In today's mail I got the usual barrage of junk mail. In particular a magazine from my undergraduate university (Weber State University) caught my eye. Its purpose was obvious; they wanted my money. I took the time to read a few articles, though, and was pleased to see that the new President of Weber State University is Charles A. Wight - a physical chemist.

Wight was previously a professor at the University of Utah. A graduate of Caltech (PhD - 1982) he began working for the University of Utah in  1985 and is now making his move to Weber State.

I don't know why this seems like such a big deal to me. Perhaps it's just nice to see some representation (all of the past presidents have been from the humanities or business departments). It's representation that's pretty specific to me as well. Not only is he a scientist - he's a chemist - specifically a physical chemist. So, good luck President. See if you can't send some research funds to the chemistry department.