Washington University’s Alumni Association will commemorate the institution’s founding at the annual Founders Day celebration Saturday, Nov. 6, at the St. Louis Union Station Marriott.
David McCullough, acclaimed historian and award-winning author, will deliver the keynote address. A hallmark of the event is the presentation of Distinguished Faculty Awards, Distinguished Alumni Awards and the Robert S. Brookings Awards.
This is the second of a three-part series profiling the recipients of this year’s Founders Day awards. The Oct. 28 Record featured four WUSTL faculty receiving the Distinguished Faculty Awards, and the Nov. 1 Record will feature the six recipients of the Distinguished Alumni award.
Tickets are still available to the WUSTL community and alumni and can be reserved by calling (314) 935-6503.
Carol B. Loeb and the husband and wife couple Arthur and Marge McWilliams are this year’s recipients of the Robert S. Brookings Award. They are being recognized for their extraordinary generosity and commitment to the university.
Carol Loeb
For more than 47 years, Loeb has taught mathematics to children in grades 7 through 12. Her extensive experience in the educational field, coupled with the generosity she and her late husband, Jerome, exhibited toward educational institutions, demonstrate the Loeb’s deep and abiding commitment to promote excellence in teaching.
Carol Loeb
The Loebs chose a variety of ways to support their commitment to quality education. In 2003, they established the Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Teaching Fellows Program at the School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. This innovative approach provides financial support for two years to outstanding St. Louis physicians to dedicate a significant amount of time away from their regular duties to teaching clinical medicine to students and residents.
In 2004, the Loebs endowed the Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Professorship in Medicine, currently held by David J. Murray, MD, chief of the university’s Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology, anesthesiologist-in-chief at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and director of the Clinical Simulation Center.
In 2009, Carol Loeb created a professorship in orthopaedic surgery, now held by Martin I. Boyer, MD, chief of the Washington University Orthopaedic Hand and Wrist Service. The couple also established the Jerome T. Loeb Colloquium at Washington University.
Carol Loeb serves on the School of Medicine’s National Council and is a Life Member of the Danforth Circle Dean’s Level.
The Loeb’s generosity extends to the St. Louis Science Center, where they established the Loeb Prize for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics, and to several educational institutions where they support named scholarships.
Jerome Loeb, who was former chairman of the May Department Stores Co., died in 2004.
Carol Loeb earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and French from Mount Holyoke College in 1963. During her long career, she has taught five levels of mathematics at the John Burroughs School in St. Louis, enrichment math for Springboard to Learning, located in the Cleveland/Southwest high schools in St. Louis, and in the Holton Arms School in Bethesda, Md.
For her dedication to teaching, Loeb has received the DuPont Foundation Scholarship for Excellence in Teaching as well as a Danforth Foundation grant to train educators in enrichment mathematics. In 2010, she received the Dare to Lead Award from the International Leadership Network.
Arthur (BU ’49) and Marge McWilliams
St. Louis natives Art and Marge McWilliams each earned bachelor degrees in business administration — Art from the Olin Business School in 1949 and Marge from Saint Louis University.
After graduation, Art became a certified public accountant and enjoyed a 35-year-career in the industry. Currently, he is a member of the board of the St. Louis Development Corporation and serves as chair of the St. Louis Port Authority.
Marge worked for McDonnell Douglas Co. in the flight test department, and later in May Company’s accounting department. She also has been active as a teaching assistant and a volunteer.
The McWilliams’ are two of the most enthusiastic supporters of the university, and are key contributors to the Olin Business School. As charter members of the Scholars in Business program, they have been sponsoring students since 1979. Currently, they sponsor three endowed and three annual scholarships, and have provided funds for future scholarships through the Brookings Partners program.
The McWilliams also are ardent fans of WUSTL athletic teams. In addition to being fixtures at both home and away games, in 1995 the couple’s generosity supported the McWilliams Fitness Center in the Athletic Complex.
In 2001, they began sponsoring the annual McWilliams Classic, recognized as the finest women’s basketball tournament in NCAA Division III. That same year, they were inducted into the university’s Sports Hall of Fame.
In addition to these gifts, they have supported the Art and Marge McWilliams Computing Center in Simon Hall, and have helped fund an outdoor terrace at the Danforth University Center. They are Life Members of the Danforth Circle Dean’s Level.
The McWilliams’ commitment to WUSTL comes through in their service record. Together they participate in the Alumni & Parents Admissions Program and the Passport to Knowledge Travel Advisory Committee.
Over the years, Art has served in several leadership positions, among them: serving on the Department of Athletics/W Club executive committee; chairing the Eliot Society Membership Committee for Athletics and for the Olin Business School and Olin’s Alumni Association; serving as a member of the Alumni Board of Governors since 1974; and serving as a veteran member of the Class of 1949 Reunion Committee.
He has been on the board, and is a former president of, the Washington University Club.