Costas Azariadis

Department of Economics

Costas Azariadis joined WashU in 2006 as the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, following 14 years as Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Throughout his career, Azariadis has valued opportunities to connect with students and support their development as scholars and individuals. “I’ve enjoyed watching my advisees and other young people progress through their careers, build families, and achieve dreams,” he said. “Recently, I have been teaching a graduate seminar in macroeconomics and monetary economics, which has allowed me to learn how students evolve into colleagues.”

From 2006 to 2009, he served as the inaugural director of the Center for Dynamic Economics, which supports theoretical, empirical, and policy-oriented research in macroeconomics. His work has appeared in the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, and the Review of Economic Studies, among other journals. He also authored “Intertemporal Macroeconomics,” a graduate-level textbook.

In retirement, Azariadis looks forward to spending more time with his family, especially his 10-year-old granddaughter.

Rebecca Copeland

Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures

Since joining WashU in 1991, Rebecca Copeland has seen significant change in her department and field, with her scholarly and creative work evolving alongside her teaching in Japanese language and culture.

She began in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures, where collaboration across literary traditions shaped her scholarship. When the department split in 2011, she helped launch the PhD program in Japanese Literature, an achievement she regards as a career highlight. She also founded the Visiting East Asian Professionals program, which brought journalists, architects, artists, and other practitioners from across East Asia to campus.

Teaching remained central throughout her career. “WashU students are the best: bright and gifted, motivated and hardworking, while also being down-to-earth and respectful,” she said.

Her courses often inspired creative work. “Japanese Mystery Fiction” led to her 2021 novel “The Kimono Tattoo” and her blog “Rebecca Reflections.” “Japanese Fiction: Images of Demonic Women” informed her co-edited volume “In Search of the Japanese Mountain Witch,” developed from her study of the figure of Yamamba.

A particularly meaningful part of her work was in the Prison Education Program. “Studying in Japan was a turning point in my life. I wanted to give others a similar opportunity,” she said. “Incarcerated people might not be able to go to Japan themselves, but I could take them there through books.”

In retirement, Copeland is relocating to the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she looks forward to observing nature and focusing on writing. “‘The Kimono Tattoo’ is only the beginning,” she said. “Ruth, the protagonist of that novel, has other adventures ahead of her!”

Kathryn Davis

Department of English

Kathryn Davis came to WashU in 2005 as a visiting Hurst Professor and remained for two decades as a celebrated novelist and instructor in the MFA program.

The author of eight novels, including “The Silk Road,” and a memoir, “Aurelia, Aurélia,” she has received the Kafka Prize for Fiction by an American Woman, the Morton Dauwen Zabel Award, the Katherine Anne Porter Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Lannan Literary Award.

Though she spent much of the year in Vermont, Davis returned to St. Louis each spring semester. Over time, she developed an unexpected affection for the city, finding the Mississippi River “a revelation” after a lifetime near the Atlantic coast.

At WashU, she worked closely with fiction graduate students, an experience she described as central to her life beyond writing. “At WashU, I get to spend time with smart, engaged, and talented students from all over the planet,” she said. “As the world beyond my workshop table has darkened, my time with my students around that table generates an essential brightness.”

She especially valued her cross-disciplinary novel workshop, which drew participants from across the university, including engineering, German studies, and comparative literature. The class became, she said, a space of “mutual exploration, of digging deep with genuine excitement.”

Steven Fazzari

Department of Economics

Steven Fazzari, the Bert A. and Jeanette L. Lynch Distinguished Professor of Economics, joined WashU in 1982 at age 26, shortly after earning his PhD. Now, 44 years later, he is the longest-serving member of his department.

“It has been a great privilege to spend my whole career at Washington University,” Fazzari said. “Challenging and being challenged by our remarkable students is a source of joy and an opportunity to expand one’s mind.”

Fazzari found equal fulfillment in teaching small seminars and large lecture courses, including “Introduction to Macroeconomics,” which he taught nearly every year through 2013. In a recent seminar, he discovered that one of his students was the son of a student he had taught 30 years earlier.

“Some of my favorite memories at WashU came from talking with a student after class and realizing that some piece of the course helped them understand a real-world economic issue in a new way,” he said. “I could see it gave them the kind of satisfaction I feel when I figure something out.”

In addition to his work in economics, Fazzari played a key role in reviving WashU’s Department of Sociology, serving as its inaugural chair from 2014 to 2019. He recruited 10 faculty members and helped shape both undergraduate and graduate programs.

In retirement, Fazzari plans to continue his research on economic growth and American inequality. He also looks forward to spending more time with his children and grandchildren and traveling to his favorite mountain destinations.

James L. Gibson

Department of Political Science

Since joining the Department of Political Science in 1999 as the Sidney W. Souers Professor of Government, James L. Gibson has built a legacy of prolific and influential scholarship. A 2025 survey reported in a political science journal found that Gibson has published more articles in top-tier journals than any other political scientist in the world.

In addition to his academic articles, he is the author or co-author of a dozen books on topics ranging from public perceptions of the U.S. Supreme Court to democratization after the fall of apartheid in South Africa to political intolerance and the unwillingness of people to openly express their political views (self-censorship).

Gibson is also a professor of African and African American Studies and a faculty affiliate with the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity. Beyond WashU, he is a Professor Extraordinary in Political Science at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

Robert Kranz

Department of Biology

Robert “Bob” Kranz joined the Department of Biology in 1987 and has led research on the biological pathways that produce cytochrome c, iron-containing molecules in the mitochondria that play a crucial role in cellular function.

Kranz values the camaraderie of the WashU community. “I have enjoyed lab meetings with undergrads, grad students, and postdocs, as well as many lively discussions on research, politics, and sports with staff and students,” he said. “I have also enjoyed seeing my students gain admission to medical and graduate schools. Their excitement and pride are incredibly rewarding.”

Among the courses he taught, he was especially fond of “Laboratory on DNA Manipulation” (BIOL 437), in which undergraduates conducted research connected to his NIH-funded work. “They appreciated the interactive experience of performing research in a class setting,” he said. Through coursework, work-study positions, and summer internships, many undergraduate students became co-authors on publications from his lab.

He also helped develop and teach “Principles of Biology I” (BIOL 2960) during its early years.

In retirement, Kranz looks forward to traveling, hiking, biking, fishing, and spending time with his grandchildren.

Jeffery Matthews

Department of Performing Arts

Jeffery Matthews has taught in WashU’s Performing Arts Department since 1988, leading courses in acting, directing, and theatre for young audiences.

He recalls a very different era of campus communication, before email, when faculty relied on a shared departmental phone and handwritten “while you were out” messages. At the end of each day, he would return to his mailbox, collect his messages, and wait in line to return calls.

Over the decades, Matthews has taught hundreds of students, though he notes that the impact has been mutual. “I can think of 100 people at this university who, by example, have taught me to be a better human,” he said. “I have so many treasured memories, and I take leave of this special place with a profound sense of gratitude.”

Among his favorite experiences were the five years he spent living on campus as a faculty fellow in the Danforth House on the South 40. “Being in an intense living and learning environment 24/7 was enlightening, energizing, and truly joyous,” he said.

A professional director, actor, and dialect specialist, Matthews has contributed to numerous productions. His voiceover work can also be heard in Arts & Sciences’ 2025 holiday video.

Annamaria Pileggi

Department of Performing Arts

Annamaria Pileggi joined the Performing Arts Department in 1991 as an artist in residence and was appointed a professor of practice in 2012. She directed numerous productions and specialized in teaching the upper-level acting course “Acting Styles: From Realism to Nonrealism.” She is a five-time recipient of the College of Arts & Sciences Faculty Award recognizing excellence in teaching.

A highlight of her teaching was introducing students to the work of playwright Anton Chekhov. “I loved introducing my students to Chekhov’s complex and multifaceted characters,” she said. “It was always a treat to see young actors find points of emotional connection with plays from such a distant time and place.”

Among her most meaningful WashU memories was serving as administrator and acting instructor for the department’s Shakespeare’s Globe Program in London, which she called “magical.”

She also recalls a personal milestone in 2015, shortly after same-sex marriage became legal, when she married her partner of 20 years while directing the musical Company. As she and her wife entered rehearsal, the cast stood on stage and sang “I’ll Be Loving You Always” in celebration. “It was incredibly moving,” she said.

In retirement, Pileggi will continue teaching and directing in the St. Louis area as associate artistic director of the St. Louis Actors’ Studio. She also plans to travel extensively with her wife.

Ping Wang

Department of Economics

Ping Wang joined WashU in 2005 as the Seigle Family Professor in Arts & Sciences and immediately began serving as chair of the Department of Economics.

“I worked with my highly accommodating new colleagues in the department, recruiting a strong group of internationally recognized scholars and making the department one of the strongest in the world,” Wang said.

Wang particularly valued collaboration within the department, working closely with both faculty and students. “I have enjoyed the active recruitment of young talents to join our PhD program,” he said. “Their arrival at WashU has raised intellectual exchanges to a higher plateau, and their academic placements have broadened and deepened our international networks.”

In addition to his work at WashU, Wang has served as a senior research fellow at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis since 2005. He has also traveled extensively to organize and present at conferences, deliver public lectures, and advise on public policy.

“All of these have been fruitful and have potential real-world impacts beyond academics,” he said. “I am now at the junction of leaving my second home, WashU, but I look forward to continuing these activities in retirement while maintaining close connections with my colleagues, students, and alumni.”