Former U.S. Ambassador Sam Fox and Marilyn Fox will receive the Dean’s Medal for outstanding service from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.
The awards ceremony will take place April 5 as part of the school’s annual Awards for Distinction dinner. In addition, eight outstanding art and architecture alumni will be recognized for demonstrating creativity, innovation, leadership and vision in their respective fields.
Mike Konzen (MArch ’86), chair and CEO of PGAV Destinations, and Jared Della Valle (MArch ’96/MSCM ’96), CEO and a founding partner of Alloy Development, will be honored as Distinguished Alumni in architecture.
Photographer Myra Greene (BFA ’97), associate professor at Spelman College in Atlanta, and Michelle Komie (BFA ’97/BA ’97), executive editor for art and architecture at Princeton University Press, will be honored as Distinguished Alumni in art.
Visual artist Lavar Fredlin Munroe (MFA ’13) will receive the Recent Alumni Award. Also receiving the Recent Alumni Award will be three founding members of the New York design firm Egg Collective: Stephanie Beamer, Crystal Ellis and Hillary Petrie (all BA ’06).
The awards ceremony will be held at The Coronado, 3701 Lindell Blvd. For more information, contact Sue Schienberg at sschienberg@wustl.edu or 314-935-7382.
Sam and Marilyn Fox
A native of Desloge, Mo., Sam Fox graduated from Washington University in 1951 with a bachelor of science in business administration. In 1976, he founded Harbour Group Ltd., a privately owned company that specializes in the acquisition and development of high-quality companies for long-term investment.
From 2007-09, he served as U.S. ambassador to Belgium. In 2012, he became only the third American to receive the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown — Belgium’s highest award for public service — presented to him at the behest of King Albert II.
Marilyn Fox, née Widman, grew up in University City, Mo., and has been active in more than a dozen organizations, including the Old Newsboys children’s charity, the Girl Scouts, the Jewish Federation and the Missouri Historical Society.
Three organizations that have especially stood out for her, however, are Webster University, where she has long served on the board; the Jewish Community Center, where she was the first woman president; and Variety the Children’s Charity St. Louis, where she has chaired the annual gala for 20 years.
Since 1989, Ambassador Fox has served on Washington University’s Board of Trustees, including two years as vice chairman. He currently serves on the board’s executive committee.
In 2004, he was elected a lifetime voting trustee, a rare honor. He also served from 1998-2004 as chairman of the public phase of the Campaign for Washington University, which raised more than $1.55 billion.
In 2006, when the schools of Art and Architecture were joined together, the university named the newly established School of Design & Visual Arts in his honor for his longtime service and support.
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
The Sam Fox School is a unique collaboration in architecture, art and design education. Offering professional studio programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, the Sam Fox School links two academic units — the College of Art and College of Architecture — with the university’s nationally recognized Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.
For more information about the Sam Fox School, visit samfoxschool.wustl.edu.
