William Damon

William Damon is Professor of Education at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education, Director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence since 1997, and Senior Fellow by courtesy at the Hoover Institution since 1999. He received his Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1973 and his B.A. from Harvard University in 1967. Earlier in his career, Damon held positions at Clark University including Assistant Professor of Psychology (1973-1978), Associate Professor of Psychology (1978-1982), Professor of Psychology (1982-1989), Dean of the Graduate School (1983-1987), and Chair of Education (1988-1989). At Brown University, he served as Chair of Education (1989-1992), Professor of Education (1989-1998), University Professor (1997-1998), and Director of the Center for the Study of Human Development (1992-1998). He was also Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Puerto Rico in 1988 and Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in 1994-1995.

Damon is recognized as one of the world’s leading scholars of human development across the lifespan and has pioneered the scientific study of purpose in life. His research specializations include the development of purpose, integrity, moral commitment, and character in work, family, schools, and personal lives, with recent studies on purpose in higher education, adulthood, families, and youth vocational purpose. Key publications include The Path to Purpose: How Young People Find Their Calling in Life (2008), A Round of Golf with My Father: The New Psychology of Exploring Your Past to Make Peace with Your Present (2021), Greater Expectations: Overcoming the Culture of Indulgence in Our Homes and Schools (1995, Parents’ Choice Book Award winner), Some Do Care: Contemporary Lives of Moral Commitment (1992, with Anne Colby), Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet (2001, with Howard Gardner and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi), The Power of Ideals: The Real Story of Moral Choice (2015, with Anne Colby), and as editor-in-chief of Handbook of Child Psychology, fifth edition (1998) and sixth edition (2006). His contributions have earned membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2014), National Academy of Education (1999), Fellowship in the American Educational Research Association (2009), and the Kuhmerker Lifetime Career Award from the Association for Moral Education (2020). Damon’s research informs professional training programs in journalism, law, teaching, and business, as well as K-12 and college character education initiatives.

Professional Email: wdamon@stanford.edu