CLASS Mourns the Loss of One of its Own—UH Professor of Political Science Gregory R. Weiher, scholar and author, passes away


CLASS Mourns the Loss of One of its Own—UH Professor of Political Science Gregory R. Weiher, scholar and author, passes away "I am deeply saddened to announce that Professor of Political Science Gregory R. Weiher has transitioned,” said Antonio D. Tillis, dean of the UH College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) and M.D. Anderson Professor in Hispanic Studies. “A valued member of the UH community for over three decades, Professor Weiher will be deeply missed by his students and colleagues.”

Gregory R. Weiher, Ph.D., born Sept. 13, 1948, passed away on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019, in Houston, Texas.

Professor Weiher joined the UH Department of Political Science in September of 1984 after receiving a Ph.D. from Washington University. He was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 1991 and promoted to professor in 2003. He served the department and the university in a number of administrative positions. Weiher was director of the Center for Public Policy from 1991 to 1995, director of the Master’s Program in Public Administration from 2007 to 2008, and chair of the Department of Political Science from 2008 to 2011.

“Throughout his time at the University of Houston, Greg played a major role in the public administration program and helped train many MPA students who went on to successful careers in the public sector,” said Jeffrey Church, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Political Science and the Lence Distinguished Teaching Chair. “Weiher also raised a voluminous amount of grant money for the University. During his career at UH, he was principal investigator or co-principal investigator on grants totaling $1,959,863. He contributed to the department and University on all the metrics for excellence.”

In 1986, Weiher won the William Anderson Award from the American Political Science Association for best doctoral dissertation completed and accepted in the field of state and local politics, federalism, or intergovernmental relations. His dissertation was later published and is titled "The Fractured Metropolis."

Professor Weiher’s book, The Fractured Metropolis: Political Fragmentation and the Metropolitan Segregation, was chosen by the Gustavus Myers Center as the Outstanding Book on human rights in 1992. He also published more than 20 peer-reviewed articles or chapters in some of our best outlets for academic research. Most of his articles were on urban affairs or education. They include four articles published in the Journal of Politics, one of the top three general audience journals in the discipline. He also published articles in Political Research Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, and the Policy Studies Journal, among others.

“He was a scholar, an administrator, a grantsman, an excellent teacher, and most importantly, a first-class friend and colleague to all who knew him,” said Church.