[2] After graduating from the American University School of International Service, Wiegand traveled to Beirut with her Lebanese-American friends where she learned about the Lebanese Civil War.

The following summer, she returned to Lebanon to continue her research but her friends were detained by Hezbollah for "helping an American."

[5] Upon joining the faculty at UT, Wiegand became an associate professor of Political Science and Director of the Global Security Program at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.

[2] As Director of the Center for National Security and Foreign Affairs since 2023, Wiegand directs multiple government-funded grants, conducts policy-relevant research on international conflict, organizes and hosts a series of events and workshops, and works with faculty fellows and affiliates across multiple disciplines and partner institutions at UTK, across the US, and in Japan.

[7] In 2017, Wiegand accepted a Fulbright senior scholarship which sent her to the Philippines for research purposes for five months.