Sheila Cohen to Chair Literacy Department at SUNY Cortland

SUNY Cortland has appointed Sheila Cohen of Cortland, N.Y., as chair of the Literacy Department.

Cohen, an associate professor of literacy who has served the College for 21 years, began her three-year appointment on Aug. 1.

The Literacy Department offers a master's degree in literacy education. The program is intended for students who have a bachelor's degree in teacher education. Graduates of literacy education will be prepared to provide specialized literacy instruction and assessment across a variety of levels and settings, including as a literacy resource teacher, literacy teacher or coach, classroom teacher, facilitator of intervention services and curriculum specialist for a school or at a district level.

Cohen, who joined the College's Literacy Department in 1987 as an assistant professor, was promoted to associate professor in 1991. In addition to teaching, she is active on many campus committees. This past academic year, Cohen organized The Big Read, which was part of a national effort to encourage children, youth and adults to become more literate and informed citizens. The program was supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and featured 32 separate events both on and off campus. She also is involved with the Homer (N.Y.) Center for Performing Arts.

Cohen earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from the City College of New York, a master's degree in human development from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford, N.J., and a doctorate from the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

Source: http://www.cortland.edu/