Olin Business School

Read the text of senior class president William Feng’s remarks to the Class of 2018. Feng received a bachelor’s degree from Olin Business School.

William Feng, senior class president and a degree candidate from Olin Business School, could not have anticipated the changes this nation, city and campus would undergo in the past four years. But he’s glad he was here to see it. Feng will address thousands of classmates, faculty and family members Friday, May 18, at Washington University in St. Louis’ 157th Commencement.

The St. Louis-based Koch family has agreed to contribute a $12 million endowment to establish the Koch Center for Family Business at Washington University in St. Louis’ Olin Business School as well as two distinguished professorships.

This spring, two teams comprised of multidisciplinary graduate students from the Brown School, Olin Business School and the School of Law took part in the first-ever Social Innovation Initiative, tackling the problem of infant mortality in St. Louis.

You might expect that a boss who cracks jokes is healthy for the workplace, while a boss who blows his stack isn’t. As it turns out, according to Olin Business School research, the opposite might be true — depending on the circumstances.

Where machine learning meets spring planting and big data intersects with farming big and small, two Olin Business School researchers have devised a computational model so farmers and seedmakers could take the guesswork out of which particular variety of, say, soybean to plant each year.

The second annual Shakespeare at Olin event April 15 will bring together jugglers, magicians and musicians evoking the Renaissance era, along with performances of the Bard’s works by community players and a reappearance of The Dean’s Players.

Five Olin Business School students showed off their financial savvy and took first place in the “value investing” division of the prestigious Quinnipiac G.A.M.E. Forum last month in New York. 

Steven G. Segal, BSBA ’82, chair of the Alumni Board of Governors, answers questions about his longtime commitment to the university and how staying involved adds value for all: the university, alumni and current students.

Joyce Trimuel, EMBA ’16, has always seen her career advancement as a chance to help others. Now, as the diversity and inclusion officer for CNA, she’s making its corporate culture more inclusive.