WORCESTER – The Assumption University board of trustees Monday announced that Greg Weiner, Ph.D., has been elected the 17th president of the university. Weiner has successfully served as Assumption’s interim president since April.
Assumptionist Father Dennis M. Gallagher, vice-chairman of the trustees, and provincial superior of North America, the Augustinians of the Assumption, stated that “Weiner has demonstrated a strong commitment to the university’s Catholic educational mission since first setting foot on the Assumption campus. He is a man of deep faith, compassion, and character who brings great energy, innovative ideas, and humble leadership to everything he undertakes.”
Mr. Weiner, who is Jewish, is the first non-Catholic president of the university.
Trustee's chairman Francis J. Bedard, said, “Weiner’s varied and extensive professional and educational experience makes him uniquely qualified to chart the course for Assumption into the future. He has done an outstanding job leading the university as interim president furthering our mission and making strategic decisions in the best interest of Assumption and its community at large.”
Mr. Bedard said he is confident that he "will take Assumption to an even greater level of excellence.”
Weiner joined Assumption in 2011 as an assistant professor of political science, after a political consulting career in Washington D.C. He was appointed associate professor and then full professor, and in 2019, became the university’s provost and vice president of academic affairs.
In addition to teaching, Weiner has served as an officer of the representative faculty senate and contributed to Assumption’s restructuring from a college to university. In recognition of his dedication to Assumption students, he was recognized with the Student Government Association's first "Above and Beyond" award for faculty. He is also the recipient of the Paul Ziegler Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarship.
A prolific political science writer and speaker, Weiner’s articles have been published in The New York Times and The Washington Post in addition to several national magazines. He is also the author of four books on American political thought. Among his roles in national politics, Weiner served as communications director and policy adviser to several U.S. senators and founded the Washington, D.C.-based speech writing firm Content Communications, LLC.
“I am grateful to Assumption University’s board of trustees and to the members of the presidential search committee for the extraordinary opportunity to lead this university,” Weiner said of his appointment. “I am honored to help lead Assumption toward new possibilities that embrace our Catholic educational mission and welcome all, no matter who they may be, who seek to pursue the truth in the company of friends.”
Weiner earned a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Texas, Austin; a master’s degree in liberal studies from Georgetown University; and a doctorate in government from Georgetown University.