Former Swarthmore College President, Vice Chancellor at NYU in Abu Dhabi to Retire … Again

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Image of Al Bloom via The National.

When he decided to retire from his position as president at Swarthmore College a decade ago, Al Bloom did not expect his retirement to be so short, writes Roberta Pennington for The National.

In 2008, two days after announcing that he was stepping down after 18 years at the helm of Swarthmore, Bloom received a call to join the administration of New York University in Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates.

“I was unemployed basically for about two days,” Bloom said.

He was attracted to the vision that then-NYU president John Sexton presented to him.

“He said, ‘I want you to establish a liberal arts college with the same type of world recognition as Swarthmore, but I want you to do something beyond that,’” said Bloom.

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The beyond part included creating the institution in Abu Dhabi and creating a bridge to the future.

Bloom was impressed and accepted the position of vice chancellor of NYUAD.

Now, 10 years later, it’s time to retire again.

“I think what we have accomplished as a university is really historic,” he said.

Read more about Al Bloom from The National by clicking here.

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