Charles Weis in Memorium
Charles Weis, who directed
UCR's psychological counseling center for 10 years and worked to protect
the rights of minorities on campus and in the community, died in 1990
of AIDS complications. He was 41.
Weis was instrumental in the passage of ordinances in Riverside County and the City of Riverside protecting AIDS patients from discrimination in such areas as housing and employment. Up until he died, he pushed for passage of a city antidiscrimination ordinance protecting homosexuals.
Weis was active in gay and lesbian political causes, but he was described by many as a voice for all minorities.
Former colleges at UCR described Weis, who had a doctoral degree in psychology, as a skilled clinician and a "champion for students." He directed the UCR Counseling Center from 1979 until his medical retirement in 1989 -- a period of tremendous growth for the university.
During his tenure, he also set up a mentor program that linked gay and lesbian students with others who could provide guidance.
Weis was described by those who knew him as a bright and sensitive man who had a remarkable capacity to make people feel comfortable -- but he could be confrontational when he believed it necessary.
Like his partner of 15 years, David Susky, who died in 1989, he insisted that his death be attributed to AIDS. Friends said he believed ignorance about the incurable disease was responsible for the fear and hatred that grew around it.
He wanted to remind people that AIDS "affects the people next door and it's not a disease that affects somebody else," said Cindy Paxton, a longtime friend and associate professor of health sciences at California State University, San Bernardino.
A native of Dallas, Weis received his bachelor's degree in psychology from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and his doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Dallas. He moved to Riverside in 1978.
He served on the Riverside area Rape Crisis Center board of directors and was an active member of the Political Action Committee for Elections, a local gay and lesbian political organization. He helped train people in crisis intervention at the Volunteer Center of Riverside.
He also was a former president of the statewide Organization of Counseling Center Directors in Higher Education.
