Higher Education

I wish you the very best as you wrap up the weeks ahead.  While this semester showed no signs of stopping, it will soon be time for us to take a brief respite so we can recharge and return with even greater energy and force.  I hope you enjoy a restful holiday, and may you come back ready to help us move even further along our path.

This week especially, I want to touch on that last part: Gratitude.  I believe gratitude is something we don’t give out enough in our current social context.  To me, it’s an important starting point as we think about shifting our own personal experiences and the experiences of our communities and society writ-large.  That said, I can think of several things for which I’m particularly grateful this year. One of the biggest ones being you — our Washington University community. 

As almost a month has passed since inauguration, I believe now is the time to share the next steps for our path forward together.  Those next steps involve a bold and transformative strategic planning process that will take place over the course of the next two calendar years. 

Ultimately, what I really want to say is that you’ve all been incredibly integral in my success, the success of this day, and the success of the university in your own special way, and words cannot even begin to express my and my family’s gratitude. Thank you again, and now it’s time to increase our #WashUMomentum and “to build even more bridges!”

On Oct. 3, as he was inaugurated as Washington University in St. Louis’ 15th chancellor, Andrew D. Martin announced the WashU Pledge, a bold new financial aid program that will provide a free undergraduate education to incoming, full-time Missouri and southern Illinois students who are Pell Grant-eligible or from families with annual incomes of $75,000 or less.

Over the coming months and years, I plan to continue championing these efforts.  It’s going to take time. It’s going to take financial resources. It’s going to take careful attention to everything we do inside and outside of the classroom.  And it’s going to take a commitment from all of us.  But over time, I hope this institution will become a place that has completely removed the financial barriers that too often prevent individuals from considering WashU — a place where anyone can make their dreams of a WashU education a reality.

As your 15th Chancellor, I am deeply committed to leading with transparency, approachability, accountability, and data-driven decision making.  To that end, I am sharing the entire report, in its full, unadulterated form. I feel this is important for several reasons. First, to walk-the-talk and be fully transparent.  Second, to allow all of us to learn through this process. And, finally, to respect the input so many of you provided and empower continued dialogue. It is very important to me that each of you feels – and knows – that you have a seat at the table.

Indeed, distinction is clearly a term that embodies our past and permeates our present. And now, as we embark on yet another academic year—one filled with opportunity and potential—I challenge all of us to thread the needle even further as we embed distinction into the fabric of our future.

Washington University will begin a national search for its next provost this summer, according to Chancellor Andrew D. Martin. A nine-member committee will be tasked with finding a successor for Holden Thorp and Marion Crain, who holds a dual appointment as vice provost and the Wiley B. Rutledge Professor of Law, will serve as interim provost during the transition.

In light of these and other tensions as well as political rhetoric and pressure from various angles, it’s both appropriate and critically important to remember who we are and aspire to be as a Washington University community — a place where all people feel, represented, welcome, and included.  Our international students, faculty, and staff are no exception. Let me be clear: students, faculty, and staff from around the globe are welcome at Washington University with open arms.  And during times like these, it’s especially imperative we remind them that they are valued and celebrated as members of our thriving community.