Diana Chapman Walsh speaks to the trajectory of the Mind & Life dialogues and provides the social context and cultural relevance of this topic of craving, desire, and addiction.
Diana Chapman Walsh, PhD, was the twelfth president of Wellesley College, from 1993 to 2007. Her tenure was marked by educational innovation, including a revision of the curriculum and expanded programs in global education, internships and service learning, and interdisciplinary teaching and learning. In 1998, Wellesley’s Program in Religious and Spiritual Life helped catalyze a national movement by hosting “Education as Transformation,” a gathering of more than 800 participants from more than 250 institutions. President Walsh evolved a distinctive style of self-aware leadership rooted in a network of resilient partnerships and anchored in the belief that trustworthy leadership starts from within. Currently, she chairs the inaugural board of the Broad Institute, and serves on the boards of the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and the Mind & Life Institute. She was a director of the State Street Corporation (1999-2007) and a trustee of Amherst College (1998-2010). A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she writes, speaks, and consults on higher education and leadership. Before assuming the Wellesley presidency, Dr. Walsh was professor and chair of Health and Social Behavior at the Harvard School of Public Health.
