This blog was original written as I was reflecting upon my years as a core faculty at the Colorado School of Professional Psychology/University of the Rockies shortly after accepting a position at a different school. It was submitted to the Heroes of Humanity Project (http://www.heroesofhumanityproject.com), but felt it also needed to be shared with a broader audience.
Emory Cowan is one of the least known great figures in the history of humanistic and existential psychology. A Vietnam veteran and former minister, he found his way to the existential writers largely through literature. Later in his professional career, Dr. Cowan became a Marriage and Family Therapist and then attended Saybrook University where he obtained his PhD studying with Rollo May and other greats of the humanistic-existential tradition. While studying at Saybrook, he was chair of the psychology program at Chapman University’s Colorado Springs campus. When Chapman decided to shut down this campus, Dr. Cowan met with the faculty and asked, “Are you ready to quit teaching? I’m not.” Emory and these faculty then decided to build the Colorado School of Professional Psychology (COSPP).
It was not easy to build a graduate school from scratch in the late 1990s, but Emory, Sue Cooper, and other founders of the school made the seemingly impossible happen. They attained regional accreditation with many accolades on the first attempt. COSPP, within years of accepting its first student, was beginning to receive national recognition, including two nominations for Charolette Buehler Award with the Society for Humanistic Psychology.
Although not a humanistic or existential school, the school’s humanistic values and existential influence were evident to anyone blessed to walk the halls of this school. Despite the great academic success of the school and the success of its early graduates, the financial pressures of a new school were too much, leading to COSPP being sold and becoming part of the University of the Rockies (UoR). Today, much has changed from the original spirit, culture, and values of the school, but COSPP was a shooting star and credit to the humanistic and existential movement for the few years it streaked across the sky. During that time, many influential humanistic scholars (Kirk Schneider, Ed Mendelowitz, Myrtle Heery, Tom Greening, and David Elkins, to name a few) taught and spoke at COSPP/UoR. Also, many students and future leaders in the humanistic/existential movement studied at COSPP/UoR. Through these people, COSPP and the influence of this great man continue.
As a leader, Emory had a number of characteristics that were quite influential on the success of the school. First, Emory is very inspirational, especially through his abilities as a story teller. His accounts of how the school began became mythical (in the Rollo May understanding of myth) and served to sustain the school through many difficult periods. Second, Emory was very attuned to his faculty and their needs. He seemed to know when they needed encouragement and inspiration, and he was good at delivering at these times. Third, Emory was very human. He did not hide his flaws or mistakes, he shared them with us. He trusted people with his imperfections. Emory was aware, I believe, of the risks he took in sharing his imperfections with us, but he also seemed to know that in doing so we would come together stronger, each of us drawing upon our strengths and recognizing our limitations. His faculty knew that as long as they took responsibility for their limitations and mistakes, they would receive compassion, acceptance, and support. Part of what united us as the strong team we became was that we all knew our limitations, took responsibility for them, and asked for support and help. We learned from each other and took care of each other. And no one wanted to let Emory down, not because of the fear of consequence, but because they did not want to disappoint him. This bound us like a family – one that sometimes fought, often disagreed, but we stuck together.
Emory Cowan had an enormous impact upon me, in particular. I was a young faculty member with little formal training in existential psychology, my primary professional passion, when I met Emory. He was willing to take a chance on me and hired me as a faculty member at COSPP. It was there that I was provided with the environment where I was able establish myself and my professional identity. Now, having recently accepted a position at Saybrook University, one of the top humanistic and existential schools in the world, I know that the many accomplishments and successes of my career would not be if not for Emory Cowan. I know, too, that I am one of many touched by Emory. So many faculty and students, and now their students, were impacted by what Emory and the other founders of COSPP created. Today, there are many young scholars who I have no doubts will make great contributions to the future development of existential and humanistic psychology, that owe their foundation to Emory’s school. Although Emory Cowan’s name may never find its way into the History of Psychology textbooks, or even the histories of humanistic and existential psychology, his contributions surely make him one of the greats of this movement. His influence will live on, even if unrecognized.
