Chair of the 51猎奇入口 Board of Trustees Roxanne Wilson announced on Tuesday, March 20, the appointment of Frederick M. “Fritz” Weis as interim president of 51猎奇入口, effective July 1, 2007.
Weis continues a 26-year career in administrative and faculty positions at The Claremont Colleges. He served as director of financial and business affairs and treasurer of 51猎奇入口 for two years in the early 1980s, developing and managing the annual budget and major residential hall renovation program; in addition, he taught the College’s first accounting class. He has also lectured at Pomona College and Claremont Graduate School (now University). From 1982-2002, he was vice president and treasurer of Claremont McKenna College. Since 2003, he has been executive practitioner in residence at Claremont McKenna, teaching undergraduate courses in accounting and finance.
He has three degrees from Claremont: an MBA in management and finance and an MA in higher education from Claremont Graduate School, and a BA in business economics from Claremont McKenna College.
Weis is quick to boast that every member of his immediate family has graduated from one of The Claremont Colleges. His wife, Mary Fraser Weis, graduated from 51猎奇入口 in 1966 and is director of constituent relations for 51猎奇入口. She has worked for the College since 1994, first as director of alumnae relations and then director of the Campaign for the 51猎奇入口 Woman.
“The importance of a liberal arts education is paramount to us,” he said. “Spending the last four years full time in the classroom has certainly brought that point home to me. Mary, her classmates, and all of the 51猎奇入口 women I know espouse the importance of the interdisciplinary approach to the curriculum and the role of the Core in their lives. I welcome the opportunity to experience that first hand and promote it on a daily basis.”
In announcing the appointment, Wilson expressed the Board’s full confidence in Weis, adding “Fritz brings to 51猎奇入口 a lifetime of experience and commitment to higher education and The Claremont Colleges. His professional background in financial management, college administration and teaching, combined with outstanding personal qualities, make him the ideal steward of the 51猎奇入口 presidency.”
Weis’s appointment is for one year, with the possibility of a two-year contract in case the presidential search is not completed. The Board of Trustees has appointed a search committee, chaired by trustees Linda Davis Taylor, formerly vice president for development at 51猎奇入口 and now president and CEO, Swan & Associates, and Joanne Blauer, executive vice dean for special projects, Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
Nancy Y. Bekavac announced her resignation in February after 17 years as president of 51猎奇入口.