Introducing Thomas Lennie: AUBG’s New Psychology Professor

Thomas Lennie is the new professor in the Psychology Department at AUBG. He has just finished his Ph.D. at Durham University, England. Lennie specialized in Music and Emotions. “It is very fascinating, and part of your Ph.D. is that you get to do a bit of teaching. Teaching has been something I really enjoyed,” he said.

 

 

He talked about his journey from completing his Ph.D. to coming to AUBG. “It was more by chance than anything orchestrated by myself,” he said. Lennie’s wife is Bulgarian. When finishing up at Durham University, they needed to move house. “We thought a new adventure to go somewhere new and explore would be great,” he said. “And I won’t bore you with the conversations about the political situation in the UK,” he added with a laugh.

 

 

Lennie currently teaches two courses: Introduction to Psychology and Introduction to Social Psychology. “If I was going to pick my own personal course, it would be Introduction to Music Science,” he said about the course he feels passionate about. “And if I were to choose something really valuable for students, I would offer a completely stripped-down Introduction to Statistics through coding. A good introduction would be really useful.”

 

 

“It is the students who make universities, so it was very much waiting for the term to start to get the feeling of what AUBG was really like,” Lennie said about his expectations before joining AUBG. 

 

 

Now that the semester has started, Lennie got to meet his students. “If I was to describe AUBG succinctly, a collaborative community of students would be what I would say,” he said.

 

 

He was not ready to say much about the professors yet, but he referred to the students as “incredibly well put-together.” 

 

 

“The campus is incredibly diverse for a small number of students. The students actually bond with each other and try to learn something new from each other. They are the best part of AUBG,” he said.

 

 

When asked about his future ambitions at AUBG, Lennie said, “To be a good professor and make sure the students are achieving the grades that they have the potential to achieve.” He added, “Beyond that, to try and establish myself as a professor here, and bring something unique, something I can contribute to the university.”

 

 

He further elaborated on his future plans at AUBG. “I would avoid going high up the bureaucratic ladder, but I am very happy to expand my teaching range,” he said.

 

 

When Lennie was asked if he wanted to add anything, he took a couple of seconds and responded with a laugh, “Cheese, Bulgarian cheese is just wonderful.”