One man, many roles
Born in New Jersey to parents who worked in the garment industry, Vic Bloomfield moved with his mother to a ranch near Petaluma, California as a young child and grew up in what he calls a “community of left-wing Jewish chicken ranchers.”
His interest in science was sparked by two friends who, like himself, would be called “nerdy” today, he says. Incredibly, all three, who attended a high school of 160 students, went on to receive Ph.D.s in physical chemistry.
Bloomfield earned his B.S. from UC Berkeley, his Ph.D. from UW Madison and did post-doctoral research at UC San Diego. He was on the faculty at the University of Illinois - Champagne-Urbana for several years before coming to CBS in 1970, when the college was just five years old and Richard Caldecott was dean.
Vic will retire at the end of this academic year. In the following interview, he shares memories, concerns that CBS and the University of Minnesota are under-resourced to carry out their missions, a bit of advice for the new president in the difficult years ahead, and his own plans for retirement.
--Peggy Rinard
Using an inheritance from his mother, Vic Bloomfield created an endowed fund to attract and retain highly talented graduate students who conduct research in structural biology or biophysics.
