At the heart of the “In St. Louis, For St. Louis” Initiative is a commitment to serve our community as a dedicated partner with a steadfast focus on creating a stronger St. Louis region. Our focus areas include:
Expanding Economic Opportunity
WashU is committed to creating economic opportunities, supporting businesses, and keeping jobs here in St. Louis.
- Direct spending in the St. Louis economy supports local businesses and individuals in the region.
- WashU is the second-largest employer in the region, with a workforce of more than 22,000.
- The WashU Venture Network Follow-on Investments is a program that provides funding to WashU-affiliated startups that have previously received Arch Grants that are likely to remain in St. Louis.
- WashU has attracted over $1 billion in external research funding. Every $1 million in research funding creates 11 jobs in the region.
- The Small Business Initiative from Olin Business School works to positively impact the St. Louis economy. Undergraduate students work on consulting and recommending best practices aimed at the success of St. Louis businesses. Past initiatives include LifeBridge Partnership, the Salvation Army, and Sew St. Louis.
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Advancing Educational Access
WashU expands educational access throughout St. Louis through dedicated programming and initiatives. The university offers world-class educational opportunities and certificate programs for more St. Louisans than ever while supporting preK-12 initiatives in the region.
- WashU’s Institute for School Partnership provides training and curriculum support for more than 5,000 educators from 344 schools, serving and engaging 189,000 students in the region. Through these research-based programs, ISP is raising standardized test scores, enhancing teachers’ abilities to teach STEM, improving students’ self-confidence, and inspiring career pathways.
- The WashU Pledge covers the full cost of a WashU education for low-income students from Missouri and southern Illinois.
- WashU has a need-blind admissions policy for undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, meaning financial need is not a factor in the admissions process.
- WashU has a “no-loan” financial aid policy, meaning they meet 100% of demonstrated financial need with scholarships and grants, not loans.
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Building Healthy Communities
WashU provides St. Louisans with exceptional healthcare and innovative medical treatments from the country’s top-tier practitioners and researchers. WashU is making great strides in advancing healthcare and saving lives right here in St. Louis.
- Cutting-edge research includes the first blood test for Alzheimer’s disease; a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug for a genetic form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); and two tests for genetic mutations in blood and solids cancers that aim to improve outcomes by enabling precision medicine approaches to treatment.
- One in five St. Louisans is under the care of a WashU physician. WashU Physicians had 2,598,350 total patient visits last year and provided over $250 million in uncompensated care.
- WashU’s Undiagnosed Diseases Clinic has expanded outreach to underserved communities in the region.
- Siteman Cancer Center-based at WashU Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital-recently opened a new home for world-class outpatient cancer care. WashU Medicine physicians will diagnose and treat patients in the Gary C. Werths Building with the most advanced, lifesaving therapies available.
- WashU Medicine is second in the nation for NIH funding and making great strides in advancing healthcare and saving lives right here in St. Louis.
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“When I came to St. Louis in 2018, seeing the interesting neighborhoods and historical buildings got me curious about the microbial life in the buildings and in the water. To address that question, we needed to work with the people of St. Louis.
Fangqiong Ling, Assistant Professor, McKelvey School of Engineering