Rate My Professor Nghi Thai

Nghi Thai is Professor and Assistant Chairperson in the Psychological Science department at Central Connecticut State University, a position she has held since joining the faculty in 2012. She earned her PhD and MA in Community and Cultural Psychology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2007 and 2002, respectively, along with a Certificate in Urban and Regional Planning from the same university in 2007, and a BA in Psychology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1998. In addition to her teaching and administrative duties in Psychological Science, she serves as Co-Director of the Asian American, Asian, & Pacific Islander Center, and as Coordinator for the Asian American & Pacific Islander Studies Minor, Community Engagement Minor, and Psychology: Community Psychology MA program.

Dr. Thai specializes in community psychology, employing ecological systems and community-based participatory research approaches. Her research interests include intergroup relations, prevention and community-based research, evaluation research, Asian American and Pacific Islander studies, and community engagement. Key publications feature "Historical trauma as public narrative: A conceptual review of how history impacts present-day health" (Social Science & Medicine, 2014), "Interdisciplinary team science and the public: Steps toward a participatory team science" (American Psychologist, 2018), "Twenty-first century science as a relational process: From Eureka! to team science and a place for community psychology" (American Journal of Community Psychology, 2014), and "Substance use among Asian American adolescents: Influence of race, ethnicity, and acculturation in the context of key risk and protective factors" (Asian American Journal of Psychology, 2010). She has earned major awards such as the 2019 Dean’s Award from the Carol A. Ammon College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, the 2018-2019 Excellence in Teaching Award (full-time recipient), the 2018 Psychology Professor of the Year (Psychology Club), the 2016 New York Life Foundation Excellence Award for the Summer Enrichment Experience Program from the National Summer Learning Association, and the 2015 Creativity and Teamwork Award from the Consolidated School District of New Britain. Dr. Thai teaches Introduction to Psychology, Intergroup Relations, Community Psychology, Prevention and Community-Based Research, Evaluation Research, Introduction to Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies, and Community Engagement courses. Her contributions extend to advising Psi Chi and the Psychological Science Club, co-chairing the Faculty Senate Community Engagement Committee, and mentoring through Research Aligned Mentorship.