Charles A. Wight

Charles A. "Chuck" Wight is the 12th president of Weber State University, a master's-level university located in Ogden, Utah.

Born in Glen Cove, New York, Wight earned a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Virginia ('77) and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where his advisor was Jesse L. Beauchamp. After completing postdoctoral work for the University of Colorado, he spent nearly three decades as a chemistry faculty member then administrator at the University of Utah before coming to WSU. His roles at the U of U included dean of the graduate school, assistant vice president of Continuing Education and others.

On Oct. 9, 2012, the Utah State Board of Regents selected Wight as president of Weber State University. He officially took over for President F. Ann Millner on Jan. 1, 2013, with an inauguration celebration on Oct. 22 of that year. During his inaugural address, Wight outlined five priorities: keeping college affordable, beautiful and sustainable campuses, innovative teaching, increasing campus diversity, and increasing connections between the university and community. Toward those ends, his tenure has included the creation of a chief diversity officer position within the university, the establishment of a college town charter between the university and Ogden City and the creation of the university's largest solar array. For the aforementioned college town charter and associated relationship, Ogden City and WSU received the 2015 Larry Abernathy Award from the Clemson Joint City University Board. The award, which recognizes excellent college town relationships, is given at the International Town & Gown Association's annual conference.

Wight has expertise in the chemistry of explosives, particularly the decomposition and combustion reactions of high explosives and propellants. His research has developed computational models of propellant combustion and detonation for use in simulations for the now-decommissioned Center for Simulation of Accidental Fires and Explosions (C-SAFE).Wight served as deputy director of C-SAFE from 2002 to 2010.

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