Obituary

Edward Cohen-Rosenthal, a vigorous advocate for healthful and environmentally "green" workplaces, died Jan.19 at Gilchrist Hospice Center in Baltimore, Md., after a seven-year struggle with cancer. The senior extension associate in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) and founding director of the Work and Environment Initiative in the Center for the Environment was 49 years old.

"Ed was extraordinarily passionate in his concerns and his vision -- that safe, healthy, well-paying jobs are consistent with environmentally sound practices, that labor and management should recognize the potential in their collaboration around this issue, and that when they do, it will be good for the economy as well as the life of workers," said Ann W. Martin, ILR Extension Division associate dean.

"Ed was an advocate for environmental, labor and social causes who succeeded in working across academic disciplines," said John Forester, professor of city and regional planning.

Cohen-Rosenthal was born in 1952 in Baltimore and earned a B.A. in philosophy at Rutgers College and an Ed. M. at Harvard Graduate School of Education. At Rutgers, he formed the Academic Activist Caucus, which grew into the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, and he was known to answer its phone with: "Change the world!"

Before joining the ILR extension staff in 1991, he was coordinator of the Educational Advancement Project for the Rutgers University Labor Education Center; associate director of the Washington-based American Center for the Quality of Work Life; and assistant to the president for educational programs of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen (AFL-CIO), also in Washington, D.C.

Cohen-Rosenthal's interest in labor education and negotiation strategies led him to explore the environmental aspects of, first the workplace and then the world. Following involvements in Programs for Employment and Workplace Systems and the ILR International Initiative, he established the Cornell Work and Environment Initiative (WEI) in 1992 to address environmental issues affecting employers, workers and their communities. WEI helps economically distressed communities replace toxin-contaminated "brown fields" with eco-industrial parks that use sustainable materials, conserve energy and offer job opportunities in safe work environments.

"Just a few years ago, the promise of sustainable growth without trashing the environment was a fringe idea," Cohen-Rosenthal said in 2000 when he was appointed co-director of the National Center for Eco-industrial Development. "Now eco-industry is moving into the mainstream of economic development, bringing with it ... new, rewarding jobs in healthful workplaces."

Cohen-Rosenthal is survived by his wife, Ellen, a psychologist for the Ithaca City School District, and by daughters Janna and Mollie and son Jacob. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Temple Beth El in Ithaca.