This Week: SLU Names 34th President, Making Spirits Bright: St. Louis Gives Back, and more
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SLU Names 34th President
Saint Louis University, an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s Council, has named its 34th president. Edward J. Feser will assume the presidency on July 1, 2025, succeeding Fred Pestello, who has held the role for more than a decade. With a background in urban and regional planning, Feser currently serves as the Provost and Executive Vice President of Oregon State University.
“President Pestello’s vision and outstanding leadership are evident in the success of SLU students, its excellent faculty and staff, its impressive growth in research scale and impact, the depth and quality of its partnerships and impact in St. Louis, and the achievements of Billiken student-athletes and teams,” Feser said. “I’m excited to work with the SLU community to build on Dr. Pestello’s accomplishments and advance Saint Louis University as one of the finest urban research universities in the country.”
U.S. Senate Passes Sen. Schmitt’s National Geospatial Innovation Hub Advancement Act
St. Louis’ growing geospatial sector could receive a significant boost in its efforts to establish a geospatial workforce hub as the United States Senate has passed the National Geospatial Innovation Hub Advancement Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The U.S. House has already passed the NDAA, which now moves to President Biden for his signature.
“There’s no reason to believe that St. Louis can’t become the geospatial hub of the country, and I’m working to accomplish that exact goal,” said U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt, who led the effort to ensure the Geospatial Workforce Pilot Program was included in the NDAA.
Before Milan, U.S. Figure Skating Returns to St. Louis
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships are coming to Enterprise Center in Downtown St. Louis in 2026, the St. Louis Sports Commission announced this week. “We are at our best when we add depth and diversity to what we all know as one of America’s best sports cities,” said President Marc Schreiber, calling the Olympic qualifying event “a precious opportunity to deliver something special and meaningful to the region.”
This holiday season, the generosity of the St. Louis metro made national news, when an annual tradition at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital — part of SSM, an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s Council — was featured on NBC Nightly News. Through flashlights and Christmas carols, Light Up Glennon brings hope and joy to its patients and families.
St. Louis gives back in myriad ways, including through the support of some of our most valuable institutions. Read on to get good news about recent grants and gifts moving our region forward:
Kristen Sobolik: Institutions Like UMSL Build the Future
After the University of Missouri-St. Louis — a GSL Chair's Council member — announced its plans to open a School of Engineering last week, Chancellor Kristen Sobolik penned a thoughtful column in the St. Louis Business Journal, naming the benefits the land grant institution brings to the St. Louis metro. Consistently ranked No. 1 in Missouri and among the top 100 universities nationally for advancing social mobility, UMSL offers what she calls “life-changing economic mobility — not just for individuals but for entire families and communities.”
Aldermanic Approval Advances Cortex, WashU Development
Plans by Washington University, an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s Council, to redevelop the former Goodwill building in Cortex Innovation Center are advancing after receiving initial approval from the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. The approval will provide $4 million in financing toward the university’s $93 million budget for the project, which will create lab and office space for startups.
Developer Oliver Properties has plans to turn 9,000 square feet of property in Downtown St. Louis into a food hall along Washington Avenue. The project would serve as an anchor tenant and magnet for restaurants and retail businesses, mitigating risk for small business owners while driving traffic and activity to the core of the St. Louis metro.
Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center St. Louis and Ranken Technical College have issued a general contracting services request for proposal. The deadline for proposal submission is 5 p.m. on Jan. 24, 2025.Access the RFP.
New York Times: “Everybody Loves FRED”
Follow the strange fame of FRED, a digital data tool with an international audience, developed right here by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Community collaboration is making the fight against homelessness in the St. Louis metro possible, thanks in part to the involvement of the business sector.
