The Claims of Life

The engaging memoir of a legendary president of Wellesley College known for authentic and open-hearted leadership, who drove innovation with power and love.

The Claims of Life traces the emergence of a young woman who set out believing she wasn’t particularly smart but went on to meet multiple tests of leadership in the American academy—a place where everyone wants to be heard and no one wants a boss. In college, Diana Chapman met Chris Walsh, who became a towering figure in academic science. Their marriage of fifty-seven years brought them to the forefront of revolutions in higher education, gender expectations, health-care delivery, and biomedical research.

The Claims of Life offers readers an unusually intimate view of trustworthy leadership that begins and ends in self-knowledge. During a transformative fourteen-year Wellesley presidency, Walsh advanced women’s authority, compassionate governance, and self-reinvention. After Wellesley, Walsh’s interests took her to the boards of five national nonprofits galvanizing change. She kept counsel with Nobel laureates, feminist icons, and even the Dalai Lama, seeking solutions to the world’s climate crisis.

With an ear tuned to social issues, The Claims of Life is an inspiring account of a life lived with humor, insight, and meaning that will surely leave a lasting impression on its readers.A Note on Sources and Naming ix
1 We Two Form a Multitude 1
2 The New York Years 17
3 A Writing Stick 29
4 I Get on with My Life 43
5 How I Became a College President 71
6 Through the Looking Glass 99
7 From the Inside Out 113
8 The Permanent People 129
9 The Inbox Exercise 145
10 Two Leaders, Two Tightropes 161
11 The Student Shadow 175
12 Turn of the Millennium 189
13 Out of the Blue 201
14 Tests of Leadership 223
15 To Hold in Trust 245
16 The Tin Cup 259
17 How to Leave a Job You Love 277
18 What Matters in the End 293
19 A Life in Dialogue 309
Appendix: Trustworthy Leadership 333
Epilogue 337
Index 341Included on Forbes's the Best Higher Education Books For 2023

"Diana Chapman-Walsh, President Emerita of Wellesley College, has written an uplifting memoir, entitled The Claims of Life. Warm, tender, and honest, it’s a book as much about living a meaningful live as it is being an effective college president. Walsh, who was Wellesley’s president from 1993 to 2007, enjoyed a very successful career at her alma mater (a 1966 graduate, majoring in English), after several earlier positions, including academic posts at Boston University, where she earned her MS and PhD, and Harvard. From beginning at Wellesley with the “belief that I wasn’t smart enough, that I had to work especially hard to hold my own,” through a series of leadership opportunities and challenges, all shared with Chris, her (recently deceased) husband of 57 years, Walsh learned five lessons for being a trustworthy leader - question yourself, establish partnerships, resist the use of force when in power, value differences, and cultivate communities of self-support."
—Forbes

“As someone who thinks deeply about lessons, Walsh believes self-discovery is an essential outgrowth of leadership. This memoir reveals her authenticity. Consider her book cover—she is pictured against a Wellesley blue background in her alumnae parade whites, walking across campus, turning to smile at whoever has called to her. This is a leader who values human connections, and it shows. No wonder she produced such a beautiful book.”
—The Wellesly Magazine

“Diana has become an icon in educational leadership, and advocates that education can be both an intellectual and a spiritual journey.”
—Mind & Life podcast“Diana Chapman Walsh’s clear-sighted self-awareness gives us both a compelling personal memoir and an insightful guide to leadership. It is a pleasure to read.”
—Drew Gilpin Faust, Arthur Kingsley Porter University Professor and President Emerita, Harvard University

“This book offers a window into a remarkable woman’s journey to becoming her full self—in relationships, in work, and in life. Diana is always learning, and how fortunate we are to have a chance to learn with her.”
—Mariko Silver, President and CEO, Henry Luce Foundation
 
“At once practical and poetic, inquisitive and deeply personal, Diana Walsh’s memoir invites us into the life of one of America’s great educators—and offers a field manual for effective leadership in an era of social division and institutional mistrust.”
—Cullen Murphy, editor at large, The Atlantic
 
“A remarkably thoughtful and moving account of a life, a marriage, and a college presidency that identifies the ability to ‘lead oneself’ as a key to the trustworthy leadership of others. Walsh’s story demonstrates curiosity in the face of difference and conflict, courage in the face of opportunity and change, and joy in the success of others.”
—Biddy Martin, President Emerita, Amherst College
 
“In her uplifting memoir, Walsh reveals the authenticity of heart that allowed her to pioneer her profound notions of trustworthy leadership. Her insights are inspiring for anyone finding their way and affirming for anyone already on their path.”
—Mark Nepo, author of Falling Down and Getting Up and The Book of Awakening

“The Claims of Life is a rich investigation of what goes into a life of leadership, from cultivating confidence about one’s management style to the fear and resolve involved in moments of crisis, all underscored by love, purpose, and spirituality.”
—Britt Wray, Director of the Chair’s Special Initiative on Climate and Mental Health, Stanford Medicine; author of Generation DreadDiana Chapman Walsh is President Emerita of Wellesley College and an emerita member of the governing boards of MIT and Amherst College. She was a trustee of the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and the Mind and Life Institute, and also chaired the Broad Institute’s inaugural board and cofounded the Council on the Uncertain Human Future. She is the author, coauthor, and editor of numerous books, including Corporate Physicians: Between Medicine and Management.