Advancing our Mission: WashU Strategic Plan 2019-2025
Advancing Our Mission
WashU Strategic Plan 2019–25
Advancing our mission through the collaboration of our community.
Over six years, thousands of faculty, staff, and students came together around a bold vision. The strategic plan transformed WashU—launching new schools and centers, strengthening research, and expanding our impact in St. Louis and beyond.
New University Programs
These assets, emerging from the strategic plan, are already showing positive results and represent bold investments that are shaping WashU’s future impact locally and globally.
• School of Public Health
• Center for the Environment
• Confluence Collaborative for Community Engagement
• Digital Intelligence & Innovation (DI2) Accelerator
• School of Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS)
• WashU Leads: Bauer Leaders Academy
• In St. Louis, For St. Louis Initiatives
School of Public Health
The School of Public Health emerged from faculty excellence in public health research. The school is designed to eliminate silos, rapidly tackle challenges, translate biomedical research into real-world health impact, and expand partnerships to realize a bold vision for public health at WashU.
A Bold, New Beginning for Public Health
Launched the university’s first new school in 100 years.
Shaping the Future Through Leadership
Appointed Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, as inaugural dean, and recruited leading faculty toward achieving the school’s research, education, and practice goals.
Powering Discovery Across Key Fields
Established a series of Innovative Research Networks (IRNs) as key components of the school’s research enterprise.
Setting Direction for the Future of Public Health
Introduced before his first day as dean, Dr. Sandro Galea’s 4x4 Plan provided a framework of four directions and four strategies guiding the school’s future.
The Center for the Environment is an interdisciplinary hub that advances environmental, climate change, and sustainability research.
Launching a Hub for Environmental Leadership
Established the Center as a cross-cutting collaboration hub, to encourage partners, faculty and students to advance research projects in key environmental areas.
Driving Innovation Through Planetary Health
Partnered with the School of Public Health in the design of the Planetary Health IRN to advance solutions linking human and environmental health.
Pioneering Trusted Solutions
Secured $5 million in funding for the NSF-supported Trusted Tap project on water quality.
Catalyzing Research Collaboration
Emerging directly from Center-led workshops, the Air Quality and Health interdisciplinary research team received a Transcend Initiative grant for $150,000 per year to pioneer their work.
Center for the Environment
Confluence Collaborative for Community Engagement
The Confluence Collaborative advances community-based research, education, and practice with outcomes for St. Louis at the center. As part of WashU’s role as an anchor institution, it helps address regional challenges, foster equity, and strengthen the university’s connection to the community.
Building a Platform for Community Engagement
Created the Confluence Collaborative for Community Engagement which became an anchor team in the Community Engagement Office at Delmar DivINe.
Elevating Community-Engaged Research
Honored impactful community-engaged research projects through the donor-funded William H. Danforth St. Louis Confluence Award, now in its fourth year.
Incentivizing Community-Engaged Research
In FY24–25, $1.4M in seed funding was awarded to 29 communityengaged research projects, which have secured more than $3M in external funding.
The Digital Intelligence & Innovation (DI2) Accelerator launched to unite digital research, education, and innovation at WashU. It serves as a hub for applied AI and digital methods, fostering collaboration, accelerating innovation, and elevating the university’s national visibility. Through DI², WashU is building a lasting ecosystem for digital distinction.
Launching a Digital Future
Launched the DI² Accelerator as the university’s hub for digital research and innovation.
Transforming Ideas into Impact
Brought research to life through the Digital Solutions Studio with tools that scaled ideas and engaged broad audiences.
Accelerating High Impact Research
The Digital Transformation Summer Corps mobilized 17 student developers who applied the latest AI-enabled coding tools to accelerate eight faculty-led research projects spanning six schools.
Connecting Scholars Across the University
Continued the expansion of WashU Research Profiles to strengthen collaboration and elevate faculty visibility.
Digital Intelligence & Innovation (DI 2) Accelerator
School of Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS)
The School of Continuing & Professional Studies (CAPS) reflects WashU’s strategic commitment to regional engagement, equity, and workforce development. Guided by local partnerships and the university’s In St. Louis, For St. Louis vision, CAPS serves academically capable St. Louisans—particularly modern learners balancing career and personal commitments—who have historically lacked access to a WashU education. The school delivers flexible, high-quality, workforce-aligned programs that foster economic mobility and strengthen the regional job market.
Launch and Vision
Launched CAPS with new leadership and vision to support students who report 85% of their time being consumed with non-academic commitments.
Expanded Access
Restructured operations and hired specialized staff to better serve St. Louisans’ personalized needs through a new coaching model.
Workforce Partnerships
Formed 20+ new industry partnerships in high-growth sectors (tech, bioscience, health care) to co-develop seven new employer-responsive programs
Economic Mobility
Created clear, stackable credentials and degree pathways aligned with high-growth industries.
WashU Leads prioritizes leadership development as a foundational competency of the university. By building on collaborations across campus, it delivers interdisciplinary, high-impact curricula and skillbuilding practices for all students, creates shared programs and resources, and provides a unified approach to developing leadership capacity and competencies for both students and staff.
Launching the Bauer Leaders Academy
Established the Bauer Leaders Academy through a transformative $20 million gift from George and Carol Bauer, placing leadership development at the center of the WashU student experience.
Scaling Programs for Successful Impact
Reached more than 4,300 university students through programming with documented impact on Leader Efficacy, Leader Identity, and Sense of Purpose.
Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders Today
Invested $58,000 in curricular innovation grants, funding 14 new courses expected to engage 480 students by the end of FY26.
WashU Leads: Bauer Leaders Academy
In St. Louis, For St. Louis
In St. Louis, For St. Louis is an institution-wide commitment that draws on WashU’s strength as an economic anchor, its role as a global talent magnet, and its mission in research, education, and patient care to create lasting impact and opportunity for St. Louis and beyond.
Bringing WashU into the Community
Opened the WashU Community Engagement Office at Delmar DivINe, creating a visible hub for regional partnership and impact.
Mobilizing WashU Talent for Good
Launched WashU Serves with United Way, empowering students, faculty, and staff to volunteer year-round across the St. Louis region.
Coordinating Resources to Meet Community Needs
Led efforts to meet urgent community needs, including WashU’s coordinated response to the May 16 tornado.
Showing Up as a Trusted, Reliable Partner
Elevated storytelling to show how WashU’s people and programs strengthen the region through transparent, reliable partnership.
These accomplishments represent cross-campus efforts: In St. Louis, For St. Louis’s role is to align, connect, and amplify them on behalf of the institution.
“This is what can happen when a campus community comes together to plan, build and implement a vision of excellence. We said we would accomplish great things, and we have done just that, collaboratively, in a relatively short timeframe. I firmly believe our campus, region, and world will ultimately be better thanks to this work. We should all be proud this effort and I thank everyone involved.”
