Summary
Sian Leah Beilock (/ˈsiən ˈbaɪlɒk/ SEE-ən BY-lok;[2] born January 10, 1976) is an American cognitive scientist who is the president of Dartmouth College.[3] Previous to serving at Dartmouth College, Beilock was the president of Barnard College. Beilock spent 12 years at the University of Chicago, departing Chicago as the Stella M. Rowley Professor of Psychology and Executive Vice Provost.[4] She holds doctorates in kinesiology and psychology from Michigan State University.[5][6]
Sian Beilock | |
|---|---|
 Beilock in 2024 | |
| 19th President of Dartmouth College | |
| Assumed office June 12, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Philip J. Hanlon |
| 8th President of Barnard College | |
| In office July 1, 2017 – June 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Debora Spar |
| Succeeded by | Laura Rosenbury |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 10, 1976 Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Education | University of California, San Diego (BS) Michigan State University (MS, PhD) |
| Awards | Troland Research Award (2017)[1] |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Psychology Education Neuroscience |
| Institutions | Dartmouth College Barnard College |
| Thesis | When performance fails: Expertise, attention, and performance under pressure (2003) |
| Doctoral advisors | Thomas Carr Deb Feltz |
Education edit
Beilock graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a B.S. in cognitive science and a minor in psychology. She was awarded a Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 2003.[7]
Career edit
During and subsequent to her Ph.D. research, Beilock explored differences between novice and expert athletic performances. Later in her career, Beilock's research focused on why people perform poorly in stressful academic situations, such as taking a high-stakes mathematics exam. Beilock found that worries during those situations rob individuals of the working memory or cognitive horsepower they would normally have to focus. Because people with more working memory rely on their brainpower more, they can be affected to a greater extent in stressful academic situations. Beilock's work demonstrated that stressful situations during tests might diminish meaningful differences between students that under less stressful situations might exhibit greater differences in performance.[8]
From 2003 to 2005, Beilock was an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Miami University. She was on the faculty at the University of Chicago from 2005 until 2017, where she was the Stella M. Rowley Professor of Psychology and Executive Vice Provost.[5] On July 1, 2017, she became the 8th president of Barnard College.[9][10] Beilock became the first woman to lead Dartmouth College in 2023.[11][12] She began as president of Dartmouth on June 12, 2023.[13] Beilock stated her focus is on improving student mental health. She has faced a tumultuous start as the result of several high profile incidents, including the arrests of two student protestors and free-speech concerns around monitoring of student communications.[14] [15]
Cognitive science and education edit
Beilock's research relates to educational practice and policy.[16] Her work found that students' attitudes and anxieties (as well as those of their teachers) are critical to student success.[17] In her work, she has developed simple psychological interventions to help people perform their best under stress.[18]
See also edit
Works edit
- Beilock, S. L. (2010). Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal about Getting It Right When You Have To. Simon & Schuster: Free Press.
- Beilock, S. L. (2015). How the Body Knows Its Mind: The Surprising Power of the Physical Environment to Influence How You Think and Feel. Simon & Schuster: Atria Books.
References edit
- ^ "2017 NAS Troland Research Award". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ^ "Introducing President Sian Beilock". YouTube. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ "Sian Leah Beilock". President | Dartmouth College. April 20, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ Harris, Elizabeth A. (May 22, 2017). "Barnard Chooses a Leader Whose Research Focuses on Women". The New York Times.
- ^ "President Sian Beilock". barnard.edu. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ "2012 Psychonomic Society Annual Meeting". Psychonomic Society. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
- ^ "When performance fails: expertise, attention, and performance under pressure". d.lib.msu.edu. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ Beilock, Sian L.; Decaro, Marci S. (November 2007). "From poor performance to success under stress: working memory, strategy selection, and mathematical problem solving under pressure". Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 33 (6): 983–998. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.33.6.983. ISSN 0278-7393. PMID 17983308. S2CID 15191846. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ^ "Leading Cognitive Scientist Sian Beilock Named 8th President of Barnard College". barnard.edu. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ "President Sian Beilock". barnard.edu. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "Dartmouth Names Barnard's Sian Beilock as First Female President". Bloomberg.com. July 21, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
- ^ King, Hope (July 21, 2021). "Dartmouth elects Sian Beilock as its first woman president". Axios.
- ^ "Sian Leah Beilock". President | Dartmouth College. April 20, 2023. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
- ^ "Hanover police arrest two students during 'Dartmouth New Deal' protest". New Hampshire Public Radio. October 30, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ "Adkins: President Sian Beilock Has Set a Dangerous Precedent for Free Speech". The Dartmouth. November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ Beilock, Sian (2011). "Back to school: Dealing with academic stress: Simple psychological interventions can reduce stress and improve academic performance". American Psychological Association. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- ^ "Chapter 5. The role of anxiety and motivation in students' maths and science achievement". Developing Minds in the Digital Age: Towards a Science of Learning for 21st Century Education. OECD's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. 2019. ISBN 9789264634312.
- ^ Paul, Annie Murphy (April 13, 2012). "How to Be a Better Test-Taker". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
External links edit
- Choke – Beilock’s Psychology Today Blog