Hampshire College Announces New President Miriam 'Mim' Nelson

AMHERST, NH - Hampshire College announced this week, Miriam E. Nelson, PhD, a prominent health and nutrition scholar, scientist, university professor, higher education administrator, and government policy adviser will succeed Jonathan Lash, who will retire in June after completing his seventh year as Hampshire College president.

Hampshire College officials announced their choice on Tuesday after receiving a formal recommendation from a presidential search committee, which consisted of three students, three staff members, three faculty members and eight trustees. She will begin her tenure at Hampshire on July 1.

Nelson, who goes by “Mim,” comes to Hampshire College from the University of New Hampshire, where since 2016 she has served as deputy director of the Sustainability Institute, the oldest endowed institute of its kind in higher education.

In her writings, she has called sustainability “a collective commitment to human dignity for all people and ecological integrity in all places. It is rooted in an intergenerational, ethical obligation to social justice, collaboration, and inclusive prosperity.”

During her time at the University of New Hampshire, Nelson, building on a 20-year foundation at the institute, led the Pathway to Platinum effort, engaging the entire campus to reach the highest rating of sustainability for any university or college in the country.

Nelson serves on the Board of Directors of Newman’s Own Inc., the food company that donates all profits to philanthropic causes; Management Sciences for Health, an international NGO focused on improving public health and saving lives of the poorest and most vulnerable people in more than 50 developing nations; and the American Alpine Club.

Previous to her Hampshire College placement, Nelson spent more than 30 years at Tufts University in Medford, MA.

Nelson served for 25 years on the faculty, most recently as associate dean and professor. She was chair of the faculty at Tisch College of Civic Life, devoted to building an enduring culture of active citizenship across the university, and founded the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion.

Nelson was a prolific writer during her time at Tufts, publishing over 100 scholarly papers and the New York Times bestselling ten-book series Strong Women.

She also served as health and nutrition adviser to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture and was a senior adviser to Michael Pollan’s Emmy-nominated documentary In Defense of Food and chief scientific adviser to PBS NOVA’s Marathon Challenge film.

“Hampshire is a national leader in progressive education on issues at the heart of my own passions. This is a challenging time in the world, and communities need more graduates from an innovator like Hampshire. Now more than ever, higher education has a responsibility to empower graduates who are dedicated to taking action, who engage life and work with imagination and creativity, and who are versed in the knowledge, empathy, experience, skills, and values needed to address our most pressing challenges. I plan to work tirelessly to engage students and the entire community, to be their champion, to elevate the importance of resilience in all its dimensions so we can set an ambitious course for educating future leaders, building an inclusive community, and amplifying Hampshire’s leadership, locally and globally.“

Courtesy Photo / Hampshire College