World-renowned experts in tropical plant biodiversity join WashU, Missouri Botanical Garden

Building on a long history of successful collaboration, Washington University in St. Louis and the Missouri Botanical Garden are welcoming two internationally recognized botanists who will have joint appointments with both research institutions.

Lúcia Lohmann, a botanist and conservationist known for her extensive research in the Amazonian rainforest, became president and director of the Missouri Botanical Garden Jan. 2. She will also be the George Engelmann Professor of Botany in the Department of Biology in Arts & Sciences.

Toby Pennington, a leader in the study of dry tropical forests, will be the inaugural David and Dorothy Kemper Professor in the Department of Biology, a joint appointment with the university and the garden. He starts Aug. 1.

“WashU and the Missouri Botanical Garden share a rich tradition of discovery in plant science, and the appointments of Lúcia and Toby underscore our commitment to that rewarding partnership,” said Feng Sheng Hu, the Richard G. Engelsmann Dean of Arts & Sciences. “The impacts of our continued collaboration will strengthen the academic and environmental ecosystems — in St. Louis and around the world — for generations to come.”

For Lohmann, the new role is a homecoming of sorts. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in ecology, evolution and systematics from the University of Missouri-St. Louis before going on to work as a postdoctoral fellow at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development. She taught at the University of São Paulo before becoming director of the University and Jepson Herbaria at the University of California, Berkeley, where she also taught in the Department of Integrative Biology.

Lohmann combines research and conservation to study and protect the plant biodiversity of tropical Latin America, including the rainforests of Brazil. She is the eighth president of the Missouri Botanical Garden and the first woman to hold the position.

“Leaving Berkeley was hard, but I saw this as an opportunity to help shape the future of botany and train the next generation of leaders at a global scale,” Lohmann said. “The garden is widely known for its programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Scientists come here from all over the world to study plants in the herbarium. I already had connections with the St. Louis community and a lot of respect for WashU, so this was both a personal and professional decision.”

“We’re incredibly fortunate to have Lúcia as the new president of the garden,” said Gunter Fischer, the Missouri Botanical Garden’s senior vice president of science and conservation. “She’ll build on our strengths and raise our international profile.”

Pennington, currently a professor of tropical plant diversity and biogeography at the University of Exeter and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in the U.K., specializes in the identification, classification and conservation of plants that grow in the vast regions of the tropics that are too dry to support rainforests. He is particularly known for his work in Central and South America.

“The Missouri Botanical Garden has the world’s largest collection of plants from Latin America and world-leading staff working in that area,” Pennington said. “I’ll be able to take my research to the next level with this incredible resource at my doorstep. I’m also looking forward to working with the remarkable WashU faculty in the Department of Biology and other departments.”

Pennington is renowned for his work in plant systematics, the study of the evolutionary connections between plants, Fischer said. “He’s a perfect fit for the garden, which has been building a foundation of systematics research over the last couple of decades,” he said.

Both Lohmann and Pennington will be active members of the Living Earth Collaborative, a cooperative effort between WashU, the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Saint Louis Zoo. A signature initiative of the Arts & Sciences strategic plan, the consortium works to protect and promote biodiversity around the world.

“Thanks to the combined reputation of the Missouri Botanical Garden and WashU, we had fantastic people applying from top institutions all over the world,” said Jonathan B. Losos, the William H. Danforth Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences and co-director of the Living Earth Collaborative. “From the beginning, Toby was one of the top candidates. The fact that we were able to bring him here is incredibly exciting.”

“The appointment of two world-renowned botanists speaks to the international reputation of both the Missouri Botanical Garden and Washington University in St. Louis,” said Michael Stern, chairman of the garden’s board of trustees. “Both Dr. Lohmann and Dr. Pennington are accomplished scientists with impressive achievements in research and conservation. These appointments will continue to elevate St. Louis on a global scale and solidify its reputation as a hub for tropical botany.”

As part of her joint appointment at WashU, Lohmann will hold the George Engelmann Professorship, a position established in 1885 by Henry Shaw, founder of the garden. The professorship has always been filled by the director of the Missouri Botanical Garden and honors the legacy of George Engelmann, a physician and botanist.

Engelmann was born in Germany and emigrated to America by way of Belleville, Ill., in 1833. He moved to St. Louis two years later and ran a thriving medical practice. Much of his time was devoted to collecting, describing and systematizing the flora of the American West. From 1856 until his death in 1884, Engelmann served as a WashU faculty member and a crucial adviser to Shaw, who transformed his estate into a botanical garden. A world-renowned scientist, Engelmann was a founding member of the National Academy of Sciences. Today, three plant genera and a number of species bear his name.

Pennington will hold the David and Dorothy Kemper Professorship in the biology department. A generous pledge from Distinguished Trustee David Kemper and his wife, Dorothy, along with the William T. Kemper Foundation, established the position to help WashU recruit a world-renowned scholar with deep expertise in plant science, biodiversity and sustainability.

David Kemper, executive chairman of Commerce Bancshares and Commerce Bank in St. Louis, is an ardent advocate for the university and the garden. For more than 35 years, he has provided leadership to both institutions as a board member and board chair.

“We are thrilled to welcome Toby Pennington,” David Kemper said. “His exceptional knowledge and fervent enthusiasm will strategically position both the university and the garden for success as they confront urgent global challenges such as climate change.”

This professorship begins a new chapter in the Kempers’ history of philanthropy at WashU. Together with David’s father, James M. Kemper Jr., and the William T. Kemper Foundation, the couple made a $5 million gift to rename the Washington University Gallery of Art in 2004. The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, which pays tribute to David’s mother, opened in a new Fumihiko Maki-designed building in 2006. Since then, the Kempers and their family foundation have continued to support the museum, part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, with gifts to endow the William T. Kemper Directorship, create the James M. Kemper Gallery, and fund new acquisitions.

The Kempers have also supported WashU Libraries, the School of Medicine and the Danforth Scholars Program. In 2022, the couple received the Robert S. Brookings Award, which recognizes extraordinary dedication to WashU. And in 2023, the entire Kemper family was awarded the Dean’s Medal by the Sam Fox School.