Christine Whelan, PhDAdjunct Associate Professor

On the Emory campus, Dr. Christine Whelan is known as the Purpose Professor, spearheading campus-wide integration of purpose and flourishing initiatives as part of the innovative Emory Purpose Project convened by Provost Ravi Bellamkonda in 2022. In its flagship initiative, Dr. Whelan integrated purpose interventions to all first-year students at Emory with the support of the Center for the Study of Human Health’s Health 100 course, and is now leading Purpose Advances with funding from the Unlikely Collaborators Foundation.

Dr. Whelan brings her expertise as an author, professor and speaker to the Emory campus. She is the author of Living on Purpose, a bestselling Audible Original lecture series from The Great Courses (2021), The Big Picture: A Guide to Finding Your Purpose in Life (Templeton Press, 2016), Generation WTF: From “What the &%#$?” to a Wise, Tenacious and Fearless You (Templeton Press, 2011), Marry Smart: The Intelligent Woman’s Guide to True Love (Simon & Schuster, 2009) and Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women (Simon & Schuster, 2006).

She is also a fellow at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where she is known as the “happy professor.” Dr. Whelan teaches on topics of purpose, well-being and personal definitions of success through the life course.

Outside the classroom, Dr. Whelan is passionate about translating academic research into actionable programs for our everyday lives. She has been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and countless other national and international publications, appeared on television and radio stations worldwide. In addition, she is a nationally recognized thought leader, helping groups like the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, the DeBruce Foundation, AARP’s Life Reimagined, Jackson National, Hackensack-Meridian Health and others on purpose-focused approaches to health, finances and self-improvement strategies for life’s transitions. Dr. Whelan serves on the board of SEEK Safely as an outspoken advocate for the dissemination of research-based advice.

Dr. Whelan earned degrees from Princeton University and the University of Oxford. Her motto comes from Seneca — “not for school but for life we learn” — and she does her best to practice what she preaches. She lives in Madison, Wi with her husband, five kids, a dog … and does her best to embrace this chaos… on purpose.