The Provost

Jamshed Bharucha was appointed Provost and Senior Vice President of Tufts University in August of 2002. A psychologist who studies cognitive neuroscience and music perception, his research has focused on the cognitive and neural basis of the perception of music, using perceptual experiments, neural net modeling, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

As Provost, Dr. Bharucha is the Chief Academic Officer of the University, overseeing the seven schools, Tisch College and cross-school programs. The Provost is also responsible for driving institutional and budgetary priorities, and for academic planning. Since coming to Tufts, Provost Bharucha began the Summer Scholars program, which provides opportunities for undergraduate students to work with faculty across the University in collaborative research. He started the Provost's Fellows program and the Graduate Competitiveness Initiative, both of which enhance Tufts' efforts to recruit the very best graduate students, and has emphasized the importance of support for faculty and students in moving Tufts forward. Provost Bharucha is active in faculty recruitment and development and has successfully brought accomplished scholars and leaders as new Deans to Tufts. Working with the International Board of Overseers, he has launched a strategy of engagement with Mexico, India and China, establishing partnerships that serve students and faculty, connecting with international alumni, and promoting Tufts overseas.

Prior to Tufts, Dr. Bharucha spent his academic career at Dartmouth College, where he was the John Wentworth Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences and served in several leadership posts, most recently as Deputy Provost and Dean of the Faculty. He has served as Editor of the interdisciplinary journal Music Perception, was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in 1993-94, and was a Trustee of Vassar College from 1991 to 1999, where he chaired the Budget and Finance Committee. He is currently a Trustee of the International Foundation of Music Research. At Dartmouth, he received the Huntington Teaching Award in 1989 and the Undergraduate Teaching Initiative Special Award in 2002.

Provost Bharucha graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College, where he majored in biopsychology, received an M.A. in philosophy from Yale University and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Harvard University.

For a more detailed review of Bharucha's background and work experience, please see his curriculum vitae (in PDF format).

Provost-at-a-Glance

Jamshed Bharucha

Title:

Provost and Senior Vice President, Tufts University

Academic Credentials:

B.A. honors in biopsychology at Vassar College (1978); M.A. in philosophy at Yale University (1979); Ph.D. in psychology at Harvard University (1983)

Tufts Affiliations

Provost and senior vice president (2002-present); professor of psychology (2002-present)

Former Positions & Professorships

Dartmouth College – Dean of faculty (2001-2002); deputy provost (2000-2001); associate dean of the faculty for the sciences (1997-2000); professor of psychology (1995-2002); associate professor of psychology (1989-1995); assistant professor of psychology (1983-1989); Other universities – Visiting scholar at: Stanford University (1987); Cornell University (1982-1983)

Research Interests

Cognitive science; cognitive neuroscience; music perception

Publications & Grants

Numerous grants from NSF and NIH. See Provost Bharucha's research section for published works.

Notable Honors

Distinguished Achievement Award, Alumnae & Alumni of Vassar College (2005); Undergraduate teaching initiative special award (2002); Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, CA (1993-94); Huntington teaching award, Dartmouth College (1989); fellow, American Institute of Indian Studies (1985); Phi Beta Kappa, Vassar College (1978)

Notable Professional Affiliations

• Research Advisory Board, International Music Products Association (NAMM), 2006-present
• Board of Trustees, International Foundation for Music Research, 2000-2006
• President's Advisory Council, Vassar College, 2002-present
• Scientific Advisory Board, Accentus (a company that designs for auditory display)
• Board of Governors, University Press of New England, 2000-2002
• Board of Trustees, Vassar College, 1991-1999
  • Chair, Trustee Budget and Finance Committee, 1994-1999
  • Served on the following Trustee committees: Executive, Academic Affairs, College Rotations, Buildings and Grounds, Audit
• Advisory Panel, National Science Foundation (Program in Human Cognition & Perception), 1993-1997
• Board of Directors, Society for Music Perception and Cognition, 1992-1994
• Board of Directors, Alumnae and Alumni of Vassar College, 1991-1995

Software Developed

MacLab (Macintosh program for picture-oriented experiments in psychology); DartNet (Backpropagation neural net simulator for the Macintosh)

Related Web Sites

Provost's Web Site

President's Web Site