John Carrier Weaver (May 21, 1915 – March 10, 1995) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

, and college administrator for several major

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

in the United States.

Early life

Weaver was born in Evanston,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. His father, A. T. Weaver, was a professor of speech and theater at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

from 1918 to 1961. John Weaver graduated from the

University of Wisconsin High School The University of Wisconsin High School was a public high school in Madison, Wisconsin, originally encompassing 7-12th grades. It opened September 1914 in a building erected for that purpose. The school was created and maintained by the University ...

, then received his

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

(1936), A.M. (1937), and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(1942), all in geography, from the University of Wisconsin. He was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity.

Military service

He was on the staff of the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...

from 1940 to 1942, was a researcher for the Division of Geography and Cartography of the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

from 1942 to 1944, and from 1944 to 1946 served as an Arctic

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

in the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

Research

Weaver's PhD provided a statistical analysis of US barley production (published as a paper 1943). While his later work provided a widely used method of defining agricultural regions (1954).

Career in higher education

Weaver taught geography at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

from 1946 to 1955; became dean of the College of Arts and Science at Kansas State University (1955–1957); then dean of the Graduate College at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

(1957–1961), vice president for research, and dean of the Graduate College at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

(1961–1964); and vice president for academic affairs at The

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

(1964–1966). From 1966 to 1970, Weaver served as president of the

University of Missouri System The University of Missouri System is an American state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, and ten research and technology parks. Nearly 70,000 students are cu ...

. In 1970, the regents of the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

elected Weaver president, and he took office in January 1971; when the University of Wisconsin System was created in October 1971, Weaver became its first president.University of Wisconsin Archives and Records Management
Presidents of the University of Wisconsin System
Weaver retired from the UW System in June, 1977, and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

where he was a

Distinguished Professor Distinguished Professor is an academic title given to some top tenured professors in a university, school, or department. Some distinguished professors may have endowed chairs. In the United States Often specific to one institution, titles such ...

of Geography at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

and the first executive director of the Annenberg Center for the Study of the American Experience. He died in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Selected publications

* Weaver, J. C. (1943). Climatic relations of American barley production. ''Geographical Review'', 33(4), 569-588. * Weaver, J. C. (1954). Crop-combination regions in the Middle West. ''Geographical Review'', 44(2), 175-200.

Academic Offices

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, John Carrier 1915 births 1995 deaths American geographers Science teachers University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Leaders of the University of Wisconsin-Madison People from Evanston, Illinois Scientists from Madison, Wisconsin Presidents of the University of Missouri System Presidents of the University of Wisconsin System University of Minnesota faculty Kansas State University faculty University of Iowa faculty University of Nebraska faculty Ohio State University faculty 20th-century geographers United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American academics