The current CASBS board member and former CASBS fellow, Scripps College president, and senior associate dean at Stanford's Graduate School of Business started a one-year term on June 16.
Former Stanford professor and president of Scripps College, Lara Tiedens, has accepted an appointment as the Interim Director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS), a behavioral and social science research center under the vice provost and dean of research at Stanford University.
Dr. Tiedens serves a one-year term that began June 16, 2025. She succeeds Sarah Soule, who concluded her service as CASBS director on June 15 to become dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. As Tiedens takes office, a committee will complete its search to identify and select a candidate for the permanent director position.
“CASBS has played an important and irreplaceable role in the development of the behavioral and social sciences,” said Tiedens. “I have deep admiration for the scholarly work that has been made possible by the environment at CASBS and will seek to protect and nurture that environment.”
The admiration comes from first-hand experience. Tiedens first gained an appreciation for CASBS’s role in stewarding and advancing behavioral science during the 2008-09 academic year, when she was a CASBS fellow in residence. She returned to the Center in 2023 as a member of its board of directors, where she currently serves as co-chair of its development committee.
Holding a PhD from the University of Michigan, Dr. Tiedens is a social psychologist and organizational scholar and currently is a research affiliate with Stanford SPARQ (Social Psychological Answers to Real-World Questions). She served on the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) for 18 years, the last ten as the Jonathan B. Lovelace Professor of Organizational Behavior. Her research explores the psychological dynamics that produce and maintain interpersonal social hierarchies, the manner in which emotions influence and are influenced by social roles, and the effects of emotions on decision making. Recently, in work that bridges behavioral science with emerging technology, she has been investigating AI’s capacity to diagnose social relationships and group dynamics, including its understanding of nonverbal behavior. Her research has been published in leading journals including The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (where she also served as an associate editor from 2011-13), Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Administrative Science Quarterly. She co-edited the book The Social Life of Emotions (Cambridge University Press, 2004). In recognition of her contributions to the science of personality and social psychology, she was named a Fellow of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.
In addition to her scholarly career, Tiedens has extensive experience leading higher education and research institutions. She served as the Morgan Stanley Director of Stanford GSB’s Center for Leadership Development and Research from 2011-12, then served as GSB Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs from 2012-16. In 2016, she became the ninth president of Scripps College in Claremont, CA, assuming the title of the W.M. Keck Foundation Presidential Chair. While at Scripps, Tiedens created the Centennial Strategic Plan for Scripps College, completed the largest campaign in the college’s history, redesigned financial aid, spearheaded racial equity initiatives, and formed new partnerships to advance science and technology education and community building. From 2021-24, she served as Executive Director of Schwarzman Scholars, a post-graduate program inspired by the Rhodes scholarship and designed to build a community of future leaders who will deepen understanding between China and the rest of the world.
In addition to serving on the CASBS board, Tiedens’s additional board and trustee experience includes the Center for Creative Leadership, The Claremont Colleges, AlixPartners, IES Abroad, and the Webb Schools.
Put together, her behavioral science research focus as well as institutional leadership and governance experiences position Tiedens exceedingly well to guide CASBS through a transitional year.
“I know Lara well from her years of service on the board, “said Abby Smith Rumsey, chair of the Center’s board of directors. “All of us on the board look forward to working with her in this new capacity. She is an inspiring leader with a keen understanding of CASBS’s importance in this moment.”