Campus & Community

Think of an iconic arts and culture organization in St. Louis, and chances are Washington University alumni are there, helping these beloved institutions enrich the community.

Courtney Berg, MSW ’05, explains how she became executive director of Girls on the Run, and what it means to her to have an impact on so many girls.

Recent graduate Alexander Cox, BSME ’14, MSAE ’14, was named the 2014 Air Force Cadet of the Year and now is preparing for a career as an astronaut in the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program.

Elizabeth Gentry Sayad, AB ’55, MA ’03, preserves the St. Louis region’s French history.

“[Improvisation] is much more difficult than reading music. You don’t have to be very gifted to read a novel. You do to write a novel,” says Rich O’Donnell, director of the Electronic Music Studio in the Department of Music.

Weil served on the faculty for 37 years as an art historian, and his contributions as a teacher, scholar, administrator and benefactor have left an indelible mark on the university and generations of students.

Two alumni couples from very different decades share their stories of coming to Washington University and finding their perfect matches — life partners and an ideal hometown.

Thanks to the alumni network at Washington University, Justin Au, Sam Fox School, Class of 2015, was able to spend his summer working on a music video for the popular band OK Go. The video ended up going viral.

Though he studies chemistry, graduate student Cole Pruitt has been interested in the game of Go since he was 6 years old. After playing Go in college, he decided to create a documentary about the popular Asian game. Working on it taught him new appreciation for the game.

In 2014, in the wake of unrest following the death of a Ferguson, Mo., teenager, the Washington University Assembly Series and its campus partners tackled issues of race and social justice head on. This fall, the university’s signature lecture series — which has, since 1953, brought some of the most important voices in contemporary society to campus — reflects this continuing interest with five programs that delve into these issues and more. The series kicks off Wednesday, Sept. 16, with social scientist Melvin Oliver.