Pestellos Receive Excellence in Community Leadership Award from Grand Center Arts District
09/26/2024
Saint Louis University’s Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., and Fran Pestello, Ph.D., have been recognized for their community leadership by the St. Louis region’s leading arts district.
SLU’s Fred and Fran Pestello pose for a photo with Grand Center President and CEO Peg Weathers and local broadcast legend Carol Daniel, who emceed the Sept. 20 gala. Photo courtesy of Grand Center Inc.
The Grand Center Arts District honored SLU’s president and inaugural presidential spouse during its 2024 gala, “A Grand Celebration,” on Sept. 20. The pair received the organization’s Excellence in Community Leadership Award.
Fran Pestello was noted for being a strong champion of the St. Louis Literary Award at Saint Louis University — one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious literary prizes — and for her efforts to connect the work of great authors to the broader community through an array of programs and initiatives.
“It has been incredibly rewarding to contribute to the flourishing arts scene through the support of the St. Louis Literary Awards, which is just one example of the world-class creative programming that happens right here in our neighborhood,” she said.
Fred Pestello was highlighted for strengthening the University’s longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and community engagement, as well as for leading SLU to become a driving force in the revitalization of Midtown St. Louis.
“When Fran and I arrived at SLU 10 years ago, it was clear to me how important it would be to build the University’s relationships with our neighbors in St. Louis and to invest in the neighborhoods surrounding our campuses,” he said. “Grand Center has been an incredible leader and partner in this work.”
“During their tenure at SLU, I have seen how the Pestellos have committed themselves to be partners in the St. Louis community and to be good neighbors to the Grand Center Arts District,” said Joseph Conran ('67, '70), the former chairman of SLU’s Board of Trustees. “I can think of no one more deserving of the Excellence in Community Leadership Award, and I am thrilled Fran and Fred were honored for their devotion to the mission of SLU and advancing the arts in St. Louis.”
During the gala, longtime Grand Center board member Donald Suggs, D.D.S., received a Lifetime Achievement Award. Suggs is widely known for his contributions to St. Louis as a doctor, publisher, entrepreneur, community leader and advocate for African Americans and African American artists.
Suggs was the first African American to serve as an associate clinical professor of oral surgery in SLU’s dental school, and today, the University has an undergraduate scholarship named in his honor. Both Pestellos said it was an honor and humbling to be recognized alongside him.
Latest Newslink
- University Core Honors Ignite InstructorsShannon Cooper-Sadlo, Ph.D. (Social Work), and Meadow Campbell, Ph.D. (Center for Anatomical Science and Education) were recognized for their work in teaching Ignite seminars. Cooper-Sadlo won for her Spring 2024 seminar entitled, “Conversations with a Mom, but not Your Mom.” Campbell was the Fall 2024 winner for her seminar entitled “Dissecting a Timeline: Anatomy Through the Ages.”
- Sam Fox: 1929-2024Sam Fox, a noted St. Louis philanthropist, former Ambassador to Belgium, and generous donor to Saint Louis University, died Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. He was 95.
- SLU Primary Care Sports Physician Explains the Concussion Gender GapJamil Neme, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at SLU’s School of Medicine and director of the Concussion Clinic at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, said structural brain differences might explain why women and girls are more prone to concussions and experience longer recovery from injuries than men and boys.
- Accounting Professor Earns SLU's Top Teaching HonorAssociate Professor of Accounting Neil Jansen is the recipient of the 2024 Nancy McNeir Ring Award for Excellence in Teaching. The Nancy McNeir Ring Award is SLU's highest honor for teaching. The award is voted on by SLU's chapter of Alpha Sigma Nu, the national Jesuit honor society, to acknowledge faculty members who display special dedication to students.
- SLU Student's Start-Up Expands, Connecting Small Coffee Farmers to the WorldAfter less than two years in operation, a business founded by a Saint Louis University student has gone from dorm room to the world. Moii Coffee, founded in early 2023 by Firaol Ahmed, a senior in the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business, began with Ahmed selling coffee out of his residence hall at SLU. Today, with the addition of partner and SLU alum Andy Irakoze, the business is a supply chain and logistics firm connecting coffee farmers in Africa with roasters in North America.
- Turkeypalooza Helps Bring Thanksgiving Meals to St. LouisThanksgiving at Saint Louis University means preparing hundreds of meals for the St. Louis community. Turkeypalooza is SLU’s annual Thanksgiving food drive. Led by Campus Kitchen, a student-run organization that works to decrease food insecurity and waste in the communities surrounding SLU, the drive collects holiday food items that will be distributed to the St. Louis community.
