Alan Bloom was a fellow American history professor and friend of mine from my days teaching at Valparaiso University. In October 2013 he unexpectedly passed away. I reflected on Alan’s death here. He was an amazing teacher so I was very happy to learn about the Alan Bloom Legacy Fund at Valparaiso. Here is what is all about:
On October 9, 2013, Alan Bloom, one of VU’s most beloved and influential professors, passed away suddenly. His colleagues in the history department have established the Alan Bloom Legacy Fund to ensure that his legacy continues and even grows in the future. The history department will use this fund to help support a variety of exciting experiential learning opportunities for our students. During his brief tenure as chair of the department, one of Professor Bloom’s chief ambitions had been to make sure that the classroom learning of our history students was enriched by transformative encounters with the people and places where history was made.
For example, in the 2012-2013 academic year, he spearheaded a spring break trip to Selma, Alabama, where students toured a variety of sites associated with the Civil Rights movement, heard firsthand from past and present activists, and marched across the very same Edmund Pettus Bridge where the historic march for voting rights began in 1965. In the wake of that trip, Professor Bloom reflected that it was one of the pinnacles of his entire career.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Cc8HkiEtmo]
If you knew Alan, or even if you did not, I hope you will consider making a donation to help Alan’s excellent colleagues in the Valparaiso University history department to continue bring history alive.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.