William H. Danforth became Chancellor Emeritus and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Washington University in St. Louis on July 1, 1999. He is a director of the board of trustees of the Danforth Foundation and a trustee of the American Youth Foundation. He is chairman of the board of directors of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and co-chairman of the board of directors of Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Dr. Danforth received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1951 and continued his medical training at Barnes Hospital and St. Louis Children's Hospital. He joined the Washington University Medical School faculty in 1957. In 1967, he was appointed professor of internal medicine, which is his present rank at the university. From 1965 to 1971, Dr. Danforth served as vice chancellor for Medical Affairs and as president of the Washington University Medical Center. He became Washington University's thirteenth chancellor in 1971 and served until his retirement in 1995. He also served as chairman of the board of trustees of Washington University from 1995 to 1999. Dr. Danforth is a member of the Institute of Medicine.