Take a break with ... Darlene Weaver
Darlene Weaver is a moral theologian, academic and UD’s first woman and externally hired provost and executive vice president of academic affairs.
Before coming to UD, Weaver was associate provost for academic affairs at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and has held faculty appointments at Georgetown University, Villanova University and Duquesne.
Weaver received a bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University, a master’s degree from Yale Divinity School, and a doctorate in ethics from the University of Chicago, with a particular focus on moral agency.
This summer, Weaver participated in an hour-long Q&A interview session during the President’s Council retreat at Maria Stein, and excerpts from the interview with UD Executive Director of Strategic Communications Teri Rizvi can be found on President Eric F. Spina’s blog. Keep reading for more insights on Weaver’s life and her journey to UD.
Tell us a little about your early life.
I grew up in Altoona, Pennsylvania, moving there when I was in second grade. My father was a musician, who passed away when I was 11. My mother was our parish secretary until a few years ago. I have an older brother, a twin brother and a younger sister. As you can imagine, raising four children as a widow on a parish secretary’s salary is no easy feat, but it was a happy childhood.
Your background has significantly influenced your views on increasing access to higher education. Were you a first-generation college student?
My dad went to college, so technically no, but I do think of myself as first-gen because of his early death. My mom only went to high school, my older brother didn't do any college work and my twin brother got an associate's degree, but not until I’d been at college for a while. Experientially it felt like I was the first person in the family to go to college because it was a process I was navigating on my own.
You enrolled at Carnegie Mellon as a Pell Grant recipient, so life has come full circle in a way by being in this position at UD.
It's just astonishing to me that I'm here. It's one of my greatest goals to help advance that work and find ways not only to continue to attract deserving students who otherwise lack the means to be here, but work with all of you to mitigate barriers to their success while they're here.
Tell us about your own family. What do you like to do together?
I moved here with my spouse, three boys and a dog. We're an active family. We do family game nights and we’ve done these really ridiculous road trips. We once drove from Pittsburgh to New Orleans in a single day, and from Omaha back to Pittsburgh in two days. We've been to 48 states with the kids and we've got Alaska and Hawaii left. My children range from tween to late teens. They’re a rambunctious and mischievous crew, and I love them dearly. I'm talking on a regular basis with my high-schooler about how great our engineering programs are and how he needs to come here. And the youngest has already decided he’s going to come to UD because our campus tour included a stop at Marycrest, and he saw that there are gallons of ice cream in the cooler.
“The clarity, the conviction, and the courage around mission and values here is just deeply appealing to me.”
What were your first impressions of UD?
UD struck me as a welcoming institution that does quality work and has talented people. The clarity, the conviction, and the courage around mission and values here is just deeply appealing to me. The University also impresses me as being simultaneously people-centered and strategic in its thinking.
When you wake up in the morning, what energizes you?
The long list of emails I haven't finished responding to! I told a few people that I heard repeatedly how quickly Paul Benson would respond to emails. I’m thinking ‘Was he looking people in the eye during meetings and typing at the same time?’ Seriously, I'm so glad to be here, and I have a sense of the importance and the need in these first weeks to show up in the way the institution needs me.
You’re the first external provost and the first woman to fill this position. What does that mean to you?
I'm honored and flattered to be part of what’s obviously an institutional milestone. To be candid, the external part is more on my mind than the first woman part. I think there are benefits to having come from the outside. I certainly feel very grateful that you all took a bet on me. I want to try to maximize the benefits of being a newcomer while also remaining mindful of my need to adjust to you, to acclimate and to continue to learn. I want the University of Dayton to be better for me having been part of it and for its mission, identity and culture to continue to be as strong as it is. I want it to be an even more inclusive, diverse and equitable environment. I want the excellence of its academic programs and of its students, staff and faculty to thrive as well.
What do you need from the people around you to succeed?
Pray for me, please. And be candid with me.