Dr. Robert F. Cohen, Professor Emeritus of ESL and French at Eugenio María de Hostos Community College (CUNY) and former Associate Lecturer of ESL at Columbia University's American Language Program, has always insisted throughout his career as a teacher and writer that his role as an educator is to go beyond the confines of the subject matter itself in order to arrive at a more "concrete" goal, that of teaching people to have compassion for one another. Indeed, this desire to get us all to reflect on how to improve the human condition has been the driving force behind Dr. Cohen¿s research and writing. Because of his reputation in his field, he has been invited to present at national and international conferences and has had articles published in professional journals. For many years, he was on the editorial board of Touchstone, the Hostos journal, and he has also edited works of fiction and non-fiction. In addition, with his co-author, Dr. Cohen has thus far written ten books: Longman Academic Reading Series. Reading Skills for College. Levels 3 and 4 (Pearson Education, 2014), four editions of North Star. Focus on Reading and Writing, Advanced (Pearson Education, 1998, 2004, 2009, 2015), and the High Beginner, Low Intermediate, and Intermediate editions of Reason to Write. Strategies for Success in Academic Writing (Oxford University Press, 2006, 2001, 2003, respectively). He and his co-author are also the Series Editors of an Advanced edition of Reason to Write (Oxford University Press, 2006). Worldwide recognition of Dr. Cohen¿s ESL textbooks has afforded him the rewarding opportunity to consult at universities abroad. He has shared the position of consulting editor with a colleague on two multilevel textbook series. Beyond the Boundaries. English in an Academic Environment, Books 1- 6 (Sabanci University Press, 2003) and Journeys: Academic English for the Gulf. Books 1 - 3 (Zayed University Press, 2006) reflect their contributions to two wonderful projects, the first with the Foundations Development Program, at Sabanci University, in Istanbul, Turkey, and the second with the English Language Center, at Zayed University, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. As a result of their guidance, both institutions can now boast programs that are on the cutting edge of English language pedagogy. Dr. Cohen, who believes that through his publications he has become a more enlightened and creative contributor to his profession, taught at Columbia University for 12 years, from summer 1988 until summer 2000, and worked at Hostos Community College for 17 years, starting in fall 2000 and retiring in fall 2017. At Columbia University, he was the Freshman Composition Coordinator for ESL students for a two-year period. At Hostos Community College, he was Chair of the Department of Language and Cognition for seven years (2005-2012), the founder and director of the Hostos Success Academy for six years (2006-2012), and the founder and director of the Hostos Book-of-the-Semester Project for nine years (2006 -2015). Dr. Cohen received his academic degrees from Queens College (CUNY) in 1966 (B.A. magna cum laude in French, with election into Phi Beta Kappa), from Columbia University in 1968 (M.A. in French and Romance Philology), and from Harvard University in 1975 (Ph.D. in French). He remains to this day a teacher, writer, editor, translator, and an intercultural communications facilitator. For him, the creative life - honoring it and living it to the fullest - is where all his hopes and dreams are nurtured.
