Alan S. Blinder, a professor of economics at Princeton University since 1979, worked to bring Bernanke to Princeton.

“I thought he would be terrific here,” says Blinder. “It was not just that he had a high IQ and could solve puzzles. He was imaginative....I thought he was brilliantly creative.”

After ten years on the Department of Economics faculty at Princeton, Bernanke became department chair. He held the position for five years, which Blinder says is an unusually long term for Princeton’s economics department.

“He worked very hard,” says Princeton Economics Department Chair Gene M. Grossman. “You could find him in the office on weekends. It rarely took more than 45 seconds for an e-mail to be replied to.”

“He helped build our department, Grossman adds. “He was very good at recruiting...and good at helping people get along.”

“A GREAT SPORTS FAN”

Colleagues who have worked with Bernanke say that he can be private and difficult to get to know, but that he is an avid sports fan and a devoted family man.

“When we first met, he was a little shy and rough around the edges,” says Gertler, but “he’s evolved into a great diplomat.”

“He’s a great sports fan,” Gertler adds. “We spent a lot of time playing one-on-one basketball [at Princeton].”

A number of people who know Bernanke say that he closely follows the Red Sox.

“He probably acquired that disease while he was at Harvard,” says Blinder, who was born in New York City.

“He’s mind mannered, with a wry sense of humor...the kind of guy who would make a funny quip,” Blinder adds.

Bernanke, a father of two, also served two terms on the local school board in New Jersey.

“That takes quite a bit of effort, between his family, the school board, and his work,” says Blinder.

“VERY CALM AND REASONED”