WGHI ‘Leading the Way’ interview: Wellesley College President Paula Johnson

Paula Johnson, president of Wellesley College. Download image

On Nov. 16, Karen Plaut, Purdue’s executive vice president for research, led a public discussion with Paula Johnson, president of Wellesley College. This event, “Beyond X and Y: Gender Biology and Women’s Health,” was part of the “Leading the Way” interview series run by the Purdue Women’s Global Health Institute. The series features distinguished scientists and leaders discussing research, leadership, career paths and barriers, and work-life balance.

In an hourlong interview, Johnson shared her thoughts on the importance of gender considerations in research and optimism for the current situation. “This is an important moment,” Johnson said. Citing recent National Institutes of Health and White House support for advancing the study of sex and gender differences across health and disease research, she said, “This is unprecedented in the past 20 years. We have the policies, but they must be implemented so that we are making the most of the dollar that is invested in research.”

A cardiologist, Johnson is the first African American president of Wellesley College, which she joined in 2016. She has decades of experience in academic medicine, public health and higher education. She was the first African American promoted to full professor and to hold the position of chief medical resident at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where she founded the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology.

During the wide-ranging discussion, Johnson reflected on a variety of other topics including her career path, leadership roles and overcoming barriers, as well as her insights on work-life integration. The interview also explored her experiences being in the first generation of her family to graduate from college, serving as a mentor and benefits for mentees, her role as a leading voice and thought leader in how gender should be considered in the understanding of diseases, and more. The full interview can be viewed on the Purdue Women’s Global Health Initiative’s YouTube channel.

More information about the Purdue Women’s Global Health Initiative and the “Leading the Way” interview series are available at this WGHI weblink.