Campus & Community

In the fall of 1968, members of the Association of Black Collegians occupied Brookings Hall for eight days. The sit-in would permanently change Washington University.

Fifty years ago, students across the nation fiercely debated whether the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs belonged on college campuses. Today, Washington University in St. Louis Provost Holden Thorp says there is no better place.

Washington University in St. Louis has been around since 1853. With 165 years of history, the institution has seen many changes to student life. How well do you know WashU’s bygone traditions?

Schoolwide efforts are among the threads weaved into the fabric of an Olin Business School MBA program ranked No. 4 in the world for women, according to a Financial Times analysis — placing it behind only Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley among U.S. universities, and China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong, but just ahead of Harvard.

One day, a law professor and a visiting scholar took a walk in St. Louis’ historic Forest Park. A friendship, partnership and a unique class called “Religion, Politics, and the University” followed, which takes a deep dive into how a diverse democracy can develop and be successful in a pluralistic society.

In 2017, the Ervin Scholars Program celebrated its 30th anniversary. Known for its supportive, family-like atmosphere, the prestigious program continues to cultivate students who both excel academically and have a deep commitment to improving the world.

Last May, group of WashU students performed concerts in Beijing and Shanghai with Provost Holden Thorp, bringing with them a message of togetherness and community.

Veterans continue their serving ways as student leaders, encouraging and supporting each other’s personal and educational growth and advancement at the university and beyond.

Ryan Mikkelsen, AB ’16, is the first Washington University graduate to attend the prestigious Yenching Academy at Peking University in China. The academy selects students it believes will be future global leaders and teaches them new ways to think about China.

In 2014, Marla Borkson volunteered in Nepal for five months. When an earthquake hit in April 2015 while she was in the middle of her 1L year at Washington University, Borkson knew she had to act. She spent her summer in Nepal helping citizens in rural Nepal get health treatments.