Benjamin DeKalbe Wood (November 10, 1894 – July 6, 1986) was an American
educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...
,
research
Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...
er, and director /
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
at
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
and an expert in the educational field.
Early life
Wood was born in
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County, located on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border, border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas ...
, on November 10, 1894. He attended the
Brownsville area schools,
Mission High School, and the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
.
Career
Wood was a
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...
and a member of the
New York Academy of Sciences
The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), originally founded as the Lyceum of Natural History in January 1817, is a nonprofit professional society based in New York City, with more than 20,000 members from 100 countries. It is the fourth-oldes ...
, the
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
, and the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
.
In 1928, he met
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
's leader
Thomas J. Watson and joined the company as a consultant; IBM helped Wood to fund the Columbia Statistical Bureau and provided equipment. Their collaboration was also beneficial for IBM, as Wood helped IBM to develop more capable machines. This success led to further academic projects, including the
Harvard Mark I
The Harvard Mark I, or IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (ASCC), was one of the earliest general-purpose electromechanical computers used in the war effort during the last part of World War II.
One of the first programs to run on th ...
, and Columbia invited Watson to join their board of trustees in 1933.
In academics, he was a curator of
Stephens College
Stephens College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Timeline of women's colleges in the United States#First and oldest, the second-oldest women's educa ...
, and the chair or director of 20 national education committees.
He was a director of Eastman's teaching film experiment, the
American Council of Education test service, and the
Commonwealth Fund
The Commonwealth Fund is a private American foundation whose stated purpose is to "promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, inc ...
for research on measurement of achievement in college courses.
Wood served on the New York state board of regents' examining board, and on committees for the
American Institute of Accountants.
Later life and death
Woods retired in 1960
but remained active. In 1969, he was given the Teachers College Medal for Distinguished Service.
Union College
Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...
in New York, from Lawrence College in Wisconsin, and from Colorado State Teachers College.[ Wood died at the age of 91 of a ]heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on July 8, 1986.
Legacy
Wood established the Elbenwood Fund for Education Research, the Ben D. Wood Fellowship Economic Fund and the Institute for Learning Technologies Fund.[
]
Works
Books published by Wood are:
* ''The Measurement of College Work'' (1921)
* ''The Measurement of Law School Work'' (1924)
* ''Columbia Research Bureau American History Test'' (1926)
* ''Motion Pictures in the Classroom'' (1929)
* ''Study of the Relations of Secondary and Higher Education in Pennsylvania'' (1938)
* ''Our Air-age World: A Textbook in Global Geography'' (1945)
* ''Geography of the World'' (1959)
References
Sources
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Benjamin D.
1894 births
1986 deaths
20th-century American psychologists
American educational psychologists
American ethologists
American eugenicists
Teachers College, Columbia University alumni
Columbia University faculty
Teachers College, Columbia University faculty
People from Brownsville, Texas
University of Texas at Austin alumni
20th-century American zoologists