News

Flavia Namuwonge has been honored with the Provost’s Graduate Student Research Excellence Award in recognition of her outstanding doctoral research. Namuwonge, a graduate of the McDonnell Academy’s partner, Makerere University, joined the McDonnell Academy in 2022. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Work in the Brown School at WashU. As the sole recipient […]

On November 21, 2025, the McDonnell Academy had the honor of hosting Professor Uriel Reichman, the visionary founder of Reichman University, for an engaging session of Lunch with a Leader. The event spotlighted Prof. Reichman’s remarkable journey in establishing the only private university in Israel, a long-standing partner of the McDonnell Academy.

The McDonnell International Scholars Academy’s second Global Leadership Visions (GLV) series, held on November 12, 2025, showcased inspiring discussions on the intersection of leadership with sustainability, mental health, adaptability, and political courage. The event underscored the importance of effective leadership in addressing global challenges and fostering cross-cultural collaboration.

McDonnell Scholar Merve Ileri-Tayar has been selected as the winner of the 2025 Dean’s Award for Graduate Research Excellence! This prestigious award honors outstanding graduate research conducted over the past two years.

On Monday, October 13, 2025, the McDonnell International Scholars Academy hosted the first installment of its Global Leadership Visions Series, an enlightening assembly of thought leaders who share their perspectives on global challenges through the lens of leadership, their academic work, and their interests as a global citizens.

Larry Atakora-Amaniampong, a McDonnell Scholar and Biomedical Engineering PhD student in McKelvey School of Engineering at WashU, is spearheading a commendable initiative to donate teaching laboratory equipment from WashU’s Department of Biomedical Engineering to three under-resourced BME departments in Ghana.

Gun Yi Park, a 2024 McDonnell Scholar and PhD student in Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering at WashU’s McKelvey School of Engineering, achieved significant recognition at the WashU Center for Water Innovation Research Symposium on September 8, 2025.

As we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy, we are filled with tremendous pride and excitement to welcome our 20th cohort of Scholars. This year marks not only two decades of fostering global partnerships and academic excellence but also the arrival of our 20th cohort of McDonnell Scholars. We are thrilled […]

Qiang Li, CEO of Steve Madden China, received the 2025 Mark S. Wrighton Award, honoring his leadership, innovation, and dedication to the community engagement.

We are honored to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduating McDonnell Scholars at the 2025 Recognition Ceremony on May 13—a remarkable group of WashU students representing a wide range of disciplines and global perspectives.