Background Information

Present Positions

Immediate past chairman of  the Mass Communication Department of Winona State University, after serving two terms in that position, and professor teaching courses in Public Relations, PR Writing and the Mass Media and Society this term.

Adjunct professor of business for the Center for Graduate Studies of Baker College of Michigan, a program offering courses entirely in the online environment. Teaches marketing management, marketing research, advertising, business administration, labor and management relations, sales, and computer information systems courses for that program.

President of Weis Associates, a business designed to provide consulting services in the areas of strategic planning, marketing planning and integrated communications.

Education

• Marmion Military Academy, Aurora, Ill.
• Bachelor's Degree, Journalism, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Ill.
• Master's Degree, Marketing--Thesis: Ethics in PR/Advertising. Norwich University, Montpelier, Vt.
• Additional Ph.D Study,  Business and Management, Walden University, Minneapolis, Minn. Dissertation Topic: Mass Media Bias.

 

Prof. Weis is shown below in his early days in Mass Comm working at the news desk of a daily newspaper. Among his newspaper experiences, Prof. Weis covered the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago and the Richard Nixon presidential campaign in Illinois. He began working in Journalism as a night court reporter at age 16.

 

Background Summary

Thirteen years as professor of Mass Communication at Winona State University. Completed two three-year terms as chairman of the department. Extensive background during more than 20 years in healthcare administration, marketing, marketing communications and strategic planning. This included comprehensive experience in the areas of public relations, media relations and governmental relations; written communications, including the full range of publications and other collateral promotional materials; television and radio production and advertising; and fund-raising. Ten years' experience in the news media in positions ranging from general assignment reporter, feature writer, area editor and wire editor, to state editor and as a news editor of a daily newspaper. Twenty one years of combined experience as faculty in higher education.

Memberships, Community and WSU Activities, Current or Former

• Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), active in the Public Relations and Media and Society divisions of that professional organization.
• Member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and advisor to the Winona State University Chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) since its establishment at WSU last year.
• Former member of the Winona State University Institutional Review Board.
• Member of the WSU Academic Review Committee for several years.
• Member of the WSU Space Utilization Committee and one-time co-chair of that group.
• Previously advisor to The Winonan, WSU student newspaper and member, WSU Publication Board.
• Served as Police Commissioner for the City of Lansing, Mich.
• Commissioner, Traffic and Transportation Commission, City of Lansing.
• Board member and Marketing Chairman for the Police Athletic League.  
• Former member of the Executive Committee and Public Relations Chairman for the City of Lansing Child and Family Partnership Program.
• Developed strategic plans for the Mayor of Lansing in the areas of economic development, public safety and housing. 
• Served as coordinator of the City of Lansing U.S. Census Task Force, liaison to the federal government.
• Served as President of a regional mental health center Board of Directors.
• Served as President of a three-county family counseling service agency.
• Former Vice President of  United Way Board of Directors. 
• Served as a city Planning Commissioner in the Chicago suburbs.
• Former elected member of a public school district Board of Education in a community of 180,000 residents.
• Vice President of a parochial school Board of Education and President of a Catholic Parish Council.
• Memberships have also included the Boards of Directors of the Cancer Society, Heart Association, Easter Seal Society and Salvation Army, among many others.
• A veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.

 

Clicking on the photos above provides larger images. Prof. Weis (top row, left to right) at 10 Downing St., the United Kingdom prime minister's residence, in London this summer; at the Roman Baths in, logically, Bath, England; a green bus (where else?) in Dublin, Ireland; the Temple Bar in the Temple District, Dublin. Second row, left to right, this past year in front of one of the few remaining sections of the Berlin Wall, the scar of the Cold War period and the barrier between East and West Berlin until 1989; on the West Berlin side of the Brandenburg Gate with the former East Berlin on the other side; in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome last summer; before the Egyptian obelisk in St. Peter's Square in Rome. Shown (third row, left to right) in Giza in front of the sphinx and Khufu's great pyramid; at Assisi in Italy; at Acre (Akko) in Israel; in Roswell, NM, with a new alien friend; In front of the Parthenon in Rome. Prof. Weis (fourth row, left to right) at Wimbledon's center court in England; in front of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris; at the American cemetery above Utah Beach, Normandy; at Buckingham Palace in London; and with Ramses the Great at the Louvre, Paris. Photos (bottom row, left to right) in the old family hometown of Sandycroft, Wales, Great Britain; on the Thames River with one of the WSU students involved one of the London travel-study courses; at Orvieto in Italy; in front of the basilica in Lourdes, France; and on the Left Bank in Paris. At the top of this page, shown at Stonehenge in England.

Awards and Honors   

Award-winning communications and advertising campaigns with extensive experience in publications, including newsletters, quarterly magazines, brochures and newspapers; advertising, including newspaper, magazine, radio and television; and special events.  Award-winning work in journalism, including three national Copley Press Ring of Truth awards for excellence in reporting, headline writing and newspaper layout and design. Ten years' experience as general assignment reporter, feature writer, wire editor, state editor and and as a news editor. Awards for business activities. More than 75 local, state and national awards for communications and publications; television, print and radio advertising; magazine, newsletter, brochure, sales and promotional materials; and public relations events. International Jaycees Award as Outstanding Community Leader.  Many organization and agency awards for community service.

Personal Information

Wife, Shirley, is chief administrative officer of the Mayo Clinic system nationwide. Shirley is also a member of the Winona State University Foundation Board of Trustees. We make our homes in Rochester and Scottsdale, Ariz. 

Two children:  Daughter, Laura,  is a former high school Spanish teacher in Springfield, Ill., married to Jon Graves. They are parents of Isabella and Sofia.  Son, Bob, is a Ph.D. clinical  psychologist and a professor of psychology at Denison University near Columbus, Ohio.  Bob and his wife, Jen, are the parents of Thomas, Marie and Anne Catherine.

Prof. Weis' hobbies center around aviation and aviation history. He has been a member of  several aviation organizations including the Aircraft Owners and Pilots’ Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, Warbirds of America, American Navion Society, Ercoupe Owners Association, and the Vintage (Antique/Classic) Aircraft Association.

 Prof. and Mrs. Weis (above right) in the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City-State

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