Diana Chapman Walsh
Encyclopedia
Diana Chapman Walsh, was President of Wellesley College, from 1993 to 2007. During her tenure, the college revised its curriculum and expanded its programs in global education, internships and service learning, and interdisciplinary teaching and learning. The faculty established new majors in environmental studies, quantitative reasoning, cinema and media studies, neurosciences, and astrophysics. Japanese, Arabic and Korean languages were added to the curriculum as well, and a new department of East Asian Languages and Literatures was launched.
, and chair of the Department of Health and Social Behavior. There she developed and led an interdisciplinary program in society and health, an educational initiative in cancer prevention, a program of studies on social norms and substance abuse, and a project on social marketing for public health. Prior to that, she was at Boston University
, as a University Professor, and Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Public Health
.
Walsh is a 1966 graduate of Wellesley College, as an English major. At Boston University, she earned an M. S. degree in journalism from in 1971 and, in 1983, a Ph.D. in health policy from the University Professors Program. She received the Wallerstein Award for the distinguished graduate thesis in journalism in 1971 and the Alumni Merit Award for the best graduate dissertation by a University Scholar in 1983.
Diana Chapman Walsh began her professional career, in the fall of 1966, at Barnard College
. She spent five years, in the early 1970s, as the information and education director for the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, on whose board she continued to serve for a decade. She was senior staff associate of the Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Health and then associate director of the Health Policy Institute at Boston University, where she developed and ran a fellowship program in health policy for corporate executives. As a Kellogg National Fellow, from 1987 to 1990, she traveled extensively (to Spain, Russia, Iceland, Norway, Brazil and throughout the United States) studying workplace democracy and patterns of leadership, and writing poetry.
Walsh has published on topics related to the organization and financing of health care services, the conservation of health, the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, the health effects of work and on a number of issues in higher education. Her empirical studies have appeared in professional and scholarly journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs and the Journal of the American Medical Association, and she is the author of reviews, essays, commentaries, and case studies. She has written, edited and co-edited twelve books, including a nine-volume series on industry and health care published by Springer-Verlag, a study of the practice of medicine within corporations entitled Corporate Physicians: Between Medicine and Management, Yale University Press, 1987, a co-edited monograph entitled Society and Health and published by Oxford University Press, and an essay, Trustworthy Leadership, published by the Fetzer Institute.
. She is a trustee of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
and of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. She was a director of the State Street Corporation from 1999-2007 and a trustee of Amherst College from 1998-2010. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
and of Phi Beta Kappa
.
, is the Hamilton Kuhn Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry at the Harvard Medical School
. Their daughter, Allison Walsh Kurian, is an assistant professor of medicine and health policy at Stanford University
.
Contributions
Other innovations included the opening of the Davis Museum and Cultural Center, the establishment of the Religious and Spiritual Life Program, the creation of a media and technology center, a social science center, a center for the humanities, annual day-long conferences to showcase student learning in the classroom and beyond, and other initiatives designed to strengthen the quality of campus intellectual life. Many of the college’s administrative structures were strengthened and major landscape restoration and building projects were completed across the campus. The college raised over $700-million in new gifts during this 14-year period, strengthened the management of the endowment and increased it fourfold, to over $1.6-billion.Academic career
Previously, Dr. Walsh was the Norman Professor at the Harvard School of Public HealthHarvard School of Public Health
The Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...
, and chair of the Department of Health and Social Behavior. There she developed and led an interdisciplinary program in society and health, an educational initiative in cancer prevention, a program of studies on social norms and substance abuse, and a project on social marketing for public health. Prior to that, she was at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, as a University Professor, and Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Public Health
Boston University School of Public Health
Boston University School of Public Health is Boston University's graduate School of Public Health. It is located in the heart of Boston University's Medical Campus in the South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The Dean is Robert Meenan...
.
Walsh is a 1966 graduate of Wellesley College, as an English major. At Boston University, she earned an M. S. degree in journalism from in 1971 and, in 1983, a Ph.D. in health policy from the University Professors Program. She received the Wallerstein Award for the distinguished graduate thesis in journalism in 1971 and the Alumni Merit Award for the best graduate dissertation by a University Scholar in 1983.
Diana Chapman Walsh began her professional career, in the fall of 1966, at Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
. She spent five years, in the early 1970s, as the information and education director for the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, on whose board she continued to serve for a decade. She was senior staff associate of the Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Health and then associate director of the Health Policy Institute at Boston University, where she developed and ran a fellowship program in health policy for corporate executives. As a Kellogg National Fellow, from 1987 to 1990, she traveled extensively (to Spain, Russia, Iceland, Norway, Brazil and throughout the United States) studying workplace democracy and patterns of leadership, and writing poetry.
Walsh has published on topics related to the organization and financing of health care services, the conservation of health, the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, the health effects of work and on a number of issues in higher education. Her empirical studies have appeared in professional and scholarly journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs and the Journal of the American Medical Association, and she is the author of reviews, essays, commentaries, and case studies. She has written, edited and co-edited twelve books, including a nine-volume series on industry and health care published by Springer-Verlag, a study of the practice of medicine within corporations entitled Corporate Physicians: Between Medicine and Management, Yale University Press, 1987, a co-edited monograph entitled Society and Health and published by Oxford University Press, and an essay, Trustworthy Leadership, published by the Fetzer Institute.
Other positions
Walsh currently serves as chair of the board of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, as a member of the corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. She is a trustee of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Kaiser Family Foundation
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation , or just Kaiser Family Foundation, is a U.S.-based non-profit, private operating foundation headquartered in Menlo Park, California. It focuses on the major health care issues facing the nation, as well as the U.S. role in global health policy...
and of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. She was a director of the State Street Corporation from 1999-2007 and a trustee of Amherst College from 1998-2010. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
and of Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Beta Kappa Society
The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...
.
Biographical notes
Her husband, Christopher T. WalshChristopher T. Walsh
Christopher T. Walsh is a Hamilton Kuhn professor of biological chemistry and pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. His research focuses on enzymes and enzyme inhibition, and most recently he is focused on the problem of antibiotic resistance. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in...
, is the Hamilton Kuhn Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry at the Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
. Their daughter, Allison Walsh Kurian, is an assistant professor of medicine and health policy at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.