This Week: McDonnell Foundation Helps Build New UMSL School of Engineering with $8M Grant, Harris-Stowe Immersion Program Empowers Next Generation of GEOINT Professionals and More
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McDonnell Foundation Helps Build New UMSL School of Engineering with $8M Grant
An $8 million grant from the James S. McDonnell Foundation will help the University of Missouri-St. Louis — a Greater St. Louis, Inc. Chair’s Council member — build a new school of engineering. Announced this week, the school will address the high demand for trained engineers across the St. Louis region and the state of Missouri, operating alongside the UMSL/Washington University Joint Undergraduate Engineering Program. Its launch directly aligns with the STL 2030 Jobs Plan focus to increase jobs and expand inclusive economic growth.
“UMSL shares the foundation’s vision for a thriving region where inclusive growth helps lead to shared prosperity and enhances the quality of life for all of its citizens,” said UMSL Chancellor Kristin Sobolik. “We believe ensuring our workforce has the skilled engineering talent it needs is critical to its long-term success and vitality.”
WashU Medicine Reaches All-Time High in NIH Funding
The Washington University School of Medicine this year has secured $683 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health, an all-time record for the school, which tops the list of NIH funding growth two years in a row. Over the past eight years, the school said, WashU Medicine has been the fastest growing of the top U.S. research-intensive medical institutions in NIH funding. WashU is an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s council.
A new gift will help shape WashU Medicine’s neurosurgery department. Enterprise Mobility Chairman and GSL Founding Chair Andy Taylor and his wife, Barbara Taylor, have given $50 million to the school, supporting its physicians and researchers and driving neuroscience innovation. Read more.
Boeing Lands New $450M DOD Contract
The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Boeing, an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s Council, a $450 million contract to build F-15 fighter aircrafts to be sold to Japan. This is good news for St. Louis, where the planes will be built and the company’s defense business employs more than 16,000 people.
Harris-Stowe Immersion Program Empowers Next Generation of GEOINT Professionals
A recent trip to New York City gave 14 college students immersive insight into geospatial careers. The trip was an extension of the HBCU Immersion in GEOINT program, hosted by Harris-Stowe State University in partnership with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which offers students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities a unique, four-week experience in geospatial intelligence.
GeoFutures, an initiative of GSL that aims to make St. Louis a global hub of geospatial technology, partnered with a number of local companies to support the trip. “Because of their support, students from all over the country gained access to some of the top mentors, organizations, and experiences in GEOINT today,” said GeoFutures Lead Andy Dearing. “They are the next generation of geospatial professionals, and investment in their future is imperative to the growth of the sector in St. Louis and beyond.”
Six in St. Louis Honored as WSJ’s Best-Managed Companies of 2024
Six companies with a major St. Louis presence — all members of the GSL Chair’s Council — have made the Wall Street Journal’s Management Top 250, a ranking of America’s best-run companies, including Bank of America, the Boeing Company, Bunge Global, Emerson Electric, General Motors, and MasterCard.
GSL Affirms Call for Passage of Legislation Investing Rams Funds in Disinvested Neighborhoods, Downtown
GSL reiterated its call for the swift passage of legislation — filed in St. Louis City Nov. 12 by Alderwoman Pam Boyd and co-sponsored by Alderpeople Laura Keys, Tom Oldenburg, and Cara Spencer — that would use funds from the Rams settlement to catalyze growth and investment in disinvested neighborhoods in North and Southeast St. Louis and in Downtown. GSL restated its call as separate legislation to spend the funds from the Rams settlement was filed this week.
St. Louis is the Country’s Fastest-Selling Housing Market
In St. Louis, you can sell your house — fast. A new report from Creditnews Research, a financial news, research, and analysis source, names the metro the fastest-selling housing market in the nation. Here, homes stay on the market on average just seven days, good news for sellers and the local economy.
Headquartered in St. Louis, GoJet Airlines Expands
An expansion by GoJet Airlines, a United Express carrier headquartered in St. Louis, will bring 150 new jobs to the metro. GoJet, which designed the 50-passenger CRJ 550 aircraft, plans to double its operations here and add one new aircraft to its fleet each month.
Gateway Arch Park Foundation has released a Request for Proposals for the former Millennium Hotel site. Submissions are due Jan. 13, 2025. See the RFP.
Fashion Forward
For 10 years, the Saint Louis Fashion Fund has helped grow and evolve the city’s fashion industry — and thanks to co-founder Susan Sherman, its future looks just as vibrant.
