A respected teacher and scholar for 40 years, Chisolm was director of graduate studies and director of intercultural studies in the Department of American Studies, a department he helped found and was instrumental in nurturing to its level of national prominence.

A 1950 graduate of Princeton University, Chisolm received a doctorate from Yale in 1957 after serving for three years in the U.S. Navy. He taught history at Yale for several years before being named a Yale Fellow in East Asian Studies, a position he held from 1964-67. During that time, he lived in Taipei, continuing his work in Chinese language and culture.

Chisolm, who was recruited from Yale to head American studies at UB, combined the study of American history and culture with a fresh perspective gleaned from his knowledge of Asian languages, history and culture. He specialized in the analysis of cultural change in the U.S. and Asia, and participated in the seventh U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON) in Tokyo in 1974.

During the late 1970s, Chisolm served as a specialist on Asian affairs with the U.S. Department of State, visiting Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand under the aegis of that department. He also served as a state department consultant in Mexico in 1977.

Active in the Buffalo community, Chisolm served as chairman of the board of directors of the Buffalo Theater Workshop from 1969-71 and in recent years, on the board of directors of Musicians United for Superior Education (MUSE, Inc.) and the North Buffalo Food Cooperative.

His friend and colleague, Charles Keil said, "Larry guided many students over the years with his love of the natural world, his deep respect for cultural diversity and his passion for social justice. He had said of his students that 'the quality of their thinking and the content of their work gives me hope for the future of the world.'"

"He was deeply dedicated to his students and was consistently a voice of conscience and progressivism at UB," said Kerry S. Grant, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters. "We will miss his great intellect and the voice that urged us all to consider the larger condition of mankind in the smaller decisions we make daily."

A funeral service was held in the Chapel at Forest Lawn Cemetery, 1411 Delaware Ave. A memorial service will be held in September.

Contributions in Chisolm's memory may be made to "The Daybreak Project," c/o John Mohawk, 1010 Clemens Hall, North Campus.