SLU Celebrates its 2025 Investiture Ceremony

Leonard And Elizabeth Eslick Chair in Philosophy
Professor, Department of Philosophy 

Anna Marmodoro, Ph.D., is the Leonard and Elizabeth Eslick Professor of Philosophy at Saint Louis University and concomitantly an honorary professor of philosophy at Durham University, where she served as the chair of metaphysics between 2016 and 2024. Before that, she was a junior and, subsequently, a senior research fellow at the University of Oxford for over a decade.

Marmodoro’s work involves two main areas of research: metaphysics and ancient, late antiquity and medieval philosophy. She holds strong interests in the philosophy of science and the philosophy of religion. In metaphysics, she is particularly interested in questions concerning the nature of properties, dispositions, and relations; causation; the metaphysics of objects; and composition and structure. Her work in the history of philosophy includes an eclectic collection of topics, such as Anaxagoras, Aristotle, Plato, the Stoics, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, and Thomas Aquinas, among others.

She was educated in Italy at the University of Pisa, where she obtained a Laurea in Philosophy summa cum laude, and in the UK at Edinburgh University, where she obtained her Ph.D. in philosophy. She has held visiting research positions in Europe and North and South America. She is the co-founder and co-editor of the journal Ancient Philosophy Today: DIALOGOI, published by Edinburgh University Press. 

Clara A. Drefs Chair in Internal Medicine
Professor of medicine
Director, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism 

Sandeep Dhindsa, M.D., is a professor of medicine and director of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Saint Louis University. He completed medical school at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India, a residency in internal medicine at State University of New York at Brooklyn and a fellowship in endocrinology at the University at Buffalo.

Dhindsa’s primary area of research is hypogonadism in men with obesity and diabetes. He has over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and is frequently invited to lecture on male hypogonadism at national and international meetings. He is an associate editor for Frontiers in Endocrinology and has served as associate editor of Androgens: Clinical Research and Therapeutics.

He is a member of the Saint Louis University Institutional Review Board. He was vice chair of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists’ Reproductive Endocrinology Scientific Committee and is a member of the board of directors for the Androgen Society.

Sydney W. Souers Endowed Chair In Neurology
Professor of neurology and surgery
Director of the Souers Stroke Institute
Director of Neurointerventional Services

Randall Edgell, M.D., is a professor of neurology with a secondary appointment in surgery at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Edgell has been a neurologist, vascular neurologist and interventional neurologist for 18 years. He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and followed it with a neurology residency at New York University Medical Center. He furthered his training with a fellowship in vascular neurology at the Cleveland Clinic and a fellowship in interventional neurology at Albany Medical Center.

After completing his training, Edgell joined the Saint Louis University School of Medicine faculty. During his 18 years at SLU, he has led the stroke services in education, research and innovation. He is the director of the Soeurs Stroke Institute, the Department of Neurology’s vice chair of hospital affairs, and division chief of stroke, neurocritical care and interventional neurology. He serves as fellowship director for SLU’s highly competitive neurointerventional fellowship and started its vascular neurology fellowship program.

Edgell serves the greater community as director of the MidAmerica Stroke Network and has been named to St. Louis Magazine’s Top Doctors list for the past six years. He has published over 60 articles, edited two textbooks, served as an associate editor for journals, and been part of numerous important clinical trials in stroke and interventional neurology. In addition, in 2022, he became a graduate of Saint Louis University with a master’s in public health. He has played a vital role in building the Department of Neurology’s national reputation and is working to expand the footprint of stroke care through telemedicine and research.

Inaugural Recipient: Anthony Rejent, M.D., Chair of pediatric research
Professor of pediatric gastroenterology
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology

Ajay Jain, M.D., is a professor of pediatrics, pharmacology and physiology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. As chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and director of pediatric liver transplantation at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, he strives to deliver world-class care to his patients with liver and gastrointestinal diseases. His seminal contributions are many, including his groundbreaking work in parenteral nutrition-associated multisystem injury, interrogating pathways, and leading the development of novel systems to study pathogenesis, diagnosis and therapeutic approaches for appropriate nutritional delivery and rehabilitation. He is also credited with the development of unbiased discovery platforms and excellence in diagnostic and therapeutic testing of pediatric liver diseases and pediatric obesity.

Jain serves as president of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) and is a council member of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. His research laboratory is funded through several National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, foundations and industry partners. He has been a mentor to more than 50 students, trainees and faculty, an NIH study section panelist and prominently recognized through more than 75 high-profile peer-reviewed publications and patents. He has received multiple national and international invited presentations and awards, including the recent Grand and John B. Watkins Award for Excellence in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, the Gerard Odell Prize for Excellence in Liver Research, and the Stanley J. Dudrick Research Award. He has also received recognition in the Best Doctor listings by St. Louis Magazine for multiple consecutive years.

Inaugural Recipient: Gerald A. Maguire, M.D., and Joanne S. Maguire School Of Medicine Cura Personalis Endowed Dean
Vice president for medical affairs
Dean, School of Medicine

Christine K. Jacobs, M.D., FAAFP, is vice president for medical affairs and dean of Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Jacobs completed her medical degree at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and her residency in family medicine at Brown University. She is board-certified in family medicine and geriatrics. In medical school, she worked for health care access in Appalachia and at a rural clinic in Senegal. She started her career in a Federally Qualified Health Center in rural Illinois, then spent 19 years in academic family medicine in Chicago, including serving as associate program director of a University of Illinois-affiliated family medicine residency.

Jacobs joined SLU in 2008 and, in 2011, founded the SLU Family Medicine Residency in St. Louis to train physicians to care for underserved patients. The residency is nationally known for its longitudinal underserved community curriculum and, in 2017, received the Improving Racial Equality and Social Justice award from FOCUS St. Louis. Jacobs has been a principal investigator for over $3 million in grants, and for multiple years was named in the Best Doctors in Geriatrics listing by St. Louis Magazine. Jacobs chaired the Department of Family and Community Medicine from 2017 to 2021, when she was appointed interim dean of the School of Medicine. After a national search, she became permanent dean and vice president for medical affairs in February 2022.

As dean, Jacobs is committed to health equity, excellence in medical education, and the rigor of scientific inquiry. She led the integration of SLUCare with SSM Health and implemented an ambitious five-year strategic plan to strengthen the School of Medicine. Saint Louis University School of Medicine is recognized as one of the 2024-2025’s 15 strongest medical schools for primary care by U.S. News and World Report.

Inaugural Recipient: Dr. Kenneth Marshall Endowed Professor in Orthodontics
Associate director, Center for Advanced Dental Education;
Associate professor, Department of Orthodontics

Patrick Foley, D.D.S., is an associate professor of orthodontics and the associate director of the Saint Louis University Center for Advanced Dental Education. He received a bachelor’s in education from Northern Illinois University in 1973. He taught mathematics and chemistry at Oswego Senior High School for two years before pursuing a D.D.S. degree at the University of Illinois in Chicago, which he completed in 1980.

Foley and his wife, Rita Schleyer Foley, D.D.S., served as general dentists and captains in the U.S. Army Dental Corps for the next five years before he enrolled for advanced study in the Department of Orthodontics at Saint Louis University, graduating in 1987. Foley maintained a private practice specializing in orthodontics in the suburban Chicago community of Lake Zurich for 30 years. During that time, he also taught part-time in the orthodontics department at the Center for Advanced Dental Education before taking on a full-time role in the department in 2018.

Foley and his wife have four adult children (including two graduates of Saint Louis University) and four grandsons. He enjoys biking, golfing and painting (watercolor and oil) in his time away from orthodontics.

Pillars’ Endowed Professor in Orthodontics 
Assistant professor, Center for Advanced Dental Education

Michael Lee, D.D.S., M.S., is an assistant professor of orthodontics at the Saint Louis University Center for Advanced Dental Education. Lee earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Minnesota in 2020 and a Master of Science in Dentistry with a Certificate in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics at Saint Louis University in 2022.

In 2023, Lee joined Saint Louis University as a full-time faculty member overseeing clinical, didactic and research responsibilities. He supervises patient care in the graduate orthodontic clinic twice weekly and is the course director for Orthodontic Biomechanics and Temporary Skeletal Anchorage. His research focuses on the biomechanics of tooth movement, clear aligner therapy and orthodontic retention. Lee is a diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics and holds the Pillars’ Endowed Chair in Orthodontics at Saint Louis University. He speaks at national and regional orthodontic conferences and contributes to the profession through volunteer work with the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation.

Inaugural Recipient: Dr. Gus Sotiropoulos Endowed Professor in Orthodontics
Associate professor and clinic director, Department of Orthodontics

Julie F. McCray, D.D.S., M.S., received a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Iowa and her Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She received her Master of Science in Orthodontics from Saint Louis University.

McCray owned a private orthodontic practice in University City, Missouri, for 28 years and was a part-time clinical instructor at Saint Louis University for 17 years before becoming a full-time associate professor and clinic director in 2018. She practices one day a week but devotes the majority of her time to the orthodontic department and the graduate orthodontic residents. McCray supervises patients in the clinic with the residents, serves as a thesis mentor for multiple students each year and has some administrative duties for the department.

Edward Jones Dean of the Richard A. Chaifetz School Of Business
Dean, Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business

Jackson Nickerson, Ph.D., was appointed dean of the Saint Louis University Chaifetz School of Business on July 1, 2024. Before this role, Nickerson served as the Frahm Family Professor of Organization and Strategy (Emeritus) at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

From 2009 to 2017, he was the associate dean and director of Brookings Executive Education and held a position as a nonresident senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. Nickerson is also a fellow of the Strategic Management Society and was honored with the Strategic Management Society’s Education Impact Award in 2019. Nickerson is committed to lifelong learning and continues to study leadership, organizations and strategy. His early research expanded on Oliver Williamson’s transaction cost economics to predict the antecedents and performance consequences of organizational choices in a wide variety of empirical settings and industries.

Nickerson is credited with introducing the Problem-Finding and Problem-Solving Perspective, which provides a knowledge-based foundation for a theory of firm boundaries, organizational choice, entrepreneurship, and the design of group processes to overcome biases. Additionally, he has experience in entrepreneurial leadership, having cofounded the Intellectual Capital Management Group, NFORMD.NET, Acquilang LLC, and EPC Learning Labs LLC. In 2023, he was appointed the Sir Donald Hibberd Lecturer at Melbourne Business School, where he spoke on the sources and prevention of industrial catastrophes.

Nickerson holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a master’s in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He began his career at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory before returning to Berkeley to obtain his MBA from the Haas School of Business. He later returned to Haas to earn his doctorate while working for six years as a consultant for the Law and Economics Consulting Group.

Inaugural Recipient: Banpu Endowed Professor for Teaching Excellence in Sustainability
Associate professor, undergraduate program coordinator, Department of Chemistry

Asmira Alagic, Ph.D., is an associate professor and the undergraduate program coordinator in Saint Louis University’s Department of Chemistry. She earned her doctorate in chemistry from Saint Louis University and her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Lindenwood University. Alagic teaches a range of courses, from general chemistry to advanced analytical chemistry labs, fostering a dynamic and inclusive learning environment. Her research is dedicated to integrating entrepreneurial-minded learning (EML) into STEM education, especially in large, foundational chemistry courses. Alagic prepares students to navigate complex interdisciplinary challenges by developing modules that inspire creativity and problem-solving. Her work also emphasizes student well-being, addressing mental health challenges to cultivate resilience and a growth mindset.

Alagic holds the prestigious Banpu Professorship for Excellence in Teaching and received SLU’s School of Science and Engineering’s Faculty Service Award in 2024. She was named a KEEN Rising Star in 2023 and has multiple faculty excellence awards, among other honors. Her dedication to education and mentorship has earned her accolades, including SLU’s William V. Stauder, S.J. Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in the Natural Sciences and Chauncey E. Finch Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring. Through her work, Alagic advances both student success and mental wellness, leaving a lasting impact on the academic community.

Inaugural Recipient: Banpu Endowed Professor for Research Excellence in Sustainability
Professor, Department of Earth, Environmental and Geospatial Science

Benjamin de Foy, Ph.D., is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on machine learning and computer modeling of air pollution. He earned his doctorate in engineering from Cambridge University, working on computational fluid dynamics. He then worked at an environmental engineering consulting firm in Massachusetts focusing on air pollution modeling. He subsequently worked with Mario Molina, Ph.D., at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on computer simulations and forecasting to analyze air quality and guide large field campaigns designed to reduce adverse health impacts in the Mexico City metropolitan area.

He has been a professor at Saint Louis University since 2006. His research includes mercury, ozone and aerosol air pollution in locations ranging from East St. Louis to Tibet. He teaches atmospheric science and climate change classes, as well as an Ignite seminar on “Factfulness” – achieving better decision-making through improved numerical thinking. He gives public lectures on climate change with a focus on the relationship between science and religion. De Foy works extensively with satellite remote sensing of air quality as well as measurements on the ground, including from U.S. embassies around the world. His latest collaborations include research near and far: A project to study greenhouse gas emissions from landfills in the U.S. and a project to deploy hundreds of air-quality monitors to cities and rural areas in countries in South and Central Asia.

Inaugural Recipient Gene Kranz Professor for Excellence in Teaching 
Assistant professor, Department of Science and Engineering - SLU-Madrid

Charles El Mir, Ph.D., is a dedicated educator and researcher with a strong background in mechanical engineering and planetary science. Originally from Lebanon, El Mir earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering before receiving a scholarship to pursue his master’s degree in the same field in the United States. For his doctoral studies, El Mir joined the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute at Johns Hopkins University. There, he contributed to a NASA-funded project focused on planetary defense and asteroid research. As part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test Impact Simulation Working Group, he developed a framework to simulate high-velocity impacts on asteroids, advancing understanding of asteroid deflection strategies. His research in engineering and planetary science continues today with a NASA New Frontiers Data Analysis Program grant, through which he analyzes data from the OSIRIS-REx mission, exploring insights from asteroid surface samples.

Since joining Saint Louis University-Madrid in 2019, El Mir has been instrumental in enhancing its science and engineering offerings. His efforts have culminated in the launch of a full degree program in mechanical engineering, which can now be completed in its entirety in Madrid. Beyond academics, he advises SLU’s Computer Science and Engineering Club, which has quickly earned recognition for its innovative, student-driven projects. El Mir is passionate about teaching and takes a student-centered approach to education. He integrates various methodologies to foster engagement and ensure students develop technical skills and a deep understanding of the material. His work in and outside the classroom reflects his commitment to advancing STEM education and empowering the next generation of engineers and scientists.

Inaugural Recipient: Gene Kranz Professor for Excellence In Research
Associate dean of research and innovation
Associate professor, aerospace and mechanical engineering
Associate professor, biomedical engineering

Jenna Gorlewicz, Ph.D., is an associate professor in aerospace and mechanical engineering at Saint Louis University, where she holds a secondary appointment in biomedical engineering. Gorlewicz directs SLU’s Collaborative Haptics, Robotics and Mechatronics (CHROME) Lab, where her research interests focus on haptic and multimodal interfaces, assistive technology, robotics, medical devices, and engineering education. She is engaged in numerous initiatives at the intersection of people and technology, harnessing use-inspired research and deep, interdisciplinary collaborations with the community to rethink technology design and interaction that is inclusive to all.

Gorlewicz was a National Science Foundation CAREER Award Recipient and has served as principal investigator on multiple collaborative initiatives focused on increasing accessibility in STEM for individuals with disabilities. Her most recent U.S. National Science Foundation’s Convergence Accelerator project, Inclusio, brings together industry-leading assistive technology companies to reimagine accessible content creation. Gorlewicz also has a vested interest in entrepreneurship and translating research into broad societal impact. Her work has been highlighted in numerous media outlets, and she is an inventor on several patents on file with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She is the cofounder of an educational technology company, Vital, which is changing how people think about access to information in classrooms, and cofounder of a medical device company, Aurenar, which is changing the trajectory of patient care in intensive care units.

In 2022, Gorlewicz became the associate dean of research and innovation in SLU’s School of Science and Engineering, where she shares her love for research in leading the school’s growing research portfolio. Her greatest passions include designing with communities with disabilities, innovating with her graduate and undergraduate students, mentoring early career faculty and young scientists, and seeing new technologies positively impact the world.

Inaugural Recipient Gene Kranz Professor for Excellence in Teaching 
Associate professor, Department of Civil Engineering

Jalil Kianfar, Ph.D., is an associate professor of civil engineering at Saint Louis University and a registered professional engineer in the state of Missouri. In addition to his academic experience, Kianfar has five years of industry experience as a traffic engineer, which informs his teaching, research and service. Kianfar’s research interests and background include smart cities, traffic operations, multimodal roadway safety, and vulnerable road users. His work has been supported by the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, among others. He also has an interest in engineering education research, including blended learning environments, active and collaborative learning, and STEM outreach.

Kianfar is a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the American Society for Engineering Education. He is a certified professional traffic operations engineer and road safety professional.

Inaugural Recipient: Gene Kranz Professor for Excellence In Research
Professor of chemistry

Istvan Z. Kiss, Ph.D., earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in chemistry from the University of Debrecen, Hungary. He worked as a research scientist in the University of Virginia’s Department of Chemical Engineering from 2000 to 2007 before joining Saint Louis University’s Department of Chemistry. Promoted to associate professor in 2013 and professor in 2018, he has made significant contributions to the field of complex chemical systems. Kiss is recognized as a leading expert in the study of chemical reaction networks and nonlinear dynamics in far-from-equilibrium systems.

His innovative research using multielectrode array technology has deepened the understanding of coupled charge transfer reactions and provided critical insights into biological rhythm analogs. His work demonstrated that synchronization in oscillatory reaction networks arises through a novel second-order phase transition, laying the foundation for synchronization engineering. This field has practical applications in designing advanced pacemakers, low-power deep brain stimulators, and dynamic light therapies for sleep disorders. His research extends to self-organized electrochemical systems, where he introduced lab-on-chip valves without moving parts to control fluid pathways. In corrosion science, Kiss has made strides in creating corrosion-resistant metals by leveraging electrochemical gradients. His findings have also influenced the design of microfluidic devices and applications in materials science.

Kiss has authored over 130 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, including Science, Nature, and Physical Review Letters. He serves as editor of Chaos, associate editor of Frontiers in Complex Systems, and co-editor of the “World Scientific Lecture Notes in Complex Systems” series. His accolades include a Cottrell College Science Award (2008), a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award (2010), and leadership of the 2019 Gordon Research Conference on Oscillations. Dr. Kiss has received multiple awards from Saint Louis University, including a Research Institute Fellowship in 2022.

Inaugural Recipient: Gene Kranz Professor for Excellence In Research
Professor of chemistry
Chemistry graduate program coordinator
Co-director, Saint Louis University Institute for Drug and Biotherapeutic Innovation

Marvin Meyers, Ph.D., is an experienced medicinal chemist and drug discovery scientist. Upon completing his doctorate in chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, he spent a decade in the pharmaceutical industry at Pharmacia and Pfizer. His work on new drug discovery for various diseases resulted in two novel compounds entering human clinical trials.

In 2010, Meyers joined Saint Louis University as a part of an academic drug-discovery team in the School of Medicine and shifted his research focus to the design and synthesis of novel drug candidates for rare and infectious diseases. His highly collaborative work focuses on parasitic, fungal, bacterial and viral diseases with few, if any, treatment options. The Meyers lab uses organic synthesis to develop structure-activity relationships on lead molecules in partnership with leading disease experts toward the goal of identifying drug candidates for clinical trials. In 2018, Meyers joined the SLU faculty in the Department of Chemistry, where he established the chemical biology program and started his academic lab focusing on drug discovery for infectious diseases. Since joining SLU, he has mentored 39 undergraduate and high school students, 11 graduate students, and seven post-doctoral fellows. He has served as principal investigator on 16 external grants totaling over $11 million that have been awarded to SLU. His work has resulted in 64 peer-reviewed publications, 34 patent applications and seven issued U.S. patents.

Meyers was elected as a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors in 2021. He is a co-founder and co-director of the SLU Institute for Drug and Biotherapeutic Innovation and currently serves as coordinator for the chemistry graduate program and as a member of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Therapeutics Discovery’s External Scientific Advisory Committee.

Inaugural Recipient Gene Kranz Professor for Excellence in Teaching
Professor, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering 

Michael Swartwout, Ph.D., who hails from Chicago, earned his bachelor’s in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois. He continued his education at the university, obtaining his master’s degree and earning a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship. He then pursued his doctorate at Stanford University, where he took part in a new student-built spacecraft initiative led by Bob Twiggs that helped shape his career. Stanford was also where Swartwout met his wife, Leah, who introduced him to St. Louis.

At the time, both Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University sought adjunct teachers in aerospace and mechanical engineering. Those roles presented tenure-track opportunities for Swartwout, leading him to become an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis. He joined SLU’s faculty in 2009 to match up teaching, research and student-led space missions. Since then – coupled with SLU’s Demonstration of Artificial Reasoning, Learning, and Analysis (DARLA) mission in May 2025 – Swartwout will have launched the University’s fourth and his eighth missions, followed next year by SLU’s fifth and sixth, which is already in the works. His expertise in mission reliability for small satellites continues to expand his students’ understanding and growth.

Swartwout lives in Maryland Heights, Missouri, with his wife and their sons, Noah and AJ. He continues to be grateful for them and that what was supposed to be a temporary stay in St. Louis has become home for over 25 years.

Dorothy A. Votsmier Endowed Chair in Nursing
Professor, Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing

Cara Wallace, Ph.D., is a professor and the Dorothy A. Votsmier Endowed Chair in Nursing at the Saint Louis University Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing. She also has a secondary appointment through SLU’s School of Social Work. Informed by years of social work practice in hospice and hospital systems, Wallace’s research focuses on issues related to end-of-life care within three related areas: barriers to care, quality of care, and educating students, professionals, and the general population to face issues surrounding death, illness, loss and grief. She teaches courses related to end-of-life, aging and health care.

Wallace has been published or featured in USA Today, Health Affairs Forefront, St. Louis Public Radio, and the GeriPal and The Excerpt podcasts. She has more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and is a co-editor of the 2024 Oxford University Press textbook Intentionally Interprofessional Palliative Care. She has received funding through the National Institutes of Health and is a 2020 recipient of the Cambia Health Foundation’s Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program, which funds national, interprofessional leaders in palliative care. Wallace is an associate editor for the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management and is the co-director of the Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work’s Pre-Dissertation Fellowship Program.

In 2020, she received the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network’s award for excellence in psychosocial research. Endowed faculty positions are financially supported in perpetuity, ensuring that each role is available for generations of faculty. As sought-after career achievements for academics, named faculty positions help Saint Louis University attract top scholars from a competitive higher education landscape.