PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - A former Lafayette College president has been tapped to lead the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Daniel Weiss, who led Lafayette from 2005 to 2013, was approved Friday by the art museum’s board of trustees in a unanimous vote, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Weiss joins the Philadelphia museum from Johns Hopkins University, where he spent the past two years as a Homewood Professor of the Humanities and a senior adviser to the provost for the arts.
Prior to that he was president and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where he served from 2015 to 2023.
Weiss left Lafayette in 2013 to become president of Haverford College. He was there two years before going to the Met.
At Lafayette, his tenure was marked by the Easton college’s expansion from College Hill closer to the Downtown. The Williams Art Campus was created at the foot of College Hill off North Third Street.
"We are extraordinarily fortunate to have someone of Dan Weiss's caliber and experience step into this critical role."Ellen Caplan, chair of the Philadelphia Art Museum’s board of trustees
Weiss, 68, will guide the art museum at least through 2028, the trustees said in a news release on the art museum website.
Coincidentally, Weiss' appointment comes as he is scheduled to participate in a conversation next month at the Allentown Art Museum.
Weiss will join Allentown Art Museum CEO Max Weintraub at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11.
Weiss will discuss his book "Why the Museum Matters" and "reflect on the essential role museums play in strengthening communities, shaping culture, and connecting us to ideas that transcend time," according to the Allentown Art Museum's promotion of the appearance.
In Philadelphia, The Inquirer reported Weiss takes over during a turbulent time.
The art museum fired director and CEO Sasha Suda on Nov. 4 after an investigation by an outside law firm into her handling of financial matters, the Inquirer reported. She filed a wrongful termination lawsuit less than a week later,.
Weiss is an art historian who holds a master’s degree in medieval and modern art and a Ph.D. in western medieval and Byzantine art, both from Johns Hopkins University, according to the Inquirer.
His appointment as Lafayette College president at the time was something of a surprise because of the school’s reputation for science and engineering.
Ellen Caplan, chair of the Philadelphia Art Museum’s board of trustees, said in a prepared statement that the institution was delighted to land Weiss.
"We are extraordinarily fortunate to have someone of Dan Weiss's caliber and experience step into this critical role," Caplan said.
"Dan's proven track record of museum leadership, his deep understanding of the field, and his ability to navigate complex institutional challenges make him ideally suited to provide stability and strategic direction during this critical period for the art museum."
As director and CEO, Weiss will oversee all aspects of the art museum's operations, including curatorial programming, education initiatives, collection stewardship, fundraising and strategic planning.
The Philadelphia Art Museum is among the largest art museums in the nation. Its collection of more than 240,000 objects spans 2,000 years.
The art museum website says the institution serves about 700,000 visitors annually and plays a vital role in Philadelphia's cultural and civic life.
