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College-educated workers drive innovation and economic development and contribute significantly to a city’s overall prosperity. With more than a dozen colleges and universities, St. Louis has no shortage of talented students. But keeping that talent in St. Louis after graduation remains a challenge. Attracting and retaining talent in the St. Louis community is a key priority of Washington University’s “In St. Louis, for St. Louis” initiative. The university recently commissioned a report from Olin Business School’s Center for Analytics and Business Insights that details which type of students are most likely to stay in St. Louis after graduation, as well as the factors that drive students’ decisions in choosing their first jobs.

James “Russ” Hornsby and Sherry Hornsby’s business is play. Gregory Lanza, MD, PhD, is a cardiologist who conducts groundbreaking research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Together, this unusual trio is forging new pathways to healthier lives for people in our region and around the globe. 

External research funding at Washington University has nearly doubled in 10 years, from $532 million in fiscal 2014 to more than $1 billion now, the first time annual funding from federal agencies, foundations, donors and other external sources has reached into 10 digits.

Christine Keller, director of career communities and career development at the Center for Career Engagement at WashU, was selected for Focus St. Louis’ fall 2024 Women in Leadership cohort among 34 local leaders. Members of the Women in Leadership cohort will have the opportunity to refine leadership competencies and network with women from diverse backgrounds. The program is offered each fall and spring and provides professionals with a deeper understanding of the St. Louis region. 

Asquith S. “Sean” Armstong, dean of the School of Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) at Washington University St. Louis, will be honored with an Excellence in Education Award during the 2024 Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Gala.

In just over a year as dean of Washington University’s Olin Business School officially, Mike Mazzeo has presided over the creation of a new flexible master’s in business administration program that has seen 25% growth over the part-time programs it replaced and 20% growth in the school’s executive MBA program. The results, he said, fit into Olin’s strategic strengths: education contoured to the local business community’s needs, including the two part-time, non-traditional MBA programs.

Will Ross, MD, the associate dean for diversity and the Alumni Endowed Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has received the 2024 Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The honor recognizes medical leaders committed to diversifying the health-care workforce. For nearly three decades, Ross, a nephrologist and public health epidemiologist, has devoted much of his career to eliminating health-care disparities in the U.S. and abroad as well as increasing diversity among medical students, residents and faculty. Additionally, Ross has developed innovative medical school pipeline programs designed to support promising students from underserved neighborhoods in St. Louis to pursue careers in the health-care industry.

With Top Tutors For Us, founder and WashU alum Angelica Harris is helping Black high school students build academic skills and improve college admissions test scores in St. Louis and across the U.S.

For the first time, annual research funding to Washington University in St. Louis has surpassed $1 billion. External funding supports WashU investigators tackling big challenges from Alzheimer’s disease to air pollution to childhood depression. Research funding also ripples across the economy, sparking job growth, new construction and local spending, said Chancellor Andrew D. Martin.

St. Louis Children’s Hospital will provide 1,000 free lockboxes over the next year to patients at risk of suicide or poisonings, both of which are increasingly taking the lives of Missouri children. “A locked box can be crucial to protecting older children, who may impulsively take medications as a form of self-harm or by accident,” said Dr. Lindsay Clukies, a Washington University emergency medicine physician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.