For a professor whose research dealt extensively with failed relationships, divorce and the darker side of interpersonal relationships, Ty Tashiro’s tenure here seems to have been anything but rocky.
In fact, in just over two years here he got along well enough with his students and colleagues to earn the Outstanding Faculty Educator Award this semester.
But alas, the relationship is headed for a sad separation nonetheless. As this semester draws to a close, so does Tashiro’s tenure at the university as he prepares for his new position as Director for the Center of Innovative Policy and Leadership at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
His colleagues reflected on what they consider a huge loss to the university.
“We’ll be sad to see him go,” said Clara Hill, director of counseling psychology. “He’s just a good professor… He’s very caring, warm and charismatic.”
Although Tashiro’s widely published work in the field of personal relationships focused primarily on the theory of psychological growth following divorces and breakups, his research included topics ranging from the role of physical attraction and emotions in partner selection to the predetermined psychological traits that draw people to certain partner types.
His research was a hit among students in his popular PSYC334 course, Psychology of Interpersonal Relationships.
“It’s probably the best class I’ve ever taken,” said Talia Sacks, a junior psychology major who said her favorite lecture was one Tashiro gave on the laws of attraction in which he discussed different physical and emotional aspects involved in choosing a partner.
For senior psychology major Emily Allshouse, Tashiro’s lecture on physical attractiveness was one that really stuck. During the lecture, Tashiro passed around a picture of his driver’s license and asked students to rank the level of attractiveness of the person pictured.
“He was really good at engaging students,” Allshouse said. “I felt that he took the extra step.”
Marianne Dunn, a graduate student, worked with Tashiro for two years researching guilt and shame processes in romantic relationships.
“He gets people very excited about research, which is hard to do,” Dunn said. “I feel very lucky that I even got to meet him and work with him; he’s just taught me a lot.”
“He makes complex material very relevant,” said Casi Meyerhoff, a senior psychology major and teaching assistant for Tashiro’s interpersonal relationship course. “I think very highly of him.”
Tashiro’s arrival at the University of Colorado at Boulder will be a homecoming in many ways. Tashiro, who was born and raised there, received his bachelor’s degree from the university.
“I still have a lot of friends and family there,” he said, such as his brother who is an athletic trainer for the Denver Broncos and his parents who still live in the state.
“Colorado is one of those places that people either stay or go back to,” Tashiro said, and added that he enjoys activities like hiking and mountain biking that are embraced in the state.
But for Tashiro, the return home will be bittersweet.
“One of the things I’m going to miss about Maryland is the diversity,” he said. “I really feel like I’ve learned a lot from my students because of the diversity they bring to the class.”
Still, he said he looks forward to building up the Center for Innovative Policy and Leadership, where he’ll be applying his research in interpersonal relationships to community improvement.
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