Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Sian Beilock

President
Dartmouth

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Moderator:
Paul Wigot
Editor of the Editorial Page at The Wall Street Journal
Host of The Journal Editorial Report

Sian is the first woman to have been elected president of Dartmouth by the Board of Trustees and began her tenure on June 12, 2023. Under Sian’s leadership, Dartmouth is addressing key issues in higher education: expanding affordability for middle-income families, reinstating standardized testing in holistic admissions, launching the Commitment to Care mental health plan, and investing $500 million in sustainability.

Sian has also spearheaded the launch of Dartmouth Dialogues — a first-of-its-kind initiative in higher education to facilitate conversations and skills that bridge political and personal divides, and advance meaningful debate on current issues.

She is one of the world’s foremost experts on performance under pressure, receiving the 2017 Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences. She is also a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the highest honors in her field.

She has worked closely with Fortune 500 companies, professional sports teams, and public sector leaders to build high-performing teams and create environments that attract, retain, and get the best out of their talent.

Sian has authored 120 peer-reviewed papers, as well as two critically-acclaimed books — Choke and How the Body Knows Its Mind — that have been published in more than a dozen languages. Her 2017 TED Talk on performing under pressure has been viewed more than 2.7 million times.

Previously, she served as President of Barnard College at Columbia University and Executive Vice Provost at the University of Chicago, where she was also the Stella M. Rowley Professor of Psychology.

Sian earned her bachelor of science in cognitive science from the University of California, San Diego, and doctorate degrees in psychology and kinesiology from Michigan State University.