College mourns passing of Jay Bloom, emeritus economics professor

It is with sadness that the College reports the passing of Professor Emeritus Jay Bloom. He died on Jan. 21. in Oakland, Calif. He was 80. He was a major participant in the life of the College and a shaping force in its institutional development.

A retired professor of economics, Bloom came to SUNY New Paltz in 1965 as part of the interdisciplinary Department of History and Political Economy. When that department later split into the departments of History, Political Science, and Economics, Bloom served as chair of the Department of Economics for many years. He helped create the College’s business program to attract additional students and served as the first chair of the Department of Business. This department evolved into the current School of Business.

Professor Bloom also served for many years as president of the United University Professions (UUP) chapter at New Paltz and on the College’s Budget Committee. He was also the faculty advisor to Hillel for many years.

Bloom studied at the University of Chicago School of Economics, and was a follower of the great free market advocate Milton Friedman.

Bloom was employed as a full-time associate professor at the College for more than 34 years. He retired in 1999 and returned as a part-time adjunct in spring 2000 for one additional semester.

He is survived by his wife Judi (Zuckerman) Bloom; his two children Yael and Jonathan; and three grandchildren.