EXPERIENCE
Half a Century of Research and Teaching
Stephen Kosslyn's career has covered cognitive psychology, cognitive science, cognitive neuroscience, the science of learning, and the building of new universities and educational programs. He spent over three decades on the faculty at Harvard, ultimately as Chair of the Department of Psychology, Dean of Social Science, and the John Lindsley Professor of Psychology Emeritus, the chair established in memory of William James. He has played central roles in founding three institutions of higher learning, all of them built around the application of cognitive science to learning. He has published sixteen authored books, edited fourteen more, and authored or co-authored more than 375 papers.
Career timeline
2026 TO PRESENT
2023 TO PRESENT
2020 TO
2022
2020 TO
2026
2018 TO
2020
2013 TO
2018
2011 TO
PRESENT
2011 TO
2013
2008 TO
2011
2005 TO
2008
2001 TO
2011
1997 TO
1998
1982 TO
2001
EARLIER POSITIONS
Founder and President
ACTIVE LEARNING SCIENCES, INC.
Founding Dean Emeritus
MINERVA UNIVERSITY
Recognized by the institution for his role in its creation.
Chief Academic Officer
FOUNDRY COLLEGE
Founder and CEO
ACTIVE LEARNING SCIENCES, INC.
Designs, delivers, and assesses AI-driven educational programs for universities, corporations, and governments. Clients have included Arizona State University, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Franklin Covey, the Indian Institutes of Technology, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories.
Founder, President and CEO
FOUNDRY COLLEGE
Founded a college focused on adult learners and workforce-relevant higher education.
Founding Dean and Chief Academic Officer
MINERVA SCHOOLS AT KGI, LATER MINERVA UNIVERSITY
Designed the academic program and pedagogy of a new university built around active-learning principles.
John Lindsley Professor of Psychology Emeritus
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Emeritus appointment following retirement from active faculty.
Director
CENTER FOR ADVANCED STUDY IN THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, STANFORD
Also Professor of Psychology at Stanford during this period.
Dean of Social Science
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Oversaw the social science division of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Chair, Department of Psychology
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Three-year term as departmental chair.
John Lindsley Professor of Psychology
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Elected to the chair established in memory of William James.
Maître de Conférence
COLLÈGE DE FRANCE
Visiting appointment in Paris.
Professor of Psychology
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Full professor, joining as Associate Professor in 1977.
Associate Psychologist in Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital (1990 to 2012). Associate Professor (tenured), Brandeis University (1981 to 1982). Assistant Professor of Psychology, Johns Hopkins (1974 to 1977).
Selected honors & elected positions
Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1995)
Elected Fellow, Society of Experimental Psychologists (1999)
Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (1987)
Elected Fellow, American Psychological Association (1984)
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship (2004)
Doctor of Science Honoris Causa, Université de Caen Basse-Normandie, France (2003)
Doctor of Philosophy Honoris Causa, University of Bern, Switzerland (2012)
Cattell Award for sabbatical leave (1991)
Initiatives in Research Award, National Academy of Sciences (1983)
Selected media & writing
Harvard Business Review
"Are You Developing Skills That Won't Be Automated?" · 25 September 2019
Harvard Business Review
"Integrating the Science of How We Learn into Education Technology" · 11 October 2019
The Wall Street Journal
"A New Map of How We Think: Top Brain/Bottom Brain" · 20 October 2013
The Atlantic
"How the Brain Creates Personality: A New Theory" · 11 November 2013
Time
"There Is No Left Brain/Right Brain Divide" · 29 November 2013
JoongAng Ilbo
"The Silence of University Classrooms Must Be Broken in the AI Era" · 4 January 2026