September 8, 2023

To: Dr. Jeremy Korr, Interim Provost, and the Faculty Personnel Commission
From: Justyn Howard, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Conduct, Accessible
Education, and Compliance
Re: Dr. Frank Weber, Associate Professor of Psychology
Subject: Support of Promotion
It’s my pleasure and honor to write this letter of support for the promotion of Dr. Frank Weber to
Professor of Psychology.
I have worked with Dr. Weber mostly in our capacity as members of the University’s CARES
Team (“CARES”). Dr. Weber graciously volunteered to join the CARES Team in September
2021, after I reached out to the then Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, Dean Korr,
requesting faculty interest in joining the Team. Frank was one of the first faculty to reach out to
me expressing his interest to be on the team and to start working on cases immediately. Dr.
Weber and I worked closely with retired Executive Vice Chancellor of Enrollment and Student
Affairs, Saskia Knight, who was the chair of the CARES Team through September 2022. Being
part of CARES gave me the opportunity to get to know Dr. Weber more intimately. Since
stepping into the CARES Team chair role after Saskia’s retirement, I can’t express enough how
much Dr. Weber’s dedication, commitment, and expertise has meant to our students and the
team.
Dr. Weber is a CARES Team member on our monthly on-call schedule. This means (at least)
one week per month, he and typically two other CARES members are “on-call” to review and
respond to any CARES referrals received during that particular week. Dr. Weber is always
responsive and willing to work with one of our community members in need or distressed. His
background and expertise as a clinical psychologist is invaluable, particularly for CARES cases
related to, but not limited to, grief and/or mental health. Dr. Weber regularly attends our bi-
weekly meetings and always makes himself available to me and/or the team, even if he is not on-
call.
There are two particular matters that stand out to me that demonstrate Dr. Weber’s willingness to
serve, even when a matter was out of his scope as a CARES member. One matter involved an
intimate partner situation that came through the Title IX Office. I worked with the student to
understand the situation and support him academic accommodations as the Title IX Coordinator,
but the student was seeking guidance and resources in areas I didn’t necessarily have the
expertise to provide assistance in. I contacted Dr. Weber about the situation, and without
hesitation he offered to reach out to the student and pull resources together relevant to the
student’s situation. The student was so grateful for the opportunity to speak with Dr. Weber and
learn about self-help strategies as well as external resources that would benefit their situation.
The other matter involved a CARES student who was assigned to me who claimed to have some
undiagnosed mental health issues. I reached out to Dr. Weber to see if he would be willing to
speak with the student about some of their mental health concerns, which he graciously agreed
to. However, what was most inspiring about Dr. Weber’s follow-up from that conversation was
not just the mental health support he provided the student, but that he shared with me that the
student and him would be working together throughout the session as he would be her
interviewee and subject of a class project. Dr. Weber did not have to take on this role and did
not have any responsibility or obligation to this student, nonetheless he not only stepped in on
my behalf/request to talk to the student, but he also became a valuable asset for her academically
as well.
Dr. Weber is an individual I respect and admire. He truly cares about the work he’s doing, our
university, and the students we serve. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can provide any
other useful information as part of this process.
Very best,

Justyn Howard, Esq.

Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Conduct, Accessible Education, & Compliance
Title IX Coordinator
Supervisor of the Ombuds Office
Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor of Enrollment and Student Affairs
T 949.383.3903 | M 949.414.0046 | F 949.754.0670
Jhoward4@umassglobal.edu
www.umassglobal.edu
A Private Nonprofit Affiliate of University of Massachusetts