Harold Hastings Chipman
Harold Hastings Chipman | |
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| Born | Nassau, Bahamas |
| Nationality | Switzerland |
| Citizenship | Geneva |
| Alma mater |
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| Occupation | Teacher |
| Years active | 1970 - present |
Harold Hastings Chipman is a British-born communication expert, psychologist, author, and educator known for his contributions to developmental psychology, intercultural communication, and public relations. With a career spanning over five decades and multiple continents, Chipman has held academic and consulting positions in Europe, North America, and Australia. He is also noted for his research on his grandfather Willibald Duschnitz’s art collection, a legacy project related to Austria's cultural history.
Early Life and Education
Chipman was born in Nassau, Bahamas to Harold Hastings Chipman Sr., a landowner, and Eva Madeleine Byrne (née Duschnitz), originally from Vienna, Austria. He spent his formative years in Austria and Switzerland, later relocating to the United Kingdom to study developmental psychology at the University of Sussex. After returning to Switzerland in 1969 he earned both an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Experimental and Genetic Psychology at the Jean Piaget Institute, University of Geneva.
Academic and Professional Career
Chipman began his academic career at the University of Geneva, where he served as a teaching and research assistant before attaining tenure as Maître de l’Enseignement et de la Recherche. He lectured at the University of Fribourg and Webster University’s Geneva campus and was a visiting professor at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. His academic focus included language development in children and special education policy in Switzerland, where he contributed to federal advisory committees.
In 1983, Chipman accepted a visiting professorship at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia, followed by a lecture tour across Australian universities. He was later awarded the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Scholarship, enabling him to conduct research and teach at the University of Munich and the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry.
In the late 1980s, Chipman moved to Los Angeles, where he held visiting professorships at Pepperdine University and Pacific Oaks College. He also participated in a research project at UCLA and collaborated with American Public Television on two Emmy Award-winning educational series, Time to Grow and Psychology: The Study of Human Behavior.
Transition to Communication and Public Relations
In 1995, Chipman transitioned into public relations, joining Klaus Stölker AG in Zurich, Switzerland. He managed English and French-speaking clients, including EMC Corporation, the World Gold Council and Rockwell International. In 2000, he founded time4com.ltd, a company offering training and coaching in leadership, corporate writing, and intercultural relations. Clients have included the International Telecommunication Union, IATA, Swissair, and the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in France.
Legacy and Cultural Research
In 2008, Chipman relocated to Vienna to research and reconstruct the history of his grandfather, Austrian industrialist and art collector Willibald Duschnitz. Working with historian Bettina Schöngut and provenance researcher Leonhard Weidinger, Chipman published several papers and presented findings at events hosted by museums, auction houses, and Austrian cultural institutions.
Publications
Chipman has published extensively in English, French, and German. His early academic work includes studies in child language development and developmental psychology, while his later writings address communication, trust, and cultural legacy. His selected publications include:
- Piaget and His School – A Reader in Developmental Psychology (Springer Verlag, 1976, co-editor)
- Children’s Construction of the English Pronominal System (Hans Huber, 1980)
- Vertrauen oder nicht vertrauen – ein psychologischer Prozess (Redline Wirtschaft, 2003)
- Adolf and Willibald Duschnitz – Masters of Challenges in Triumph and Tragedy (IAJGS, 2012)
- Ein Enthusiast für Industrie und Kunst – Willibald Duschnitz (with Leonhard Weidinger, Schriftenreihe der Kommission für Provenienzforschung, 2014)
- Viena-Brasil: As Duas Vidas do Conselheiro Comercial Willibald Duschnitz (1884–1976) (Kapa Editorial, 2016)
Personal Background
Chipman is fluent in five major languages and has spoken publicly in over a dozen countries. He continues to write on his legacy Duschnitz project and its cultural context.