William B. Weil Jr. was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1924. He received all of his degrees (B.A., B.S., M.B. and M.D.) from the University of Minnesota. He completed his residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and then joined the U.S. Army, serving as a captain for three years. He served on the medical school faculty at Case Western Reserve and the University of Florida prior to coming to Michigan State as the founding chairperson of the Department of Human Development, now the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development. During his tenure at MSU, Weil developed a national reputation as a strong advocate for children and children’s health issues, developing and directing the first fellowship program in the U.S. focused on children with chronic illnesses. He published many works on issues such as medical ethics, pesticide use and children’s food safety, childhood obesity, and juvenile diabetes. He was also regularly called upon to testify before Congress and was a visiting professor in many other countries. Among his many honors and awards include receiving the MSU Distinguished Faculty Award in 1976. He retired in 1994 and passed away on December 21, 2013.
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