The McDonnell Academy works closely with distinguished faculty across disciplines and key leaders in the areas of politics, business, science, engineering, and international relations.
WashU Global Leadership
Vijay Ramani
Vice Provost for Graduate Education & International Affairs & Executive Director, McDonnell International Scholars Academy
Envisioning and achieving distinctive and inclusive excellence at scale in graduate education is critical to fulfilling the university’s mission as well as to further elevating our reputation through regional, national and global impact.
Expansion of the McDonell Academy’s executive management provides a collaborative partner to strengthen global connections and broaden interdisciplinary initiatives.
McDonnell Academy Leadership
Laura Benoist
Director, McDonnell International Scholars Acaemy
The McDonnell Academy aims to inspire Scholars and meet their needs as developing world changers and global citizens. It has never been more essential to empower these emerging leaders to work together to solve our most challenging problems.
Will you join us on this mission? — Meet Laura Benoist
External Advisory Council
The McDonnell Academy has a council of leaders to advise the McDonnell Academy on programming initiatives and on developing partnerships with research universities in other countries.
| David P. Conner Chairman Retired CEO of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation | John B. Emerson Chairman, American Council on Germany; Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany | Greg Hyslop Chief Technology Officer The Boeing Company Senior Vice President Boeing Engineering, Test & Technology |
| Ganesh M. Kishore Managing Partner Spruce Capital Partners LLC | Fabio Letieri Vice President – HR Commercial Nestlé Purina PetCare Company | Alexander C. Lo Executive Director Great Eagle Holdings Company |
| John F. McDonnell Retired Chairman of the Board McDonnell Douglas Corporation | David L. Morse Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Corning Incorporated | Grace Song Park Physician |
| L. Cartan Sumner, Jr. Vice President, International Operations Centene Corporation | Raymond Ting Chairman Credit Venture Partners | Ty Vaughn Senior Vice President & Head of Regulatory Science Bayer Crop Science |
| Mark S. Wrighton Chancellor Emeritus Washington University in St. Louis | Lewis Yang Executive Director and General Manager China Risun Group (Hong Kong) Limited |
McDonnell Ambassadors
The McDonnell Academy Ambassadors are distinguished faculty who mentor Scholars and promote the development of international cooperation among partner universities and sponsoring corporations.
Ambassadors play a key role in every aspect of the McDonnell Academy, from recruiting new Scholars to creating and facilitating international collaborations with McDonnell Academy partners.