Caltech Mourns the Passing of Trustee Virginia V. Weldon (1935–2024)

Virginia V. ("Ginny") Weldon, a leader in pediatric medicine, former senior vice president of public policy for the Monsanto Company, and life member of the Caltech community, passed away on May 23, 2024. She was 88 years old.

Weldon was first named to the Caltech Board of Trustees in 1996 and became a life member in 2010. During her tenure on the Board, she served on the Institute and Alumni Relations Committee, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Committee, the Nominating Committee, and the Student Experience Committee, along with the 2001 Jet Propulsion Laboratory Visiting Committee and the 2003 and 2006 Division of Biology visiting committees.

"Ginny Weldon drew on a pathbreaking career to enrich the Caltech community and ensure the success of our scholars," says Dave Thompson (MS '78), chair of the Board of Trustees. "Her wise counsel helped to shape the future of the Institute."

Weldon was born in 1935 in Toronto, Canada. She received her AB from Smith College in 1957 and her MD from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1962, where she was one of three women in her graduating class.

Weldon completed her internship and residency in pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, followed by a three-year fellowship in pediatric endocrinology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1968, she joined the pediatrics faculty of the Washington University School of Medicine and served as co-director of the division of pediatric endocrinology and metabolism. She went on to become deputy vice chancellor for medical affairs and vice president of Washington University Medical Center.

Following her distinguished medical career, Weldon served as senior vice president, public policy, for Monsanto from March 1989 until her retirement in March 1998. She was responsible for identifying public policy issues affecting the company, setting priorities, and planning for and orchestrating Monsanto's approach to these issues. She also served as an advisory director for Monsanto's board of directors.

Weldon served as the first woman chair of the Assembly of the Association of American Medical Colleges from 1985 to 1986. In 1994, she was appointed to the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology by then President Bill Clinton. After her retirement, she became the director of the Center for the Study of American Business at Washington University. She served on the National Research Council's Report for Review Committee for 12 years. She also served as chair of the board of trustees for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, where she raised its endowment from $18 million to $125 million. In 2000, the secretary of agriculture appointed her to the Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology.

The recipient of numerous awards, Weldon was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was selected as St. Louis Globe Democrat Woman of Achievement in 1978. She received the Smith College Medal in 1984, an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Rush University in 1985, the St. Louis Symphony Green Room Association Award in 1998, and the Danforth Distinguished Service Award from the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in 2003.

She is survived by her husband, Francis Austin, Jr., and her daughters, Ann Weldon Doyle Stuart and Susan Weldon Erlinger, along with their families.