Psych Professor leaves Harvard for Tufts

In a decision announced yesterday by Tufts officials, well-known psychology professor Nalini Ambady will be leaving her position at Harvard University to join the Tufts psychology department.

Provost Jamshed Bharucha said the acquisition of Ambady, a renowned professor in the field of nonverbal social psychology, is part of a greater plan. "Ambady's recruitment fits extremely well into [our] strategy to increase the strength of the social psychology department," he said.

Bharucha explained that Ambady will be providing a senior leadership role in the department. He hopes she will be able to make connections to other aspects of psychology, particularly neuro-psychology. Ambady will be a full professor and will hold the Neubauer Fellowship for three years.

This opportunity was one of Ambady's motivations for leaving Harvard, as she is particularly eager to work in the neuro-psychology field from Tufts. "I am very excited about the strong neuroscience and cognitive departments," she said.

The changes going on in the Tufts psychology department, particularly the aggressive hiring practices, helped her make the decision to come. "President Bacow and Provost Bharucha are making a lot of key hires, and are active in terms of moving the University forward."

Dean of Arts and Sciences Susan Ernst is excited about welcoming Ambady. "She is certainly on the forefront of her field and will be a wonderful addition to the department," she said.

Ambady recently wrote a paper on Affective Neuroscience, or the neuroscience of emotion. The paper was published in the June 6 edition of Science