By Barbara Rea
October 12, 2001
A gift recently received from University Trustee Steve Fossett will create fellowships for undergraduate students, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton.
"Steve is a great friend of the University and has contributed significantly to our success," Wrighton said. "His generosity supports our mission at Washington University in so many important ways. Scholarship support for outstanding undergraduate students is one of the most important priorities of the Campaign for Washington University, and we are especially pleased that Steve has designated this generous gift for that purpose."
The J. Stephen Fossett Fellows Program will be established immediately and will be linked with the University's existing honorary scholarship programs. Initially, it will support students in the Pathfinder Program for Environmental Studies in Arts & Sciences.
The four students who will receive the first Fossett fellowships are Crystal Gammon, Bethany Ehlmann, Laurel Griggs and Sean Rovito. All four are conducting individual research in conjunction with the Pathfinder Program, available to science majors with an interest in environmental sustainability. The program is headed by Raymond E. Arvidson, Ph.D., the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in Arts & Sciences.
The Pathfinder Program is a four-year endeavor for small groups of highly motivated, talented undergraduate students who work with graduate students and a senior faculty mentor. Inaugurated last year, the Pathfinder Program encourages students to take an interdisciplinary, inquiry- and research-based approach to their undergraduate experience. Students majoring in any of the natural sciences and mathematics in Arts & Sciences are eligible for the Pathfinder Program.
All four of the 2001-02 Fossett Fellows are currently working on research projects under the direction of Arvidson.
Gammon is a freshman from Eldon, Mo., with interests in ecology. She is developing a research project involving the use of NASA satellite data and fieldwork.
Ehlmann, a sophomore from Edwardsville, Ill., is an earth and planetary sciences major working on a study of the water budget for Lake Waiau in Hawaii.
Griggs, a junior from Titusville, Fla., is an engineering and environmental studies double major. Additionally, when Griggs graduates next year, she will also receive a master's degree in earth and planetary sciences. Her research in Arvidson's laboratory deals with the availability of water and moisture in the atmosphere and methods to map these from space.
Senior Rovito, a biology and environmental studies double major, plans to attend graduate school next year and continue his studies in ecology. His senior honors thesis will focus on vegetation on the flanks of the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii. Rovito is from Knoxville, Tenn.
"The students will use their funds from the Fossett Fellows for travel, equipment and living expenses related to their research," Arvidson said.
A 1968 graduate of the Olin School of Business, Fossett remains very active on behalf of the University. He has served as a member of the Board of Trustees since 1995. In addition, he co-chairs the annual fund for the Campaign for Washington University and serves on the business school's National Council.
In 1995, Fossett received the Olin School's Distinguished Alumni Award. In 1997, he established an endowed professorship in the Olin School.
"Steve has given us a very valuable tool to attract outstanding students and to give them a valuable and rewarding experience here," Wrighton said. "We are grateful for his interest in creating new opportunities for students."
Fossett is president of Larkspur Securities Inc., an investment company. Perhaps best known for his many ballooning efforts, he is an adventurer of many dimensions and holds numerous world records in sailing, ballooning and airplanes.
Recently, Fossett completed his fifth attempt to solo circumnavigate the globe in a balloon, landing Aug. 17 in a field in Bage, Brazil.