Alumnus to speak of music and mind

Chloe McConnell Guest Writer

Music, biology and psychology—seemingly disparate fields—mark the research and writings of Vassar graduate Jamshed Bharucha ’78, who will be on campus for a three-day residency from Feb. 19-21. During his stay, Bharucha will visit classes and present a lecture on “Music, Mind and the Ineffable” in Sanders Classroom at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21.

Bharucha majored in bio-psychology at Vassar and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He went on to receive a master’s degree in philosophy from Yale University and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Harvard University. He worked as a professor at Dartmouth College and has been Provost and Vice President of Tufts University since 2002.

“My four years at Vassar were transformational,” Bharucha said in an interview with The Vassar Alumnae/i Quarterly in 2004, “and that’s the word that comes to mind when I think about what an undergraduate experience should do—challenge you from different angles to stretch the limits of your conceptual framework and experience, and provide the intellectual, physical, and cultural spaces in which to explore and develop in response to these challenges.”

Bharucha attributes his ability to think across disciplinary boundaries to the encouragement and freedom of the Vassar curriculum—what he dubs a “Vassar standard.”

Bharucha firmly believes that the process of education should be re-thought; students should learn to stretch their minds and cross comfort zones, so as not to imprison themselves in certainty and preconceived frameworks.

Professor of English Beth Darlington corroborated Bharucha’s perspective. “You become stuck with just one point of view, one side of the equation,” she said. “There is trouble in the world because people will hold onto an idea and won’t let it go.”

Bharucha’s unusual multidisciplinary interests have led to research of the cognitive and neural basis of the perception of music—in other words, the effect that music vibrations have on the nervous system. His research has been published in World Report, Discovery Magazine and The New York Times.

“Most institutions of higher education confront students with hurdles if they seek to cross departmental boundaries,” said Bharucha. “Institutional boundaries are merely convenient mechanisms for organizing people and information; they should not be rigid, and they should not get in the way of teaching and scholarship.”

In 2002 Bharucha received the Alumnae and Alumni of Vassar College (AAVC) Award for Distinguished Achievement, which honors alumnae/i who exemplify the ideals of a liberal arts education. Bharucha served on the AAVC Board of Directors and the Vassar Board of Trustees.

“He is the kind of person that I hope a liberal arts education can bring forth,” said Darlington, “a musician, scientist and thoughtful human being; an admirable person.”