On Dec. 17,
Daniel Weiss, the James B.
Knapp Dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, was
elected the 16th president of Lafayette College in Easton,
Pa. He will assume that post on July 1.
In a broadcast e-mail to the university community,
President William R. Brody
wrote, "This is a wonderful opportunity for Dean Weiss. I
congratulate him, and I especially congratulate the
trustees of Lafayette on an excellent choice. Dan will do
an outstanding job."
Weiss, Brody pointed out, will join a long list of
former Johns Hopkins faculty and academic leaders who have
gone on to presidencies of colleges and universities around
the country. "Johns Hopkins can take pride in knowing that
it has contributed so much over its nearly 130-year history
to the leadership of the greatest system of higher
education in the world," he wrote.
Weiss, who received his master's and doctorate in art
history from Johns Hopkins, has been a member of the Arts
and Sciences faculty since 1993. A graduate of George
Washington University, he received an M.B.A. from the Yale
School of Management with a concentration in nonprofit
management. At Johns Hopkins, he served as chair of the Art History Department from 1998 to
July 2001, when he was named to the new position of dean of
the faculty of Arts and Sciences. He was appointed dean of
the school in 2002.
As dean, Weiss has focused on implementing the Krieger
School's strategic plan, which he had helped develop before
his appointment. He has led the school's $250 million
portion of the Johns
Hopkins: Knowledge for the World campaign, working to
develop resources to support faculty excellence, to
modernize facilities and to increase student aid.
"He has been an ardent advocate for important new
interdisciplinary academic programs and an energetic,
visionary leader in the enhancement of the undergraduate
experience at Homewood," Brody said.
President Brody and Provost Steven Knapp will soon
convene a committee to mount a national search for a
successor as dean. Interim leadership will be named to
guide the school through the transition period.