Dale S. Wright is the David B. and Mary H. Gamble Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies and Professor of Asian Studies at Occidental College in Los Angeles where he has taught for 37 years. He is author of books in the field of Buddhist Studies including Philosophical Meditations on Zen Buddhism (Cambridge University Press, 1998), The Six Perfections: Buddhism and the Cultivation of Character (Oxford University Press, 2009), What Is Buddhist Enlightenment? (Oxford University Press, 2016), co-editor of a series of Oxford University Press books on Zen Buddhism as well as author of numerous essays, articles, and reviews.
Wright has served as President of the Occidental College Faculty Council, Director of the California Private Universities and Colleges Japan Study Program, and on numerous boards and steering committees in academic and non-academic contexts, including the Foundation for Global Ethics, the University of Chicago Enhancing Life Project, the Southern California Consortium for Asian Studies, the Occidental College Advisory Council, The Music Circle, the Advisory Committee to the Braille Institute, and on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion and the Journal of Buddhist Philosophy.