The late James McLeod, vice chancellor for students and dean of WashU Arts & Sciences, and his wife, Clara, called upon the WashU community to know each student “by name and by story.” In honor of their enduring impact, the new South 40 residence hall will be named the James E. and Clara P. McLeod House.
Chancellor Andrew D. Martin made the surprise announcement April 27 at a Harbison House reception for Clara McLeod attended by university leaders who worked with James McLeod during his 37-year tenure. He told the audience that the McLeods have shaped the character of WashU.
“I am so pleased to celebrate two of WashU’s greats, whose names will grace our campus for many decades to come,” Martin said. “Jim’s legacy of leadership continues to this day. His belief that we should know each student ‘by name and story’ inspires all of the work of the Division of Students Affairs, which he once led, and the personal and meaningful way our faculty interact with our students.”
The university will break ground on the new residence hall in coming weeks. Fronting Forsyth Boulevard, McLeod House will accommodate 600 first-year and sophomore students and is expected to be complete in time for the 2028-29 academic year. The new building will meet growing student demand to live on campus and bring together all first-year and sophomore students on the South 40, a longtime priority.
Clara McLeod said she had no idea what to expect when Martin took to the podium at Harbison House. Her surprise soon turned to amazement.
“I was just blown away. Even today, I look up and say to James, ‘Is this really true?’” said McLeod, a special adviser and assistant to the vice chancellor for student affairs. She joined WashU Libraries in 1985 and served as earth and planetary sciences librarian for more than three decades. “I am so grateful that the university still remembers and continues to showcase his dedication and commitment to this community, which was a ‘gem’ to him. Before James died, he said, ‘I have been bountifully blessed and I am humbled by the bounty of that blessing.’ I can say now that I feel the very same way.’”
McLeod said she is touched by the many people on campus who share their memories of her husband. Even those who never knew McLeod are guided by his ethos of care and generosity.
“He came here with a belief in the power of undergraduate education and worked with people across the university to make WashU into the place all of us wanted it to be,” McLeod said. “It warms my heart to meet the people who still live by those ideals.”
James McLeod first arrived at WashU in 1974 as an assistant professor of German and soon emerged as one of the university’s most effective leaders, filling a variety of roles before ultimately serving as dean of Arts & Sciences and vice chancellor for students, where he oversaw undergraduate admissions, financial aid and student affairs.
“WashU’s transition from an undergraduate student body overwhelmingly from St. Louis to a nationally drawn one was not easy. The entire campus, from the South 40 to food service, student life, the grounds, advising, the academic units, the culture … everything had to be reimagined,” said Robert L. Virgil, former dean of WashU Olin Business and an emeritus trustee. “Bill (Chancellor William H. Danforth) took this on the day he started his chancellorship and he never stopped. The common thread was Jim and their partnership.”
Wayne Fields, the Lynne Cooper Harvey Chair Emeritus in English, and Gerald Early, the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters, both in Arts & Sciences, also reflected on McLeod’s gifts as a scholar, educator and champion of the liberal arts.
In 1986, McLeod founded the John B. Ervin Scholars Program, which grew into one of the university’s premier cohort programs and inspired the launch of new scholar initiatives.
McLeod died in 2011 at age 67 after a two-year struggle with cancer. The university continues to honor his commitment to academic excellence through the McLeod Scholars Program and the McLeod First-Year Writing Prize. To this day, Clara McLeod meets with Ervin and McLeod Scholars as well as members of WashU’s other scholar programs to support their growth as leaders and students.
Anna Gonzalez, vice chancellor for student affairs, said it’s fitting to name the new residence hall after McLeod. After all, he transformed WashU’s cluster of dorms into a cohesive community where students lived and learned together.
“Our goal with McLeod House is to create a strong sense of belonging and connectedness among our students,” Gonzalez said. “In that way, we are building on the foundation that Jim and Clara laid so many years ago.”
Those wishing to honor the McLeods may direct gifts to the McLeod Scholars Endowed Fund.
