demo-2 mission, the two are testing the spacecraft’s transportation system for future missions.

Life-changing innovations continue to emerge from the university thanks to creative faculty research, cross-collaboration and the aid of the Office of Technology Management.

Oct. 3, 2019, was an extraordinary day for Washington University as Andrew D. Martin was inaugurated as our 15th chancellor. The day centered around Martin’s message of building on the university’s momentum, detailing successes of the past and present, and outlining his vision for the future.

Sean Joe, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the Brown School, is planning a population-wide initiative that could improve the lives of 60,000 black men in St. Louis.

“Call Andrew” was his graduate students’ catchphrase. They said his sharply focused insight would always provide clarity and direction. In summer 2018, the university made such a call, and Andrew Martin answered, becoming the 15th chancellor of Washington University June 1, 2019.

Washington University has hosted luminaries who have inspired and challenged us. Alumni and faculty recall their memories of hearing three notable speakers on campus.

With Square, LaunchCode, Third Degree Glass Factory and more to his name, alumnus Jim McKelvey Jr. is often called a serial entrepreneur. In fact, he has just never met a problem he didn’t want to solve.

We had an opportunity to visit with the chancellor and talk about his great joy of leading the university and helping others succeed. Here, he shares some highlights and insights.

Whether tackling gun violence or connecting students to the community, Risa Zwerling Wrighton is dedicated to improving lives, making her the perfect first lady.