Formerly he was the executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of California, Berkeley. He also served as the 21st provost of Columbia University for two years. Before that, he had been a professor of psychology at various institutions for almost 40 years.
He is best known for his work on stereotype threat and its application to minority student academic performance. His earlier work dealt with research on the self (like self-image and self-affirmation) as well as the role of self-regulation in addictive behaviors.
In 2010, he released his book, ''Whistling Vivaldi and Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us'', summarizing years of research on stereotype threat and the underperformance of minority students in higher education.
