President-Elect: Career Highlights

• July 1, 2005, assumed the presidency of Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.
• Lead a yearlong process that resulted in the creation of a new strategic plan for Lafayette that was unanimously approved by the trustees and faculty of the College in the fall of 2007.
• Under Weiss’ leadership, in the first four years of the strategic plan’s implementation, the College has increased the size of the permanent faculty by more than 10 percent, revised the Common Course of Study for the first time in 18 years, and developed interdisciplinary programs in Environmental Science; Health and Life Sciences; Film and Media; Theater; Women and Gender Studies; and Bioengineering. Also underway: A major renovation project that will create the Grossman House, a residence hall for global studies, and the development of the new Oechsle Center for Global Education.
• During Weiss’ tenure, Lafayette College has been recognized for its commitment to community service and economic revitalization in the city of Easton. The College has forged a partnership with the city on a major urban arts initiative, and is the only college in the nation to receive a collaborative grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Before taking over the presidency of Lafayette College, Weiss was dean of the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. As dean, he had oversight of all operations related to the school’s undergraduate and graduate programs, including research, budget and finance, strategic planning, development and alumni affairs, housing and student life, admissions, and enrollment services. Prior to being named to that position in 2002, he was the dean of the faculty at the Krieger School, with responsibility for academic and budgetary oversight of 300 faculty members in 30 departments and major centers.
• An art historian, Weiss began his academic career at Johns Hopkins, joining the faculty there in 1993. He was a professor of art history in the Krieger School and chaired the art history department from 1998 to 2001.
• Weiss, who has an M.B.A from the Yale School of Management, was a consultant with Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Inc. from 1985 to 1989.

Scholarship

Weiss is a leading authority on the art of medieval Europe in the age of the Crusades. He has written or edited four books and numerous articles on the art of the Middle Ages with a special focus on Romanesque, Gothic, and Crusader art and the interaction of Byzantine culture with the Medieval West. He has also published widely in other fields, including American higher education and World War II, and has lectured at many colleges, universities and museums in the United States and abroad. His research has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Harvard University, Yale University, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the Centro italiano di studi sull’Alto medioevo.

Awards

In 1994 Weiss was one of the first art historians to win the Van Courtlandt Elliott Prize, which is awarded annually by the Medieval Academy of America for a first article in the field of medieval studies judged to be of outstanding quality. Weiss received three awards for teaching excellence while a faculty member at Johns Hopkins. In 2006 he received Lafayette College’s Aaron O. Hoff People’s Choice Award, which recognizes individuals who are unusually productive and concerned for the betterment of the college and its student body. He received the Community Partner Award from the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce in 2006, and in 2007 and 2011, he received the Community Service Award from the Two Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce.

Education

• Ph.D., Art History, Johns Hopkins University, 1992.
• M.B.A., Yale School of Management, 1985.
• M.A., Art History, Johns Hopkins University, 1982.
• B.A., The George Washington University, 1979. (A double major in art history and psychology.)

Board Membership

• Member, Board of Trustees of the Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network
• Trustee, Samuel H. Kress Foundation
• Member, International Advisory Board of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore
• Member, Board of the Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society

Personal

Weiss is married to Sandra Jarva Weiss, a graduate of The George Washington University and its law school. A specialist in health-care law, she is a partner in the firm of Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A. The Weisses have two sons, Teddy and Joel.