Dr. Cooks is the Dean of Language Arts, and the Interim Dean of Library, Academic Pathways, and Student Success (LAPSS) at Chabot College in Hayward, Ca. The Division of Language Arts, with over 100 faculty in English, English as a Second Language, World Language, and American Sign Language is a student-centered learning environment that promotes social justice and equity for all students. During his tenure, he successfully implemented an AB 705 procedure, increased the number faculty of color in the division, to better reflect the student population on campus, and co-founded the Chabot Association of Teacher Education (CATE) as a pathway to careers in education working with colleges. Moreover, Dr. Cooks is the administrator for the RISE Program, which is a student support program for formerly incarcerated students attending Chabot College.
Dr. Cooks is an active participant in a number of organizations. He is an active participant in Association of California Community College Administration (ACCCA), is a graduate of the Great Deans and the Mentor programs, the President of the Black Education Association (BEA) for Northern California, and the Marian Schivers Scholarship Award winner in the Carolyn Grubbs Williams Leadership Development Institute (LDI) sponsored by the National Council on Black American Affairs (NCBAA). In addition, he has served for over 20 years as an active member in a number of committees and leadership positions in the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE), including the former Chair of the Assembly on Research (NCTE-AR), the Middle Level Steering Committee, and the Committee on English Education.
Prior to community college administration, Dr. Cooks served as a full professor at San Francisco State University. He served as the Associate Director for the Educational Leadership doctoral program where he worked with a leadership team to direct the program, increased the number of the faculty of color as instructors, provided training to faculty about giving culturally relevant pedagogy, and chaired over 18 dissertations. During his tenure, he taught classes in Secondary Education, served on a number of committees in the department, college, and state, and published articles on increasing expository writing, building reading skills, and exploring linguistic diversity.
Originally from Oakland, Ca., Dr. Cooks has a doctorate in Language, Literacy, and Culture and an M.A. in Curriculum Development from the University of Michigan and a Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Economy of Industrial Societies from the University of California at Berkeley. He lives in Oakland,
with his wife and two children.