Weems to step down as Meredith president
By Suzy Barile
Correspondent
For nearly 30 years, the name John E. Weems has been synonymous with Meredith College in Raleigh. But with the announcement Nov. 24 that he will retire in July 1999 after a year-long sabbatical, any mention of his name will invoke the question, "Remember when...?"
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"Meredith is perfectly positioned to capitalize on his (Weems) leadership, and we are confident we will do so," said Norman Kellum, chair of the college's board of trustees. "While it will be impossible to replace Dr. Weems, a search committee will...find a person who can build on the strong foundation that is his legacy."
Executive vice president Charles F. Taylor, assisted by the college's Senior Management Team, will administer the planning and operational functions until a new president is selected, said Kellum. "Meredith is in an enviable position of strength and stability," he said.
Under Weems' leadership, significant changes have taken place: enrollment nearly doubled from 1,362 students in 1972 to 2,552 in 1997; full-time faculty almost doubled from 57 in 1972 to 106 in 1997; and the percentage of faculty doctor of philosophy degrees more than doubled from 40 percent to 82 percent.
He led the college as it doubled the size of its physical plant while remaining debt-free; as its endowments and reserves rose from under $1 million to almost $50 million; and as financial assistance awarded to students in need rose annually from $388,605 to nearly $11 million. And Weems has presented 10,108 of the 15,581 diplomas awarded since the first graduating class in 1902, over 64 percent of Meredith's graduates.
On its editorial page on Dec. 1, the Raleigh News & Observer said of Weems: "He and the school he has headed...seem almost inseparable to many who have watched West Raleigh's crown jewel grow and prosper at a time when other private, single-gender schools have struggled to keep their budgets and visions intact...He has done it without straying from the unique and vital historic mission of Meredith College: to provide women with the education, values and skills needed to succeed in an increasingly demanding society. "John Weems did not lay the bricks at Meredith but he -- along with a strong faculty -- certainly strengthened the foundation."
Weems has served on the board of directors of the N.C. Board of Science and Technology, the Child Care Resource and Referral Committee of Wake County, the Fifty Group - Association of CEOs, and the Triangle Bank and Trust Company. In education, he has served as president and vice chairman of the Independent College Fund of N. C., and been on the board of directors for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and its state affiliate. He was president of the N.C. Association of Colleges and Universities; chair for the Cooperating Raleigh Colleges; and president of the Southern Association of Women's Colleges.
