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NewsFeb 24, 2016

Lesley community greets President-elect

Jeff A. Weiss meets faculty, staff and students across university’s three campuses

Following an official ceremony in Alumni Hall this morning, the newly-announced President-elect spent the day touring the university’s three Cambridge campuses to meet with faculty, staff and students.

Jeff A. Weiss
Jeff A. Weiss meets with members of the Lesley community in
University Hall.

On July 1, President-elect Jeff A. Weiss will succeed Dr. Joseph B. Moore, becoming the eighth president in the university’s 107-year history.

As he traveled around the university and spoke with members of the community, he said he has observed that the Lesley faculty “give their hearts and souls” to their work with students, and that the staff are “highly dedicated to making the Lesley experience excellent.”

“Lesley University stands on a long history and a strong foundation of excellence and passion and creativity and innovation,” Weiss told a large audience gathered in the University Hall Atrium on Porter Campus.

Weiss said he looks forward to collaborating with the Lesley community.

“I am not an office person – I expect to be out engaging and listening,” he said. “I mostly look forward to what we can do together.”

Jeff A. Weiss
Jeff A. Weiss converses with members of the Lesley community.

At a less formal, late-afternoon mixer in Hastings Hall on the Brattle Campus, Weiss spoke of his late mentor and friend Roger Fisher, with whom Weiss worked at the Harvard Negotiation Project. He credited Fisher with reinforcing his own commitment to social justice and striving to make a difference, especially through conflict resolution.

Having lost friends in World War II, Weiss said, Fisher dedicated his life to conflict resolution, and taught Weiss that leadership largely hinges on "seeing things from a different perspective."

And not shrinking from challenges.

"He used to point to a story in the New York Times, often with a tear in his eye, and say, 'This is tragic: we are going to go work there.'"

Weiss said he sees much of that commitment to taking on the big issues, and improving the lives of others, in Lesley's ethos.

"My sleeves are truly rolled up," he said, adding that he is ready to "build on what all you have done, and what Joe (Moore) has done" to make a difference.

Please find a full album of photos from the day’s events here.