Carl Cohn Joins SDSU College of Education

Contact:
Lorena Nava
Media Relations Specialist
San Diego State University
lnava@mail.sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO (Monday, Dec. 3, 2007) — Carl Cohn, who is stepping down as superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District on Dec. 31, will join San Diego State University’s College of Education as Distinguished Leader in Residence on Jan. 16, 2008.

Carl Cohn

“The faculty, staff and students in the College of Education will benefit greatly from our work with Dr. Cohn in his role as our Distinguished Leader in Residence,” said SDSU College of Education Dean Ric Hovda. “His experience as one of the most successful and respected urban educators in the country will provide SDSU with a colleague, mentor and teacher from whom we can learn as we continue our commitment to preparing the highest quality education professionals.”

As the Distinguished Leader in Residence, Cohn will have responsibilities in lecturing, consulting on projects and programs, and engaging in scholarship and writing. His work will benefit such programs as the National Center for Urban School Transformation, the City Heights Collaborative and the new Ed.D. program in education leadership.

“I'm delighted to be associated with a college of education that is committed to partnering with K-12 school systems, especially those urban districts in the region who will need extraordinary new leaders to raise student achievement for all those students who, historically, have been left behind,” said Cohn.

Cohn has more than 37 years experience in education, serving as a teacher, counselor, central office administrator and superintendent. Before coming out of retirement in July 2005 to join the San Diego Unified School District, Cohn worked for 10 years as superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District, California’s third largest district. During that tenure, Cohn became the longest-serving superintendent of any large, urban district in the nation.

In 2001, Cohn received the Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education for his leadership in boosting student achievement. Following his retirement in 2002, he became clinical professor at the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. In May 2003, he was appointed as an independent monitor by the federal court in Los Angeles to oversee the special education consent decree in the Los Angeles school system.

Cohn has worked as a faculty advisor for the Broad Superintendents Academy, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising student achievement by recruiting, training and supporting executive leadership talent from across America to become the next generation of urban school district leaders. He also serves on the boards of American College Testing Inc., the San Diego Symphony, YMCA of San Diego County, Boy Scouts of America, Classics for Kids and on the executive committee of the Council of the Great City Schools and City of San Diego Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention. His academic degrees include a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md., a master’s degree in counseling from Chapman University in Orange, Calif., and an Ed.D. in urban educational policy and planning from the University of California, Los Angeles.

San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelor’s degrees in 81 areas, master’s degrees in 74 areas and doctorates in 16 areas. SDSU’s  approximately 35,000 students participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.

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