The Baccalaureate Service of the 167th Session of Rhodes College will be held on campus Friday, May 13, followed by Commencement on Saturday, May 14. Dr. Diana Chapman Walsh, President Emerita of Wellesley College, will deliver the Baccalaureate address and will receive the Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree at Commencement.
Under Walsh’s tenure (1993-2007), Wellesley College implemented a number of initiatives including revising its curriculum and expanding programs in global education, interdisciplinary teaching, and service learning. Walsh’s reflective style of leadership has been described as “rooted in a network of resilient partnerships and anchored in the belief that trustworthy leadership starts from within.”
A 1966 Wellesley alumna with a degree in English, Walsh served on the faculty at Harvard University and founded its Program on Society and Health before assuming the Wellesley presidency. Walsh has published articles on a number of topics related to health care, management, and higher education. As a Kellogg National Fellow from 1987 to 1990, she traveled throughout the United States and abroad, studying workplace democracy and principles of leadership.
Walsh currently serves on the boards of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Mind and Life Institute. She recently completed service on the boards of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, which she chaired, and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
The Baccalaureate Service on May 13 begins at 3:30 p.m. in the multi-sports forum of the Bryan Campus Life Center (BCLC), and Commencement on May 14 begins at 9:30 a.m. in Fisher Memorial Garden (BCLC in the event of rain). President William E. Troutt will preside over both programs. Seating tickets are necessary for both programs, which also will stream live from the Rhodes website.
(Photo courtesy of Wellesley College)