ST. LOUIS, MO (07/08/2011)(readMedia)-- Betty Gibson, daughter of Mary Junck and Ralph Gibson of Pleasant Valley, Iowa (52767), received an undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis on May 20. Gibson graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History, French, and German from the College of Arts & Sciences.
Gibson was among the 2,800 students who received degrees at the university's 150th Commencement ceremony, which was held in Brookings Quadrangle on campus. Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and human rights activist, delivered the Commencement address. Wiesel received an honorary doctor of humane letters.
Gibson received the Merle King Undergraduate Honors Fellowship Award for Best Senior Presentation. Gibson is a 2007 graduate of Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, Iowa.
Washington University is counted among the world's leaders in teaching and research, and it draws students and faculty to St. Louis from all 50 states and more than 110 nations. The total student body is nearly 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students.
The approximately 3,400 faculty teach in seven schools: Arts & Sciences, Brown School, Olin Business School, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, School of Engineering & Applied Science, School of Law and School of Medicine. Twenty-three Nobel laureates have been associated with Washington University, with nine doing the major portion of their pioneering research there.
The university offers more than 90 programs and almost 1,500 courses leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in a broad spectrum of traditional and interdisciplinary fields, with additional opportunities for minor concentrations and individualized programs.
