Dr. Angela L. Walker Franklin is the president of Des Moines University. A licensed clinical psychologist, Walker became president of the university in 2011. Prior to her appointment, she worked for more than 25 years in higher education, serving in various administrative posts including vice president and provost at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, where she oversaw academic and administrative departments. She also held a professorship in Meharry’s department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. A native of McCormick, South Carolina, Franklin is a former American Council on Education Fellow and a past participant of the Millennium Leadership Institute, which is sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Since becoming the 15th president of Des Moines University, Franklin has published the university history, entitled Now is the Time, Des Moines is the Place, which traces the more than 100-year history of training health care professionals. In 2014, Franklin published her memoir An Unconventional Journey … An Unlikely Choice, which chronicles her journey to the college presidency and lessons learned in leadership.
