John F. McDonnell and the JSM Charitable Trust have made a $60 million gift commitment to Washington University in St. Louis, according to Stephen F. Brauer, chair of the Board of Trustees. Most of the gift — $48 million — will create the McDonnell Academic Excellence Fund. Income from this unrestricted endowed fund will enable the university to respond to new academic opportunities and to launch new initiatives that build on its strengths and maximize its impact on the world.
As part of the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and their colleagues have decoded the genomes of 178 microbes from the human body, they report in the journal Science.
In a stirring address to Class of 2010 at Washington University’s 149th Commencement ceremony, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu says a second industrial revolution is needed to provide for the world’s future energy needs and urges graduates to “do something that matters and help save the world.”
A nationwide study has confirmed the benefit of giving estrogen-lowering drugs before surgery to breast cancer patients. The treatment increased the likelihood that women could undergo breast-conservation surgery, also called lumpectomy, instead of mastectomy.
Washington University’s 149th Commencement will be held at 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 21, in Brookings Quadrangle. The university will award 2,809 degrees to 2,706 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The university also will bestow honorary degrees on five individuals. Steven Chu, PhD., U.S. secretary of energy, will deliver the 2010 Commencement address. During the ceremony, Chu also will receive an honorary doctor of science degree. WUSTL’s four other honorary degree recipients are Brian J. Druker, MD, Joanne Knight, Richard A. Roloff and Strobe Talbott.
Nelson S. “Strobe” Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and former deputy secretary of state from 1995-2001, delivered the keynote address during the Washington University School of Law diploma ceremony on Friday, May 21, in Mudd Field.
