Compiled by Lauri Johnson
The St. Louis region and its companies make the national news.
HARTUNG CITED BY HEALTHLEADERS
MAGAZINE
Deedra Hartung of Cejka Search has been quoted in an article
about the leadership of hospitals and healthcare systems in
the April 16 cover story of HealthLeaders magazine. In
“The State of the CEO,” Jim Molpus examines how hospital CEOs
will need to change their thinking as the healthcare industry
evolves.
Molpus writes, “Strategic thinking is not just a focus, but
a skill—one that is not necessarily new to hospital heads. A
survey by Solucient and Cejka Search found that the top trait
valued by CEOs and the boards hiring them is strategic thinking.
“Many CEOs are not, by nature, risk-takers,” says Deedra Hartung,
vice president and practice leader for Cejka Search. “A lot
of these CEOs now need to be pretty good risk-takers.”
FOUR ST. LOUIS FIRMS RANK ON BEST PLACES
TO WORK IN IT LIST
St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, Edwards Jones, Monsanto, and
National Information Solutions Cooperative Inc. have been ranked
by ComputerWorld among the nation’s top 100 work environments
for information technology professionals in its 14th annual
“Computerworld Best Places to Work in IT” survey.
THE SCIENTIST FEATURES THREE GREEN LABS IN ST. LOUIS
The June 2007 issue of The Scientist magazine includes
an article titled “Can Labs Go Green?” that spotlights three
St. Louis buildings: the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center,
the Sigma-Aldrich Life Science and High Technology building,
and the Nidus Center for Scientific Enterprise. The piece, written
by Bob Grant, features input from professionals at HOK, the
architecture firm involved in the design of all three labs,
as it chronicles the growing momentum of building “green” research
laboratories.
The article reveals that the largest impact that labs have on
the environment is through their enormous energy consumption.
Although facility owners and managers have been reluctant to
include energy-saving measures into their building designs for
fear of jeopardizing building performance, that mindset is slowly
changing. Another past obstacle to building green—the high initial
cost of “advanced sustainable technologies”—is also disappearing.
“You can get a LEED certified building for no extra cost,” says
Mary Ann Lazarus, HOK’s director of sustainable design, in the
article. She adds that long-term energy savings quickly offset
initial costs of more expensive items like building monitoring
systems or specialized heat-blocking glass.
The article also features input from HOK Architect Bill Odell
and Senior Vice President David Chassin, as well as from Howard
Beittenmiller, director of facilities and support services at
the Danforth Center.
TARLTON WINS BUILD AMERICA AWARD
Tarlton Corp. has won a 2007 Aon Build America Award for its
work on the Cross County MetroLink Expansion Facilities 1 project
in metropolitan St. Louis. The award was presented in San Antonio
at the Associated General Contractors of America’s convention.
The $676 million Cross County MetroLink Expansion provides MetroLink
customers with an eight-mile-long, light rail system that connects
downtown St. Louis to the southwestern suburbs. Tarlton Corp.
was awarded the critical first phase of the expansion project,
a two-mile rail segment phase along Forest Park Parkway from
the Forest Park-DeBaliviere Station to Kingsland Avenue.
The association’s Build America Awards are sponsored by Aon
Construction Services Group to recognize the highest achievements
in construction. This information was published in the Editor’s
Report of Construction Digest.
SWIC CIO FEATURED IN CIO MAGAZINE
Southwestern Illinois College Chief Information Officer Christine
Leja was featured recently as the “operational expert” for CIO
Magazine’s “The State of the CIO ’07” special section.
“The Operational Expert: Stand and Deliver” story, to which
Leja lent her knowledge and expertise, discusses the demands
for a CIO to deliver IT solu- tions on time, on budget and with
full user acceptance.
Leja, SWIC’s CIO since 2000, holds a Master of Science and Master
of Business Administration degrees from Illinois Benedictine
College. She is a Certified Computer Professional and is Homeland
Security Certified. She also is an active member of the Association
of Information Technology Professionals, St. Louis Chapter.
USA TODAY CATCHES VOCAL LEADER
NAPPING
Dr. Joseph Ojile, managing director of Clayton Sleep Institute,
was quoted in the March 5 issue of USA Today in an article
about the positive benefits of taking naps. In “An Awakening
to Nap Time,” writer Kim Painter notes that for the most part,
doctors endorse the idea of taking naps, particularly in the
afternoon when our bodies are naturally less alert and inclined
to rest.
Painter writes, “Joseph Ojile M.D., managing director of the
Institute in St. Louis, says: ‘Sometimes going with biology
is a very healthy thing to do.’”
“In any case,” Painter continues, “healthy adults whose schedules
allow it should be doing most of their sleeping—about eight
hours—at night, the experts agree. ‘We don’t want people sleeping
four or five hours a night and trying to make up for that with
napping,’ Dr. Ojile says.”
SLCC-FOREST PARK STUDENT NAMED TO USA
TODAY ACADEMIC FIRST TEAM
Robert Jones, a student at St. Louis Community College-Forest
Park, has been chosen for USA Today’s All-USA Community
College Academic First Team. Jones is one of 20 students named
to the first team, whose members each receive a $2,500 cash
award from USA Today. Forty runners-up were named to
the second and third teams. Selection is based on nominations
submitted by community college presidents or chief executive
officers. To be eligible, a student must achieve a minimum 3.25
cumulative grade-point average, show a strong commitment to
community service, have proven leadership abilities and be eligible
to graduate with an associate degree.
Jones, the father of two young sons and a veteran St. Louis
firefighter, is president of the Forest Park chapter of Phi
Theta Kappa, a two-year college international honor society.
He has posted a GPA of 3.73 and will receive his degree in general
transfer studies. He has earned a full scholarship to attend
the University of Missouri-St. Louis and hopes to one day teach
English at the community college level.
