When it came time for Joseph H. Weiss to go to college, his father gave him two choices: become a lawyer or a doctor. For Mr. Weiss, a “kid who couldn’t stand the sight of blood,” the decision was easy: he became a lawyer. Over the next seven years, Mr. Weiss logged time at both the Fox School of Business and Beasley School of Law and, in the process, came to a stark realization. “When you go to Temple, you meet the people who you are going to interact with in the business world,” he says. “That’s because people who go to Temple tend to stay in Philadelphia.” It’s a fact that held true for Mr. Weiss, who co-founded his first law practice with fellow Temple alumni Allan Gordon, Esq., Law ’66, and Gerald Segal, Esq., Law ’66, following graduation. Mr. Weiss immersed himself in corporate law for the next 25 years, negotiating a range of high-profile deals that included the sale of the Philadelphia Eagles to Norman Braman in 1985 — an experience that Mr. Weiss remembers as one of his favorites. A passion for making and executing deals ultimately led Mr. Weiss down an unlikely career path when he became CEO of Packard Press, Inc. “Four months later, our parent company filed Chapter 11 and by the end, all subsidiaries were gone except mine,” Mr. Weiss recalls. “I was the CEO of a company on pink sheets.” Seeing an opportunity, Mr. Weiss bought Packard Press from shareholders and over the course of 13 years turned it into a thriving, profitable company which he sold in 2000. He went on to serve as Chairman of Electronic Ink until 2016 when he negotiated its sale to LiquidHub, a customer engagement digital transformation company based in Wayne, Pa. Mr. Weiss has never forgotten the education he received at Temple and has always made it a priority to give back to its schools and students. As a member of the Dean’s Council at the Fox School, he has hosted donor receptions with the president, acted in an advisory capacity to management information system students, and coordinated externships for Executive MBA cohorts. He is also past-president of the Temple University Law Alumni Association.

Temple University Degree
Bachelor of Science ’63, Fox School of Business; Juris Doctor ’66, Beasley School of Law

Temple University Awards & Affiliatons

• Member, Dean’s Council, Fox School of Business
• Former President, Temple University Law Alumni Association
• Certificate of Honor from Temple University Alumni Association (1983)
• Information Technology Award for distinguished alumni of the Fox School (2008)

What I wanted to be when I was 20 years old
A businessman

Best piece of advice anyone ever gave me
“Keep your eyes open, and when there’s an opportunity, take it.”