- Alfred Bloom
Alfred H. Bloom is an American psychologist and linguist. He is the president of
Swarthmore College , and is best known for his controversial 2001 decision to eliminate Swarthmore's football team. Beginning in August 2009, Bloom will become the vice chancellor ofNew York University in charge of their newAbu Dhabi campus. [ [http://nyunews.com/news/university/swarthmore_pres_named_nyu_abu_dhabi_head: Washington Square News] ]According to his biography on the Swarthmore College website, under Bloom's leadership, Swarthmore has revitalized its academically rigorous Honors Program, undertaken extensive renovation and creation of academic buildings, broadened its multicultural curriculum, expanded foreign study and community empowerment programs, and established an intercultural center for students.
In 1967, Bloom received his B.A., "
summa cum laude " inRomance languages andEurope ancivilization fromPrinceton University . That year, he studied inFrance as aFulbright-Hays fellow . In 1974, he received his Ph.D. in psychology andsocial relations fromHarvard University . He immediately joined Swarthmore's faculty; he served as a professor of psychology and linguistics for twelve years, before moving toPitzer College , where he served as dean of faculty, vice president for academic affairs, and executive vice president. In 1991, he returned to Swarthmore to become the college's 13th president.In the 1970s, he conducted psychological research investigating the
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and concluded that theChinese language 's lack ofcounterfactual words resulted in a reduced ability to think counterfactually.ources
* President's Welcome and Biography, Swarthmore College [http://www.swarthmore.edu/presidentsoffice.xml]
* Bloom, A. H. (1979). "The Impact of Chinese Linguistic Structure on Cognitive Style." Current Anthropology 20(3).References
Persondata
NAME = Bloom, Alfred Howard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Psychologist and linguist
DATE OF BIRTH =February 27 ,1946
PLACE OF BIRTH =New York City ,New York
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =
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