Library pays tribute to Cowen

Cowen

library that honors Emory Cowen, late professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University, is open to the public at the Children's Institute in Rochester's Village Gate Square. The materials housed there support the work of families and specialists who promote wellness in children.

"We are committed to maintaining, supporting, and growing the Emory L. Cowen Memorial Library so that it will be a true community resource," said Dirk Hightower, executive director of the Children's Institute Inc., a not-for-profit, University-affiliated agency that promotes social and emotional well-being in children and is the successor to Cowen's research initiatives.

In 1957, Cowen and his colleagues developed a model to help young children who have difficulties adjusting to school. Now in use in school districts around the world, the program, called the Primary Mental Health Project, has received national recognition as a revolutionary step in mental health intervention.

From 1987 until his death in 2000 at the age of 74, Cowen studied and evaluated urban children through the Rochester Child Resilience Project to discover the forces that makes certain children more psychologically resilient than others. Cowen also worked to develop prevention programs at the Center for Community Study, which he directed.

Gifts from Charlotte and Leo Landhuis and other donors made the creation of the library possible.

Additional contributions for the library can be made to the Children Institute's development office.

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