Honoring a Trailblazer: Dickinson Announces the Neil B. Weissman Fund for Faculty Research
After nearly 50 years of service, Provost and Dean Neil Weissman will return to the classroom, after a sabbatical year. Photo by Dan Loh.
Legendary provost, dean honored during May 4 ceremony
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Assistant Professor of Music James Martin was initially at a loss. How do you select a piece to perform that will represent Provost and Dean Neil Weissman’s nearly 50 years of service at Dickinson? A piece that simultaneously captures his scholarly substance and administrative vision—and also his humor, creativity and nimbleness?
In the weeks leading up to a May 4 celebration in Weissman’s honor, many of us have faced the same quandary. Over the years, Weissman has served under four presidents, hired and guided the faculty and championed game-changing initiatives that directly impact the college and the experiences of faculty and students. It’s impossible to contain those multitudes in one performance, speech or event. But we’re giving it the Dickinson College try.
As Weissman prepares to step down as provost and dean this summer, the college feted the longtime leader with a concert, heartfelt speeches by colleagues and friends—and, the launch of a new endowment that’s tailored to represent his singular legacy.
Honoring faculty work
Weissman and grandson Matthew Presite '23 pose before a photo of a tree that was planted during Weissman's first year at Dickinson. Like Weissman's legacy, the sapling has since grown exponentially. Photo by Dan Loh.
Weissman entered Dickinson as a junior faculty member, fresh out of the Ph.D. program at Princeton, in July 1975. He's since seen many changes in the world and on campus, where he led a charge to develop areas of academic strength and distinction that make Dickinson the world-class institution we now know, as Board of Trustees President Douglas J. Pauls '80 noted. “Dickinson is a far better place today because of Neil,” Pauls said to an audience of faculty, board members and other college leaders, alumni and staff.
Central to that influence: Weissman has hand-picked and mentored the vast majority of faculty now on campus, said President John E. Jones ’77, P’11. That includes Professor of Music Jennifer Blyth, who’s grateful for his example and for his future-forward work for the good of the college, which "encourages intellectual curiosity and encourages new ideas and paradigms" for faculty, students and staff.
In honor of that commitment to excellence, Dickinson announces the Neil B. Weissman Fund for Faculty Research. The endowment was established by Greg Zimmerman ’83, who studied history at Dickinson under Weissman’s guidance, and Zimmerman’s wife, Mira, who also support Dickinson’s House Divided Project and Knowledge for Freedom seminar. Faculty are invited to present proposals for the new summer-research grant next February for projects with high intrinsic value and intellectual or creative merit. The first $4,000 grant will be bestowed by Dickinson’s Research & Development committee in March 2024.
'A piece of cake'
Past and present college leaders, faculty, staff and alumni attended the May 4 event in Weissman's honor. Photo by Dan Loh.
After the ceremony, Zimmerman spoke about the ways that Weissman’s teaching and friendship have shaped his career, and the joy his family takes in paying it forward in a way that honors Weissman’s role as provost and dean. Weissman said he deeply appreciated the endowment and celebration. And, in his signature self-deprecating style, he noted that, just as the college’s financial endowment is vital to the institution and its future, so too is the “human endowment” of its world-class faculty and staff.
“I’ve been in this job longer than most provosts—certainly longer than anyone in that role in Dickinson’s history,” he reflected. “People sometimes ask me, ‘How is this possible?’ The short answer is: When you’re working with faculty like this, it’s a privilege and a piece of cake.”
To contribute to the faculty research fund, visit www.dickinson.edu/gift and choose "Neil B. Weissman Fund for Faculty Research" under "Designation." To learn more about Weissman’s career and contributions to Dickinson, stay tuned for a feature-length story in the summer issue of Dickinson Magazine.
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Published May 8, 2023