University Professor J. Lawrence Aber Named Paulette Goddard Professor of Psychology and Public Policy

J. Lawrence Aber, University Professor at NYU, has been named the Paulette Goddard Professor of Psychology and Public Policy at NYU Steinhardt.

Aber’s research examines the influence of poverty and violence—at the family and community levels—on the social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and academic development of children and youth. He serves as board chair of NYU Steinhardt’s Institute of Human Development and Social Change (IHDSC) and is the former co-director of NYU’s Global TIES for Children.

“I am profoundly grateful to receive the Paulette Goddard Professorship,” says Aber. “To have my work recognized alongside the name of someone whose legacy is connected to advancing opportunity and social progress is particularly meaningful. I see this opportunity not simply as an honor, but as an invitation to keep asking the tough questions about how psychology can help us understand and address the challenges children and communities face.”

Aber previously taught at Barnard College, Columbia University, and at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, where he also directed the National Center for Children in Poverty. He earned his PhD from Yale University and an AB from Harvard University.