Described as a “close friend” by nearly every individual who spoke, Dean McLeod, his life and his legacy were honored in a memorial service in the Athletic Complex on Sunday afternoon.

A call to action, urging all to maintain McLeod’s principles, legacy and attitude of selfless service in order to honor his life, carried through the memorial.

“Jim has been our hero, our role model, our touchstone in time of trouble, our symbol of courage, our friend and our Dean…And now his legacy is in our hands,” Danforth said.

Jeff McLeod spoke lovingly of his older brother, referring to him by his childhood nickname “Sonny.” He mentioned their upbringing in Alabama and the morals, values and faith their parents imparted to them. Jeff McLeod noted how well his brother embodied one of their father’s favorite words of wisdom: “Bite off more than you can chew, and chew it anyway.”

Robert L. Virgil, dean emeritus of the Olin Business School, lauded McLeod’s contributions to the University’s undergraduate culture, and to his own life.

“When I come to Washington University, I see him everywhere,” Virgil said. “He was—no, is—the soul of this culture.”

Following Virgil’s remarks, alumna and John B. Ervin Scholar, Michelle A. Purdy, shared the impact Dean McLeod had on her since their meeting in 1997.

“He was our father away from home, our mentor, our confidant and our friend. He was a role model, in particular for me, as an African American woman, for what was possible and what one can achieve while maintaining humility and calmness,” she said.

Provost Edward S. Macias joked about his weekly two-and-a-half-hour breakfasts at a local dive with McLeod, who he described as one of his closest friends. Referencing “The Wizard of Oz,” he noted that McLeod had the ability to draw from individuals the courage, bravery and heart that they had all along.

Ronald Thompson, who serves on the Board of Trustees, described McLeod as a “giant in mortal’s skin” and praised his commitment to creating the most fulfilling educational experience possible for all students.

“He recognized diversity as a requirement for a world-class education,” Thompson said.

Thompson concluded by thanking Danforth and Chancellor Wrighton for recognizing McLeod’s potential early on.

Harvey Fields, assistant director of academic programs in the Center for Advanced Learning, spoke briefly of his friendship and shared faith with Dean McLeod before reading a few unattributed verses of scripture.

Juniors Marcus Brown and Petra Greenidge then sang a duet of “The Prayer” that received a standing ovation from the audience.

Another member of the Board of Trustees, Andrew M. Bursky, also discussed his friendship with the Dean, specifically noting his admiration for how generously McLeod would give his time.

“Jim, unlike me, was never in a hurry,” he said.

Student Union President John Harrison York echoed this sentiment in his own remarks, noting that McLeod “always made time for the individual” and “understood the impact that brief conversations could have.”

Dean Sharon Stahl of the College of Arts and Sciences shared some of Dean McLeod’s frequently-used phrases that will continue to influence her life, including, “It’s a teachable moment,” “Be kind to one another,” and “Words matter.” She closed her remarks by reciting a recently published Shel Silverstein poem entitled “When I am gone, what will you do?”

Professors Gerald Early and Wayne Fields came together to the podium, but spoke separately.

“He believed all greatness was built on goodness,” Early said. “He believed, so you believed too.”

Wayne Fields spoke of two models of leadership in the Bible, the prophet and the pastor or shepherd. He argued that McLeod was a demonstration of the latter, the gentler of the two.

“He was a rarity in an academic institution, a visionary who got things done,” Fields said.

Sara McLeod, the Dean’s daughter, decided to share a few of the “quirky and intimate” aspects of her father, speaking of his messy office and fashion choices. She thanked the University for its condolences and support, and urged its members to keep the memory of her father alive in their hearts.

Before Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton made his closing remarks, a choir made up of all the campus a cappella groups performed a concert piece called “Sing Me to Heaven.”

The service was followed by a reception held in the Danforth University Center.

Students and alumni said they found the service a fitting tribute.

“It’s a great reminder to staff and students now to try to continue his legacy by striving to do that,” senior Anna Constantino said. “It’s incredible to me to have someone who has such a lasting legacy at our school.”

Past and present Ervin scholars were at the ceremony to offer their respects as well.

“It was just nice to know that there was an administrator that took such a personal interest in students. He really cared about what’s going on in all parts of your life,” said Rachel Phillips, an Ervin scholar who graduated in 2007.

“For me, he really created a community that was one of the reasons I came to Wash. U.,” senior and Ervin Scholar Jennifer Jeffers said. “I can’t really think of a better example of how to live a fulfilling life than Dean McLeod. He really knew how to make you feel important when he was talking to you, and really put the focus on you.”

In his Strategic Plan for Undergraduate Education, Dean McLeod said that the University’s mission to undergraduates is: “To build and sustain an undergraduate experience of exceptional quality where students, known by name and story, prepare themselves for lives of purpose and meaning.”

As an RA, I hear this phrase ad infinitum, but it stuck. Names are easy. I tried to know all of my residents’ names before the second day of orientation, and I think I got them pretty rapidly. The same goes for those of other folks I’ve met during my time at Wash. U. Of course, there are those brain farts when I see someone’s face that I know well and, no matter the effort, can’t dredge a name out of my brain — but putting a face to a name is something at which I think I’m generally proficient.

The stories of people are far more difficult. Do you know how much time it takes to get to know a floor of 40 freshmen?! And not just know them by acknowledging what schools they’re in, or where they’re from, but to know what they like and don’t like, what makes them laugh, what upsets them. Add to that my residents from last year and then to that the group of acquaintances I’ve made over the last three years. For all of us, these numbers are practically impossible to grasp. Look at your Facebook friends; how many of them do you actually know? How many more do you just brush past in the DUC every day, with barely a hint of acknowledgement?

I never knew Dean McLeod besides a friendly “Hello” around campus, the same kind of “Hello” that I give plenty of my fellow students. It’s a “Hello” to which I don’t want to be tied. The task to go beyond “Hello” with everyone we know is nothing short of Sisyphean But I want to make the effort. I’m as overcommitted as the next person, but I want to make it a goal in my senior year to make time for others, friends and acquaintances, and to get to know them—not just by name, but by their story.

In an email, Associate Dean of Students Jill Stratton said that Dean McLeod believed wholeheartedly in the “power of personal relationships” at our university. We cannot support ourselves alone. It is only through our interactions with friends, teachers, administrators, advisors, coworkers, and classmates that we can truly achieve our full potential. We do not only rely on this support system, we are a part of it; and we can strengthen it further by reaching out to those that we know by name and finding out their story, too.

The greater majority of us weren’t even teenagers in 2001, most undergraduate seniors being just 11 years old, and each of us has a memory of where they were on that day. We grew up in a time clearly marked as the “post-9/11 world.” We acquired a new lexicon: war on terror, national security and Osama bin Laden. At Washington University, a formal memorial was held in Edison Theatre on Sunday afternoon to mark the event. The 400-plus attendees did not represent a significant percentage of the University community.

As a student body, however, we have not let 9/11 pass us by. Individually, everyone remembers in their own ways. But perhaps most signficantly, our generation came together in the way with which we are most familiar: social media.

Traditionally, tragic events are commemorated with vigils and statues. Locally and nationally, 9/11 memorial services were held. Our generation, in contrast, is defined in large part by our use of the Internet and social media. We are used to sharing our thoughts and feelings online. This has inevitably affected how we individually and collectively remember important events. 9/11 is no exception.

While important, traditional commemoration does not entirely reflect how we digest important events or serve our needs. College students changed their Facebook statuses to honor the lives lost. Profile pictures became flags or Statues of Liberty. Even though we didn’t all physically assemble, we acknowledged each other’s memories and feelings. We empathized. We spent time on the Internet reading news coverage and tweets. In the same way, students changed their Facebook statuses to honor Dean McLeod.

For our generation, social media plays a the role of physical assembly. Though different than our parents’ and grandparents’ experiences, our manner of remembrance is no worse—just more appropriate to our shared experience. Facebook statuses and tweets have not yet supplanted vigils and statues. However, they contribute in the same way to our collective remembrance of 9/11 by creating a sense of community.

Going forward, we can speculate about whether we will continue to rely heavily on social media to commemorate important events. Right now, our parents’ generation is charged with erecting memorials and organizing assemblies.

As college students, we do not have the same resources as they do. Social media, however, will continue to be an important outlet for remembrance. We are the Internet generation. Our collective remembrance can be found in our Facebook statuses and tweets in a way that traditional memorials do not capture. Privately and publicly, we remember and will not soon forget.

Those close to the professor say that Fields was especially close to Sarah, who received a heart transplant when she was 8 months old. Over the past year, Fields’ granddaughter developed a form of cancer, a rare complication from the transplant surgery. She died Tuesday night.

Fields is the Lynne Cooper Harvey Distinguished Professor in English, American Literature and American Culture Studies. A renowned expert in the use of rhetoric, Fields has taught at Washington University since 1968. He was the driving force behind the establishment of the American Culture Studies program at the University and is now the director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion & Politics.

Saturday’s service included readings of three poems by Sarah’s mother, a eulogy read by Robert Wiltenburg, the dean of University College, and a rendition of “You Are My Sunshine,” sung by Sarah’s older brother, Jacob. Memorial attendees included fomer students, deans and professors from a variety of departments and schools within the University.

“It was a pretty compelling expression, I think, of the love that people have for Wayne,” said Heidi Kolk, lecturer and academic coordinator in American Culture Studies. “A lot of the people who were there have been his colleagues for decades. It was the whole gamut, people from all over the University.”

Over the past year, Fields balanced his academic and administrative commitments with Sarah’s caretaking.

“You just get this overwhelming sense of dedication to everything with him,” said senior Dustin Palmer, a two-time student of Fields’. “In class, sometimes he’d say he was expecting a call; he’d keep his phone on him. If it wasn’t something immediately to do with his granddaughter, he’d ignore it.”

Members of the American Culture Studies department filled in for Fields’ wide-ranging administrative tasks as he dealt with Sarah’s illness.

“All of us were stepping in and doing small things. It just sort of made sense, given how well we know that family and how we’ve gotten to know his granddaughter. She’s spent a lot of time in his office,” Kolk said.

Fields is known for his work ethic and dedication.

“Sometimes it’s hard to get him to step away. He’s very devoted to the University and to his work here,” Kolk said. “Even up to the last few hours of her life, he was worrying about work he had left undone.”

The American Culture Studies department hopes to arrange a memorial planting in Sarah’s honor.

With the case pending in court one year later, students and administrators remain mindful of security on the Loop.

The University City Police Department has not increased its presence on the Delmar Loop since King’s death.

UCPD Chief Charles Adams said the department had already increased its presence of patrol officers on the Loop before King’s death, and it maintains these heightened levels today.

To improve security further, a pilot program began last April whereby the Washington University Police Department (WUPD) coordinates with the University City and St. Louis police departments to patrol the Loop.

Based on preliminary results, the joint patrol effort seems to be improving safety on the Loop.

“Looking at a snapshot of crime statistics from that area would suggest that it’s been a very positive thing to have operating there,” WUPD Chief Don Strom said. “The feedback we get from business people in the area has been extremely positive.”

Strom said the program was not started in direct response to King’s death.

“[It was] a terrible tragedy, but I think most people felt pretty safe in the Loop at the time, and I think they feel pretty safe today,” Strom said.

The joint patrol program began in response to a larger perceived need to keep all people who visit the Loop safe.

“It was more about wanting to maintain a certain type of quality of life for users of the Loop, and we felt by joint efforts we could do that,” Strom said. A goal of the joint patrol program is to maintain a “healthy and vibrant business district” on the Loop, Strom added.

Despite the shooting of King and other crimes that have occurred, students and administrators say they generally feel safe visiting the Loop.

Sophomore Emma Liss said she is not less likely to visit the Loop after hearing about violent crimes that occur there.

“I’ve never gone by myself,” Liss said, “[but] incidents like this happen everywhere.”

Assistant to the Chancellor Rob Wild echoed Liss’ sentiment on safety in the Loop.

“One of the great things about our campus is that we are in a vibrant, urban area,” Wild said. “As is the case with anytime you’re living in an urban area, you should take precautions. Don’t walk by yourself, make sure you have a cell phone with you, things like that.”

King’s death also raised the issue of gun control, particularly in urban areas.

“Stricter gun control, unless it kept a firearm out of the hands of the particular individual who [killed] Sergeant King, I don’t know that it would have made a difference,” Strom said. “I don’t think it’s a matter of anything that specifies the Loop in particular as it relates to firearms.”

Regardless of individual sentiment toward safety on the Loop, the University City and Washington University communities commemorate King and all fallen police officers. UCPD held a memorial on Oct. 31 commemorating fallen officers of the University City police department, and the city made a monument to honor those fallen officers.

“[King] was an extremely professional and compassionate police officer,” Strom said. “We certainly grieve not only for him but for his wife and family.”

Wild echoed Strom’s statement.

“We lost one of our distinguished alums last year when this happened,” Wild said. “The biggest part of this tragedy is the loss of a career police officer and an alumnus of Washington University.”