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ROBERT F. COHEN
102-30 66 Road, Apt. 2K, Forest Hills, New York 11375-7616
(718) 518-6592 (Office) / (718) 275-6339 (Home) / (646) 236-1146 (Mobile)
RCohen@hostos.cuny.edu /RFCRobespierre@msn.com
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College, Department of Language and Cognition,
City University of New York (CUNY), Bronx, New York
Full Professor in English asa Second Language (ESL). 9/08 – Present
Associate Professor in ESL. 9/05 – 8/08
Assistant Professor in ESL. 9/00 –8/05
- Founder and Director, Hostos Book-of-the-Semester Project
- Department Chair (2005-2012)
- Founder and Director, Hostos Success Academy (2006-2012)
- Member of College-wide Curriculum Committee
- Editorial Board Member of Touchstone (The Journal of the Professor Magda Vasillov Center for
Teaching and Learning)
- Faculty Representative, CUNY Coordinated University Education (CUE) Initiative
- Charter Member, Editorial Review Board of Touchstone (Hostos Faculty Publication)
- Co-Founder, Honors Leadership Development Institute
- Charter Member, Hostos Honors Program Advisory Committee
- Charter Member, Hostos Center for Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee
- Charter Member, Hostos General Education Committee
Columbia University, American Language Program (ALP), New York, New York
Full-Time Lecturer in ESL. 7/93 – 6/00
Full-Time Associate in ESL. 7/90 – 6/93
Part-Time Associate in ESL. 8/88 – 6/90
- Coordinator, Freshman English Composition
- Coordinator, Student Activities
- Curriculum and Materials Developer
Queensborough Community College, CUNY, Bayside, New York
Adjunct Assistant Professor in ESL. 9/92 – 5/93
LaGuardia Community College, The English Language Center, CUNY, Long Island City,
New York
Adjunct Assistant Professor in ESL. 4/89 – 4/90
Baruch College, CUNY, New York, New York
Adjunct Assistant Professor in Modern Languages(French). 2/87 – 6/95
Forest Hills High School Adult Education System, Forest Hills, New York
Instructor in ESL. 10/82 – 6/88
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Department of Health and Human Services. Social Security Administration, Jamaica,
New York
Hispanic Employment Coordinator, Training Coordinator,Supervisor. 11/75 – 10/89
Harvard University, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, Cambridge,
Massachusetts
Teaching Fellow in French. 9/70 – 1/72
RELATED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Zayed University, English Language Center, Dubai/Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Consultant. 1/03 – 6/06, 5/12 – Present
Sabanci University, Foundations Development Program, Tuzla/Istanbul, Turkey
Consultant. 7/01 – 12/03
Club des Escargots, Paris, France
Charter Member. 8/99 – Present
PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
Presentations
“Looking Afresh at Strategies for Freshman English Faculty” (with Kim Sanabria)
Sabanci University International Freshman English Conference,Istanbul, 2014
“College Bound: Mastering Reading Skills for Academic Success” (with Judy L. Miller)
TESOL Annual Convention, Portland, 2014
“College Bound: From Intensive Reading to Extensive Reading” (with Judy L. Miller)
Westchester Community College, Valhalla, 2013
“College Bound: Mastering Reading Skills for Academic Success”
University of California at Riverside, 2013
University of California at San Diego, 2013
“My ‘Take’ on Rough Magic, a Play by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa”
Hostos Community College, Acting Studio, 2013
“The Role of Language Acquisition across Disciplines: The Role of Content in
Multilingual Development” (with Mercè Pujol)
Hostos Community College, Center for Teaching and Learning, 2012
“Building a Spirit of Success within a Learning Community” (with Andrea Fabrizio)
Community College Humanities Association Eastern Division Conference,Baltimore, 2008
“Strategies for Success: A Targeted Approach to Academic Support” (with Richard
Gampert, Silvia Reyes,and Kim Sanabria)
Northeastern Association of Two-year Colleges Conference,West Point, 2008
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“Features of Students’ Writing and Placement and Pedagogy” (Panel)
John Jay College Conference on Teaching, Language, and the CUNY Student, New York City, 2007
“Where Do I Begin? A Panel Discussion on Academic Writing”
Hunter College Club TESOL Program, New York City, 2007
“Fulfilling the Promise with Support that Enriches” (with Amanda Bernal-Carlo and Kim
Sanabria)
Queensborough Community College Conference on Undergraduate Education, Bayside, 2006
“College Composition as a Reflective Process” (with Judy L. Miller)
TESOL Annual Convention, Tampa, 2006
“Finding Reasons to Write: Introducing the ‘Reason to Write’ Series” (with Judy L. Miller)
TESOL Annual Convention, Tampa 2006
“Philosophical and Literary Writing Themes for Beginners” (with Judy L. Miller)
NYS TESOL Annual Conference,New York City, 2005
“Language and Cognition Content-based ESL Curriculum: Putting Theory into Practice”
(Panel)
First Annual Bilingual Education Conference,Hostos Community College, 2005
“Strategies and Reflections on Sustained Content Teaching” (Panel)
TESOL Annual Convention, Long Beach,2004
“Bringing History into the Intermediate ESL Classroom” (with Judy L. Miller)
NYS TESOL Annual Conference,Rye Brook, 2003
“Scaffolding ESL Education. Bringing History Alive” (with Patricia Mayer and Kim Sanabria)
NYS TESOL Annual Conference,Saratoga Springs, 2002
“Developing Reasons to Write”
Staff Conference,Department of Education of the City of New York, Office of Adult and Continuing
Education, Pace University, 2002
“Reason To Write: Skills for Independent Writing” (with Judy L. Miller)
NYS TESOL Annual Conference,Rye Brook, 2001
“Creating a Unit on Race” (with Gail August, Carol Meyers,and Kim Sanabria)
CUNY ESL Council Annual Conference,New York City, 2001
“Reading between the Lines: Developing Higher-level Reading Skills” (with Judy L. Miller)
NYS TESOL Applied Linguistics Conference,New York City, 1998
NYS TESOL Annual Conference,Rye Brook, 1997
“Debate from A-Z: Strategies for All Levels” (with Tess Ferree,Leila May-Landy, and Kim
Sanabria)
TESOL Annual Convention, Chicago, 1996
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“Student Activities: Linking Students to Resources”
TESOL Annual Convention, Chicago, 1996
“Using Graphs for Pre-reading and Pre-writing Purposes”
NYS TESOL Applied Linguistics Conference,New York City, 1995
TESOL Annual Convention, Baltimore, 1993
“Using Graphs for Pre-reading, Decision-making, Brainstorming Purposes”
NYS TESOL Annual Conference,Syracuse,1993
“Students, Take the Bull by the Horns, Learn Idioms!”
(Methods Students Can Use to Teach Themselves Idioms)
NYS Applied Linguistics SIG Symposium, New York City, 1993
NYS TESOL Annual Conference,Rye Brook, 1992
NYS TESOL Applied Linguistics Conference,Bronx, 1992
“Two Japanese Women in Kimonos Fixing a Flat Tire?”
(Writing, A Mirror for Cross-cultural Perceptions)
William Paterson College Annual Bilingual/ESL Conference,Wayne,1992
NYS TESOL Annual Conference,Rye Brook, 1992
TESOL Annual Convention, Vancouver, 1992
NYS TESOL Applied Linguistics Conference,Bronx, 1992
“Teaching Object Pronouns in French: An Interactive Approach” (with Debra Popkin)
Northeast Modern Language Association (NEMLA) Annual Convention, Buffalo, 1992
“Creating a Big Brother-Big Sister Network”
TESOL Annual Convention, Vancouver, 1992
“Achieving Cross-cultural Communication through a Grammar Lesson”
NYS TESOL Annual Conference,Albany, 1991
“Who Says Grammar Can’t Be Fun?”
SUNY at Farmingdale, 1991
NYS TESOL Applied Linguistics Conference,New York City, 1991
Publications
“Looking Afresh at Strategies for Freshman English Faculty.” Refresh: The Changing
Role of Freshman English. Eds. Brian Rodriguez (Editor in Chief), Birgül Köktürk, Hatice Sarigül
Aydoğan, Meral Güçeri, Zeynep Iskenderoğlu Őnel. Istanbul: Sabanci Universitesi, 2015. 98-102. (Co-
authored with Kim Sanabria)
My EnglishLab NorthStar, Level 5 Advanced. Fourth Edition.
New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 2015. (Co-authored with Judy L. Miller)
North Star: Focus on Reading and Writing, Level 5 Advanced. Fourth Edition.
New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 2015. (Co-authored with Judy L. Miller)
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Longman Academic Reading Series 4. Reading Skills for College.
New York: Pearson Education, 2014. [publication date July 2013] (Co-authored with Judy L. Miller)
Longman Academic Reading Series 3. Reading Skills for College.
New York: Pearson Education, 2014. [publication date June 2013] (Co-authored with Judy L. Miller)
“The Great Debaters: Genesis of a Reflective Statement.” Touchstone, Volume 5.1,
Spring 2012.
Editor of Apologia. Cuban Childhood in My Backpack, by Orlando Ferrand (Baltimore,
Publish America, 2011).
“Notes from My Journal: Embarking upon a ‘Philosophy’ of Teaching.” Touchstone,
Volume 4.1, Spring 2011.
Review of Citywalker, by Orlando Ferrand (Baltimore: Publish America, 2010),
appearing in Amazon (www.amazon.com) and Google E-Books
(www.books.google.com), October 1, 2010.
“Tips on Teaching the ESL Learner.” Website of The Magda Vasillov Center for
Teaching and Learning (http://oit.hostos.cuny.edu/socialnetwork/ctl/?page_id=1367),
Hostos Community College, Fall 2010.
“The Hostos Bridge.” Touchstone, Volume 2.1, Spring 2009.
North Star: Focus on Reading and Writing, Level 5 Advanced. Third Edition.
New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 2009. (Co-authored with Judy L. Miller)
North Star: Reading and Writing, Advanced, Middle East Edition.
Dubai: Pearson Longman, 2008. (Co-authored with Judy L. Miller. Producedwith help from Al-
Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh)
“Our Mission at Hostos: Charting a Course to Self-Empowerment.” Reclaiming the
Public University. Conversations on General and Liberal Education. Eds. Judith
Summerfield and Crystal Benedicks. New York: Peter Lang, 2007. 163-176. (Co-authored with Kim
Sanabria)
Journeys: Academic English for the Gulf. Books 1 – 3. Dubai: Zayed University Press,2006.
(Consulting Editor with Kim Sanabria)
Reason to Write. Strategies for Success in Academic Writing. Advanced.
New York: Oxford University Press,2006. (Series Editor with Judy L. Miller)
Reason to Write. Strategies for Success in Academic Writing. High Beginning. New
York: Oxford University Press,2006. (Co-authored with Judy L. Miller)
North Star: Focus on Reading and Writing, Advanced. Second Edition.
New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 2004. (Co-authored with Judy L. Miller)
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Beyond the Boundaries. English in an Academic Environment. Levels 1 – 3. Books
One – Six. Textbooks and Answer Keys. Istanbul: Sabanci University Press,2003. (Consulting
Editor with Kim Sanabria)
Reason to Write. Strategies for Success in Academic Writing. Intermediate.
New York: Oxford University Press,2003. (Co-authored with Judy L. Miller)
Reason to Write. Strategies for Success in Academic Writing. Low Intermediate. New
York: Oxford University Press,2001. (Co-authored with Judy L. Miller)
North Star: Focus on Reading and Writing, Advanced. New York: Addison Wesley Longman,
1998. (Co-authored with Judy L. Miller)
“Teaching Object Pronouns in French: An Interactive Approach.” The Ram’s Horn,1993.
(Co-authored with Debra Popkin)
Zola and Dream. Diss. Harvard 1975.
TV BROADCASTS
Ed Cast with Jim Carney and Linda Hirsch, Channel 75, CUNY TV
Discussion about ESL Pedagogy while honoring Feliciano Jaime Atienza, the New York Times 2008
ESOL Teacher of the Year,April 23, 2008
Talk Show: A Panel Discussion about Post-incarceration Programs
(with Benay Rubenstein, Jennifer Jaramillo, Dr. Douglas E. Thompkins, Professor William Roman)
Hosted by David Hernandez, Hostos Community College, November 8, 2007
CONFERENCE PLANNING
Conference Chair, Fourth Annual Bilingual Education Conference
“Educating English Language Learners Pre-K –16: From the Past to the Future –
Revisiting the Mission of Bilingual Education”
Hostos Community College, October 2008
Conference Co-chair, Third Annual Bilingual Education Conference
“Educating English Language Learners K – 16: Multi-Literacy, The Key to Success”
Hostos Community College, October 2007
Conference Co-chair, Second Annual Bilingual Education Conference
“Educating English Language Learners K – 16: New Questions for Old Answers”
Hostos Community College and Lehman College, September 2006
Member, Conference Planning Committee, First Annual Bilingual Education Conference
“Educating English Language Learners K – 16: Challenges and Options in the Era of
No Child Left Behind”
Hostos Community College and Lehman College, September 2005
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SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers
First Place in Curriculum and Instruction (English Learner category for Adults) for the 3rd
Edition of
North Star: Focus on Reading and Writing. Level 5 Advanced,and the other books in the North Star
Series/My North Star Lab. June 12,2009.
Salary Merit Increase
For “[my] dedication to our students and service to this institution” in academic year 2006 - 2007
Office of the President, Hostos Community College, October 17, 2007
Committee on Beautiful Ideas (COBI) Award for Curriculum Innovation Project
“Hidden Assets: Information Literacy across the Curriculum” (joint award with Miriam Laskin)
Center for Teaching and Learning, Office of Academic Affairs, Title V, Hostos Community College,
December 12, 2006
Master of Ceremonies, Thirty-fifth Annual Commencement Exercise
Hostos Community College, June 6, 2006
Sensational Scholar Award
Spring 2005 Retreat,Office of Academic Affairs, Hostos Community College, May 20, 2005
Citations in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers
2004 – 2006
EDUCATION
Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University. 1975
- Thesis on Zola and Dream
- Honors included “Distinction” in Ph.D. Special Examinations, Graduate Prize Fellowship,
Research Fellowship
M.A. in French and Romance Philology, Columbia University. 1968
- Essay on “Aspects of the Problem of the Paradox on Acting in Diderot’s Thought”
- Honors included a Faculty Fellowship
B.A. in Romance Languages and Literatures, Queens College, CUNY. 1966
- French major, Latin minor
- Degree awarded “Magna Cum Laude”
- Honors included Phi Beta Kappa,Dr. Paul Feinsod Prize in French, DepartmentalHonors in
Romance Languages and Literatures
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LANGUAGES
Fluency: French
Good Command: German, Latin, Spanish
Working Knowledge: Hebrew, Portuguese, Russian
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Community College Humanities Association (CCHA)
NYS TESOL
TESOL
REFERENCES
Pietro Alongi
Editorial Director, Pearson Education
914-287-8000/Pietro.Alongi@pearson.com
Dr. Amanda Bernal-Carlo
Professor,NaturalSciences Department, Hostos Community College
718-518-4143/ACarlo@hostos.cuny.edu
Alberto Bird
Professor,Humanities Department, Hostos Community College
718-518-6686/ABird@hostos.cuny.edu
Dr. Miriam Eisenstein-Ebsworth
Director of Doctoral Programs in Multilingual Multicultural Studies, New York University
212-998-5195/mee1@nyu.edu
Dr. Kim Sanabria
Professor,Department of Language and Cognition, Hostos Community College
718-518-6596/KSanabria@hostos.cuny.edu
Dr. Elyse Zucker
Associate Professor,English Department, Hostos Community College
718-518-6801/EZucker@hostos.cuny.edu
