Jiménez to deliver keynote at Recognition Ceremony; Sam Fox School represented at WashU Commencement
2026-03-27 • Sam Fox School
2025 Recognition Ceremony (Photo: Carol Green/WashU)
Architect Carlos Jiménez will give the keynote address at the Sam Fox School’s Recognition Ceremony, May 14, 2026. “I’ve known Carlos for more than 20 years,” said Carmon Colangelo, the Ralph J. Nagel Dean of the Sam Fox School. “He has a deep appreciation for our school’s unique structure and is known for being a very poetic speaker. I’m honored to have him speak at my final recognition ceremony as dean to celebrate the class of 2026.”
An internationally accomplished designer, he established the Houston-based firm Carlos Jiménez Studio in 1983, focusing on the endurance and refinement of form and space. His built work includes the Central Administration Building for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Houston Fine Art Press; the Spencer Studio Art Building at Williams College; the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, Philadelphia; and commercial enterprises such as the Evry Housing Tower in Evry, France, and the Saint George Hotel in Marfa, Texas.
A respected scholar and educator, Jiménez is a professor at Rice University School of Architecture. He has frequently visited the Sam Fox School as a visiting critic, and in 2021 was the Ruth & Norman Moore Visiting Professor. He also served for a decade as a jury member for his field’s highest honor, the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Jiménez has won several awards for excellence in design and teaching, most notably National Academy of Design Academician, DesignIntelligence’s Most Admired Educator, Rice University’s George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching, AIA Houston Educator of the Year, and the Charles Duncan Award.
Connections to the Sam Fox School will also be celebrated at university-wide commencement, May 15, 2026. Sejal Popat, a Sam Fox Ambassador who is completing her MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture this year, will be the ceremony’s graduate student speaker. An interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and writer passionate about the role of creativity in education and mental health, Popat’s has exhibited her work in the Graduate Center Exhibition and Illustration West 63.
Additionally, WashU will award honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degrees to Anabeth and John Weil, benefactors of the Sam Fox School’s Weil Hall. Longstanding patrons of the arts, the Weils are steadfast advisors to and distinguished supporters of WashU and the Sam Fox School and have greatly enhanced the cultural life of St. Louis with their commitment. An emeritus trustee, John was the inaugural chair of the school’s national council. Anabeth has also served on the council and as chair of the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum Collection Committee. Together, they were co-chairs for the school’s Leading Together campaign from 2012-2018.
“The Weils have been tremendous supporters of the school and the arts in St. Louis, and they are incredibly deserving of these honorary doctorates,” Colangelo shared. “I look forward to celebrating them, Sejal, and the entire class of 2026 on the university-wide stage.”
