I started Fall semester on Monday. On Mondays and Wednesdays I have Zoology laboratroy and lecture; Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Biology 94 lecture followed by Biology 94 laboratory.
Yesterday I saw my Professor from my Principles in Biology class, Dr. Alan Cohen. He was also the instructor for my Bio 94 classes. As he was passing out the syllabus for lab, I made eye contact with him, smiled, and said “hi“. Dr. Cohen laughed and said, “Good attitude, I like that“.
Today, during Zoology lecture, I learned that Dr. Cohen died yesterday! I'm still a bit shocked by the news. I don't know the details or cause of death, but he supposedly died while seated at his desk.
Tomorrow I'm supposed to report to class as usual and find out what will happen as far as the Bio 94 instruction goes. I'm considering dropping the course to give the department time to assign an instructor qualified to teach the major course. We'll see what happens.
Dr. Cohen was kind, friendly, funny, and a bit of a character. I enjoyed his Principles of Biology class, and I was looking forward to his instruction in Diversity of Life.
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Dr. Alan Cohen
1938- 2006
Biology Instructor, Irvine Valley College, Irvine, CA
Ph.D., Washington University, 1974
B.A., Washington University, 1964
According to his son, Dr. Cohen was “born in St. Louis in 1938. He was the first person in his family to go to college. He got a doctorate in Marine botany. In 1975 he moved to Southern California with his wife and young son, where he spent the last thirty-one years of his life. In 1977 he had a daughter. In 1981 his wife died in an auto-accident. He left the teaching profession for photography, then returned to teaching a decade later, and finally married again in 2003. He raised two children.“ |