Cynthia Weese, dean of the School of Architecture, has announced her intention to step down as dean on June 30, 2005, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton.
Weese has served as dean since 1993 and also sits on the executive committee of the Sam Fox Arts Center.
A practicing architect with more than three decades of experience, she is a founding principal of the Chicago-based firm Weese Langley Weese, which she started with her husband and where her son is an associate.
She is a former vice president of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and was awarded the Tau Sigma Delta Gold Medal in Architecture in 2002.
“Serving as dean is a truly extraordinary experience,” Weese said. “I can’t think of a more challenging or rewarding position. The community of faculty and students here at the school are unparalleled in their creativity, intelligence and good will.”
Weese will return to Chicago and continue her practice.
“Dean Weese has made an indelible mark on the growth and strength of the School of Architecture at Washington University,” Wrighton said. “She has served as dean for a significant period and has overseen much important change and advance in our architecture school — for example, the development of the Sam Fox Arts Center. I am most grateful for her leadership in this effort.
“Dean Weese has created an exciting set of opportunities for the future, and I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with her,” Wrighton continued. “Her enthusiasm, creativity and dedication have been a reward for the entire University and St. Louis community. She is a premier person in her profession and has attracted great students and faculty to our university.
“Later this year, I will appoint a committee to assess the needs of the School of Architecture and its role in the Sam Fox Arts Center and in the University and to advise me on the leadership needs for architecture.”
Weese’s work has been exhibited and published nationally and internationally.
She has served as president of AIA Chicago and its foundation and has received numerous awards from the AIA. She has also been a board member of the American Architectural Foundation, the Society of Architectural Historians and the National Institute of Architectural Education.
Additionally, Weese is a founding member of Chicago Women in Architecture and founding member and former president of the Chicago Architectural Club. In 1990, she received a Metropolitan Chicago YWCA Outstanding Achievement Award.
Weese earned a bachelor’s degree in 1962 and a master of architecture degree in 1965, both from the University.
Her teaching experience includes appointments at Miami University, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Iowa State University, the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Weese serves on the visiting committee of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture and is a member of Harvard Design Magazine’s review board.
She was chair of the Planning and Urban Design Task Force for St. Louis 2004 and a member of the Board of Landmark Preservation and the Mayor’s Downtown Development Task Force.
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