Scott BresslerAs we trek around campus, we are bound to stumble upon dozens of commemorative plaques.
Some of us may have taken the time to read the inscriptions, but few of us actually know anything about the people being honored. These plaques are erected to honor people who have made significant contributions to the school or who have been very influential in the Wash. U. community. To write about every person behind every plaque would fill this entire paper, but here is a quick introduction to a few of Wash. U.’s noteworthy alums.
Who: Samuel B. Grant
Plaque location: On the medical side of Health Services
Karl D. Umrath dedicated this plaque to his friend and doctor, who died in 1982. Grant graduated from the Washington University School of Medicine in 1920 and went on to serve on the clinical faculty. He founded the Grant Medical Clinic, which transformed medical practices of the day. He is also well-known for his research on treatments for diabetes and hyperventilation syndrome. If you are a medical student on scholarship, you owe a lot to Grant. He worked as a representative to the Washington University Board of Trustees and helped raise scholarships for medical students. A fun fact: before it changed locations, Student Health Services was actually named in honor of Grant.
Who: James and Marcile Reid
Plaque location: The Reid Courtyard, Knight Center
After graduating from Washington University in 1928 with a degree in business, James Reid went to work for his father’s company, Robertson’s Farm Supply Inc. Reid inherited the business and its $600,000 of debt when his father died in 1931. In six years, the debt was fully repaid and the business became prosperous enough that Reid was able to sell the company and begin investing in other areas. Marcile Reid was a graduate of Brown’s Business College in East St. Louis. Before she married James, she worked as an assistant purchasing agent at the St. Louis Structural Steel Company. In their lifetimes, the Reids were patrons of several institutions of higher education in the St. Louis area and also supported their church. The Reids have both passed away, but they have left $11,000,000 to the Olin School of Business-the biggest endowment the school has ever received.
Who: Alvin Goldfarb
Plaque Location: McDonnell Hall, Hillel
Alvin Goldfarb was a graduate of the John M. Olin School of Business in 1937. First, he established a career in sales. He then became president of Worth Stores Corporation, a company centered in St. Louis that sold women’s apparel. Along with his wife, Jeanette, he was a founding sponsor of the Scholars in Business Program in the Olin School of Business. Goldfarb was the recipient of the Dean’s Medal from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, an honorary doctor of humanities and the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Olin School of Business. You are likely to see Goldfarb’s name on other parts of campus, too. An auditorium is named for him in James S. McDonnell Hall, and a professorship established in 2000 was named in his honor. Across the street from the Danforth Campus, you will find the Alvin and Jeanette Goldfarb House, which is the site of St. Louis Hillel.