Dr. Peter Weiss to retire in December

Dr. Peter Weiss, a professor in the Smith School of Business, has a quip for any situation, an anecdote to fit any example. Between the stories he tells, and those that his former students tell about him, it's no mystery that Weiss will be missed when he retires in December.

"I was an accidental professor," Weiss explains. After a 30-year career in information services and IT consulting, he began to feel burnt out. A friend at George Washington University, where Weiss had gotten his doctorate degree ("For kicks," he says with a grin), needed to fill up a recently vacated teaching position. Weiss volunteered to do it for a year.

"If you had told me I would have been a professor at a state university I would have rolled on the floor and laughed," he said.

Thirteen years later and still at it, it's obvious that Weiss enjoys teaching. Since moving to the University of Maryland five years ago, he's been a full time teacher. No research, just the way Weiss likes it. Compared to his business career, "It's twice the fun and half the money."

"The love of learning, of problem solving... has guided and helped me most since graduation," said Evan Jones, a former student of Weiss' who graduated in 2010. Jones served as a teaching assistant to Weiss for two semesters. Jones now works a Deloitte, where he uses Weiss' teachings, both technical and practical, to guide his work.

Weiss was born in Cleveland, but his business career was in Baltimore and the Washington area. He worked as a programmer for years until he moved into the consulting world. Weiss worked at Arthur D. Little, the oldest consulting firm in the country, for 13 years. His business experience fuels his teaching style.

"It is really his anecdotes that set him apart from other professors. Weiss' accounts are always relevant to the material that day and help students better understand lecture topics," said Annie Gladding, a junior management major. Weiss says that his prior experience allows him to go beyond a textbook and give students what they really want to learn, real world lessons. 

After selling his house in Chevy Chase earlier this semester, Weiss is living in a hotel until his retirement in December. He and his wife will move down to Lake Anna in southern Virginia. "It's a lot slower," Weiss explains. "I like it. Three cars in a row is rush hour."

With plans to golf and travel, the years ahead look enticing for Weiss. His former students are sad to see him go, but grateful that they got a chance to work with the "accidental" professor while they could.