Susan Weber (historian)

Template:Short description Template:Infobox person Susan Weber<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (born 1954) is an American historian. She is the founder and director of the Bard Graduate Center (BGC) for studies in the decorative arts, design history, and material culture affiliated with Bard College in Dutchess County, New York. She was previously married to George Soros.

Early life and education

Susan Weber was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of Iris and Murray Weber.<ref name=Kaufman>Template:Cite book</ref> Her father was a manufacturer of shoe accessories; her mother was a housewife.<ref name=Kaufman/> Her father was born in New York City to parents who had emigrated from Russia.<ref name=Kaufman/> Her mother passed on her fondness for the decorative arts.<ref name=Kaufman/> She grew up in the New York City area in a non-observant Jewish household; summing up her upbringing, Weber stated: "We were cultural Jews."<ref name=Kaufman/>

She attended an Episcopal high school in Brooklyn<ref name=Kaufman/> and graduated from Barnard College of Columbia University with a degree in art history.<ref name=athome>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1990, she earned a master's degree from Cooper-Hewitt/Parsons.<ref name=athome />

She also studied at the Royal College of Art in London, where she earned her PhD degree (1998) with a thesis on the furniture of E. W. Godwin.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref>

Career

Weber was executive director of the Open Society Institute (OSI), the umbrella name for some 24 independent foundations that support the advancement of freedom of expression around the globe. OSI also supports cultural exchange through grants to individuals and associations.Template:Citation needed

In 1991, Weber was turned down for the job of director of graduate education at the Parsons School of Design. So, with $20 million of her husband's money, she started her own school in 1993,<ref name=athome /> establishing the Bard Graduate Center where she is professor of the history of the decorative arts. BGC offers graduate degrees in history of the decorative and applied arts, cultural and design history, garden history, and landscape studies.<ref name=athome />

Personal life

In 1983, Weber married billionaire George Soros, twenty-four years her senior,<ref name=athome /> and the primary contributor to the Open Society Institute (OSI). They had two children, Alexander (born 1985) and Gregory (born 1988).<ref name="nytimes">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They divorced in 2005.<ref name="auto"/>

Bibliography

• Soros, Susan Weber (ed.) (2006). James 'Athenian' Stuart: The Rediscovery of Antiquity (Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design & Culture). New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press Template:ISBN
• Soros, Susan Weber, and Stefanie Walker (ed.) (2004). Castellani and Italian Archaeological Jewelry (Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design & Culture) . New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press Template:ISBN
• Soros, Susan Weber, and Catherine Arbuthnott (2003). Thomas Jeckyll: Architect and Designer, 1827–1881. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press Template:ISBN (Winner of the 2004 Henry Russell Hitchcock Award sponsored by the Victorian Society in America and winner of the 2005 Philip Johnson Award given by the Society of Architectural Historians)
• Soros, Susan Weber (ed.) (1999). E.W. Godwin: Aesthetic Movement Architect and Designer. New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press Template:ISBN
• Soros, Susan Weber (ed.) (1999). The Secular Furniture of E.W. Godwin: With Catalogue Raisonné New Haven, CT and London: Yale University Press Template:ISBN

External links

• Faculty Biography for Susan Weber from Bard Graduate Center