Sian Leah Beilock

Dr. Sian Leah Beilock is the 19th president in the Wheelock succession. She 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 President Beilock's leadership, Dartmouth is leading on the most pressing issues facing higher education and the world: drastically expanding affordability for middle-income families; using a data-driven approach to lead the Ivies in reinstating standardized testing as part of the holistic admissions process; launching a community-wide mental health and well-being plan, Commitment to Care; and recommitting to our Big Green moniker with an historic $500 million investment in sustainability.

President Beilock 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 the issues of our time. In its first year, the program has received national attention, and its efforts have been lauded by leaders across the political spectrum.  

A distinguished cognitive scientist, President Beilock 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.

President Beilock 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, President Beilock 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. 

President Beilock 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.