Nancy Budwig

Dr. Budwig received a B.A. from Vassar College in 1979 and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986. She has been at Clark since that time, teaching courses on Child Development, Laboratory Methods in Developmental Psychology, Language Development, Language Socialization, and Communicative Development. She is also affiliated with the programs in Communication and Culture and Cultural Identity and Global Processes. From 2002 until 2006 Dr. Budwig is Associate Provost, Dean of Graduate Studies and Research.

Budwig is interested in the relationship between language and thought in the early years of life, and the contribution of social interaction to such development. By examining children's acquisition of different languages (e.g., English, German, Hindi) she seeks to better understand the role of universal and cultural patterns of development of children growing up in diverse communities around the world. A secondary interest includes examination of the way language-based interactions contribute to children's cognitive and social development. Budwig's publications in these areas of interest include a book, an edited volume, two edited monographs, and several publications in journals such as Journal of Child Language, Theory & Psychology, Linguistics, First Language, as well as chapters that have appeared in handbooks and edited volumes.

Budwig has sat on the editorial boards of journals such as First Language, Cognitive Development, and Child Development, and is an executive board member of the Jean Piaget Society and the American Psychological Association, Division 7: Directors of Training Programs Executive Committee.

Budwig and her husband, psychology professor Michael Bamberg, have lived and studied in Germany, China, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. She and Bamberg initially shared an assistant professor position at Clark, which allowed them to juggle the demands of engaging in quality research and teaching, in addition to spending more time with their two children.