Washington Magazine

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.

Schael was hired in 1978. At the time, the athletics department was made up primarily of part-time staff. The facilities were 60 years old. “There were lots of naysayers,” Schael recalls. “They said things like, ‘You’ll never be able to change this department.’”

“The most important legacy for him is that the student-athletes have a great experience. It’s not the wins and losses, but the experience itself,” says Nancy Fahey, women’s basketball coach.

The stats that show how former athletics director John Schael changed the department over his 30-year tenure.

In a landmark new book, sociologist Mark R. Rank, PhD, explains why the chase for the American Dream has gotten out of reach for many.

While a graduate student, Kirk A. Foster, MSW ’02, PhD ’11, assistant professor of social work, University of South Carolina, helped Professor Rank with research for “Chasing the American Dream.”

In “Economic Realities of the American Dream,” professors Steven Fazzari and Mark Rank examine the ­American Dream’s historical meaning, the ­traditional pathways to reach it, the current obstacles to achieving it and its viability in the future.