Four Ohio State dignitaries surprised Associate Professor Arya Ansari (second from right) with the award in his classroom as he was teaching. L-R: Erik Porfeli, chair of Ansari’s Department of Human Sciences; Cynthia Carnes, senior associate vice president, university Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge (ERIK); Loren Wold, interim senior associate vice president, ERIK; Arya Ansari; Don Pope-Davis, dean of Ansari’s college.
Arya Ansari, PhD, an associate professor with the Human Development and Family Science program in the college, has earned Ohio State’s 2025 Early Career Distinguished Scholar Award.
Senior leadership in the Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge recently surprised Ansari with the honor while he was teaching in his classroom.
“Coming here right before the pandemic was tough, but everyone has been incredibly supportive and provided me with plenty of opportunities to do impactful work,” said Ansari. “I am genuinely thankful and appreciative and couldn't have done this without everyone here.”
Ansari is also a faculty associate with the college’s Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy, where he collaborates with colleagues on impactful studies.
He also is a faculty affiliate with the Institute for Population Research.
Ansari’s primary field of interest include child development, early childhood education, parenting, poverty and school readiness.
“Dr. Ansari, your research in early childhood education programs truly embodies Ohio State’s land-grant mission to improve the well-being of our communities.”
“Your nominators also stressed how rare it is to find an early career scholar who has had the same impacts as you have … in particular, your mentorship of future researchers by giving them first or co-author roles,” said Cynthia Carnes, senior associate vice president for research operations, during the surprise.
“I want to say that we are extremely proud of you, given that there are so few faculty that do this work. And more importantly, you make an effort to translate your work into practice,” said Don Pope-Davis, dean of the College of Education and Human Ecology. “Scholars like you must continue to pivot so that their work makes a difference and has an impact in society. You model that by engaging in our community.”
Erik Porfeli, chair of the Department of Human Sciences, said he recently attended an event with Arya and his two young children. “I was touched seeing him live his science as a loving father,” Porfeli said. “He’s a great scientist and a great person.”
Ansari earned the Association for Psychological Science Rising Star Award and the American Educational Research Association Early Career Award in 2023. He serves as an associate editor for Early Education and Development and on the editorial boards for Early Childhood Research Quarterly and Journal of Montessori Research.
Prior to arriving at Ohio State, Ansari was involved in research at the University of Virginia. He earned his bachelor's in psychology from George Mason University, and his master's and doctorate degrees in human development and family sciences from the University of Texas at Austin.
The Early Career Distinguished Scholar Award is among the highest annual honors awarded at Ohio State. The university-level award honors three to four faculty members who demonstrate scholarly activity, conduct research or creative works that represent exceptional achievements in their fields and garner distinction for the university.
Award recipients are nominated by their departments. Nominations include testimonials from the awardees’ peers in the field who know their work. Final selection is made by a committee of senior faculty, including past award recipients. Early Career Distinguished Scholars receive an honorarium and a research grant to be used over the next three years.
Quotes from Ansari’s nomination:
“I also want to recognize the ways Dr. Ansari is building the future of the research field, through collaborations with colleagues and students. He has several papers co-authored with his students and post-docs, including students in first-author role.”
Given the professional pressures on faculty to take leadership credit for empirical works, whenever reasonable, the number of papers written with his students in lead author roles is extremely impressive. … These are investments that will have lasting field-building consequences beyond his own achievements.”
Eric Dearing, professor of counseling, developmental and education psychology and executive director of the Mary E. Walsh Center for Thriving Children, Boston College
“Dr. Ansari has achieved a high level of coherence in his scholarship — at the heart of Dr. Ansari’s program of research is his focus on systemic and structural factors that shape children’s developmental outcomes.”
“This shift away from an individual-level perspective — which can often reinforce deficit views of children — to a more systemic and holistic approach pushes the field forward and is a considerable strength of Dr. Ansari’s ongoing work.”
“In particular, one of Dr. Ansari’s important contributions is helping unpack the role of classroom level experiences in shaping young children’s absenteeism behaviors.”
Kevin A. Gee, professor of school organization and education policy, University of California at Davis
“He is a rising star among developmental scholars who are unpacking the mechanisms through which early childhood education and home environments shape young children’s development. Not to mention his program of research is of high impact when it comes to practical significance for informing early childhood education programs and policies.”
“Even more important than … quantitative indices of excellence is that Dr. Ansari has distinguished himself with important scientific contributions to understanding how early childhood education shapes young children’s development. These have included seminal papers that bring a fresh perspective to age-old questions.”
Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal, professor, Department of Psychology, and director of the Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh
