Karen J. Weaver, a 1994 Princeton alumna, will return
to the University as associate dean for academic
affairs and diversity in the Graduate School, effective
Aug. 1.
Since 2005, she has been the executive director of the
Amistad Commission within the New Jersey
Department of State. She has overseen statewide
implementation of the Amistad mandate, which
requires New Jersey's public schools to integrate
African American history into the K-12 curriculum. She
previously worked for three years as an educational
consultant, providing services to a wide range of
clients.
At Princeton, she will work closely with David
Redman, associate dean for academic affairs in the
Graduate School, and will have primary responsibility
for recruiting and retaining underrepresented
graduate students.
"We feel very fortunate to have attracted Karen back to
Princeton University," said William Russel, dean of
the Graduate School. "I value her experience in higher
education at Columbia and her success in creating a
model program to address the Amistad mandate. She
has much to contribute to our academic mission and
our efforts to diversify the graduate student body."
In addition to earning her bachelor's degree in history
from Princeton, Weaver received a master of
education degree from Harvard University, and two
master's degrees and a Ph.D. in U.S. history from
Columbia University. Between 1997 and 2004, she
was a research fellow at Columbia's Institute for
Research in African American Studies and helped
establish a quarterly publication, Souls: A Critical
Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society, for
which she served as senior associate editor from
1998 to 2000.
Weaver will succeed Danielle Gray, who resigned in
January.
