On Sept. 29, Provost John McClusky made an announcement via email informing students that Associate Dean of Work Rob Weis would be stepping down from his position and leaving Blackburn College.
Weis discussed his reasons for leaving, his plans for the future and the how his absence will affect Blackburn and the work program. Weis’s decision to leave boils down to two main factors: “The first of these is that I think this job requires some skill sets that I don’t think I’m a good fit for,” said Weis. “The other part of it is that I now live up in Springfield and the commute isn’t great.”
Weis at the 2016 Baccalaureate
After giving this broad answer, Weis went into more detail: “Something that I don’t really talk about, but that I’m going to be talking about today, is that my whole career I’ve dealt with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)… It’s always been there, and the way that I have handled that in the past is just working like crazy. I’m often here late. I often find myself here at night doing the work I can’t complete during the day because I was too distracted.” Weis continued about how some aspects of the job were difficult to deal with because of his disorder.
When elaborating on his reasons for moving to Springfield, Weis revealed that about two years ago he found out that his partner had cancer. “The good news is that he’s gotten past the worst of it,” said Weis. “But, in the midst of all that, I made the choice to move up to Springfield and act as a caretaker. That was in the cards anyways, so it ended up working out, but while there were certainly challenges in this role before the move, they really became exacerbated after I moved up to Springfield… I can’t make that work. I can’t continue to live in Springfield and continue to play the role I do here at Blackburn. It really came down to that decision, and right now I can’t move back closer. I want to stay and build my life up in Springfield.”
Weis with the current work committee
Weis will be staying on in his position as Associate Dean of Work until a suitable replacement is found to ensure a smooth transition. There is no official timeline for when that might be, but McClusky hopes to have someone new hired by January 2018. “Given the uniqueness of the Associate Dean of Work position, we will conduct a more limited search than normal, focusing on existing Blackburn employees, alumni and candidates from other work colleges,” said McClusky in an email.
Weis is very grateful for his time at Blackburn. “I love this college and I love the work that I’ve been able to do… I’m proud of the people I’ve had a chance to work with at this institution. I’m proud of the young men and women whose lives I’ve been able to be a part of and to watch what they do when they leave.”
Weis looks over the shoulder of senior art major Cierra Gibson