Dr. William “Bill” Danforth was an impressive, kind and generous man – we were saddened to hear of his recent passing. In his 94 years, Bill accomplished so much and gave back even more to the St. Louis community. It was for these reasons, and many more, that he was honored as Variety’s Man of the Year in 1995.

Bill dedicated much of his life to growing Washington University into the grand institution it is known as today. In 1957, he began his education career there as an instructor, moving up to assistant professor in 1960 before being named president of the medical school and...