John Carrier Weaver

John Carrier Weaver (May 21, 1915 - March 10, 1995) was a professor of geography, and college administrator for several major American universities.

Early life

Weaver was born in Evanston, Illinois. His father, A. T. Weaver, was a professor of speech at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1918 to 1961. John Weaver graduated from the University of Wisconsin High School, then received his A.B. (1936), A.M. (1937), and Ph.D. (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 from 1940-1942, was a researcher for the Division of Geography and Cartography of the United States Department of State from 1942-1944, and from 1944-1946 served as an Arctic intelligence officer in the Navy.

Career in higher education

Weaver taught geography at the University of Minnesota from 1946-1955; 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 (1957-1961), vice president for research and dean of the Graduate College at the University of Iowa (1961-1964); and vice president for academic affairs at The Ohio State University (1964-1966). From 1966 to 1970, Weaver served as president of the University of Missouri System. In 1970, the regents of the University of Wisconsin 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. Weaver retired from the UW System in June, 1977, and moved to Los Angeles where he was a Distinguished Professor of Geography at the University of Southern California and the first executive director of the Annenberg Center for the Study of the American Experience. He died in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.