Cohen, Albert G.

Biography / Administrative History

Albert Gleaves Cohen (1928- ) grew up in Philadelphia and attended nearby Haverford School. The son of a naval commander and grandson of Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves, he received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy. He graduated in 1949 with a concentration in mechanical engineering. He toured the Seas of Japan on USS Floyd B. Parks prior to the Korean War and later served as an engineer on the USS K-1 submarine and the USS Catfish.

In 1954 he resigned from the Navy and enrolled in Graduate School of Theology, Oberlin College, Ohio. He writes, "I wanted to equip myself to be a peacemaker in this new age. Given the way the world was heading in the post World War II years, I saw a church career as consistent with the family tradition of responsible citizenship."(1) While attending the seminary, he served as pastor of nearby Brighton Congregational Church.

He was ordained as a minister in the United Church of Christ in 1958 and served for five years as youth minister at Oneonta Congregational Church in Pasadena, California. Following a one year stint at Tabernacle Congregational Church in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, he returned to Southern California and served Plymouth Congregational Church in Whittier. During this time he became active in civil rights and assisted in voter registration in Columbus, Mississippi, and Selma, Alabama.

In 1965 Cohen accepted a call as the first full time campus minister with the United Christian Campus Ministry at California State College at Fullerton, founded in 1957. Originally hired by the Westminster Foundation in Southern California, the following year his ministry became part of the United Ministries of Higher Education (UMHE) of Southern California. UMHE of Southern California was funded by the Disciples of Christ, Evangelical United Brethren, United Church of Christ and United Presbyterians.

Cohen's duties at Fullerton included counseling for individuals and groups, being the unofficial administrator of the religious center, and promoting connections with local congregations. An advertisement in the campus newspaper, The Titan (September 27, 1968) announced: "Counseling for Problem Pregnancies, Draft Counseling, Grape Boycott Information, Theological Study Opportunities: See your UCCM Minister, Rev. Al Cohen."

Cohen, like many other campus ministers at this time, was an activist and served as a mediator between factions. (2) He became a voice of Christian conscience on the campus for peace, civil rights, fair housing and freedom of speech. He is featured and quoted in a number of articles in The Titan . Off campus, he was arrested on three occasions during demonstrations supporting civil rights, the rights of Mexican students, and student rights (San Fernando Valley State College). Along with his other activities, he helped found the religious studies program at Fullerton.

In 1969, Cohen moved to California State University at Los Angeles, where he remained as the UMHE campus minister until 1996. His activities extended beyond the campus. He became a member of the Committee on Higher Education and Public Policy (COHEPP), Southern California University Pastors (SCUP), from 1971 through 1975, when California debated dramatic changes to the Master Plan for Higher Education of 1960. He became well-known as a minister and social activist in Los Angeles. He chaired and served in various capacities on community groups (Zero Pet Population Growth), ecumenical organizations (Southern California Ecumenical Council), and UCC commissions (Network for Environmental and Economic Responsibility, convener with Donald B. Clark). Beginning in 1972, Cohen participated in world population and environmental conferences, bringing with him students and church members.

Following his retirement from the ministry in 1996, he became Executive Director of the Southern California Ecumenical Council. As of 2007, he also served on the Steering Committee of California Interfaith Power and Light and as a member of the Board of the Interfaith Environmental Council.

Cohen married Ruth Ann Appley in 1954 and had four children. Following his divorce in the late seventies, Cohen married Faith Anne Sand, a religious journalist, author and CEO of Hope Publishing House.

Sources

(1) Evelina Gleaves Cohen. Family facts and fairy tales. Hope Publishing House, 1988, 126.

(2) John Dart. "Times a-Changing for Campus Ministries," Los Angeles Times, April 16, 1977, 31.

From the guide to the Albert G. Cohen Campus Ministry, Social Justice and Environment collection, 1939 - 2003, (The Graduate Theological Union. Library.)