Campus News
In Memoriam: Michael Cowan
Michael Cowan joined UC Santa Cruz in 1969, just four years after the university opened, bringing with him a passion for American studies, literature, and the arts.
Michael Cowan's teaching and scholarship reflected a broad humanistic vision, drawing on literature, performance, cultural theory, and history to illuminate the complexities of American life and thought.
The UC Santa Cruz community mourns the passing of Professor Emeritus Michael H. Cowan (1937–2025), a beloved teacher, interdisciplinary scholar, and visionary academic leader whose contributions shaped the university in profound and lasting ways. He died in 2025 at the age of 88, leaving behind a rich legacy of intellectual rigor, institutional innovation, and deep commitment to public education.
Cowan joined UC Santa Cruz in 1969, just four years after the university opened, bringing with him a passion for American studies, literature, and the arts. He played a pivotal role in founding the American Studies Department, helping to establish an interdisciplinary approach that became a hallmark of UC Santa Cruz’s academic identity. His teaching and scholarship reflected a broad humanistic vision, drawing on literature, performance, cultural theory, and history to illuminate the complexities of American life and thought.
Over his four-decade tenure, Cowan took on numerous leadership roles across campus. He served as chair of both the Literature Department and the American Studies Department, and as dean of the Humanities Division. As provost of Merrill College, he deepened its global and social justice focus, furthering its mission as a home for students interested in issues of race, equity, and international understanding. Through each of these roles, Cowan demonstrated a combination of intellectual integrity, collaborative spirit, and administrative skill.
“I arrived at UC Santa Cruz a few years before Michael Cowan retired, and I remember him fondly as a generous, principled, and deeply caring senior colleague,” recalled Eric Porter, Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Humanities Division. “The strength of the American Studies program—and the popularity of its major—reflected the dedication and vision he brought to building the department and keeping it attuned to emerging directions in the field. It’s also clear to me that Michael played a vital role in fostering the expansive, interdisciplinary approach that continues to define the Humanities Division today.”
Cowan was also a champion of shared governance. He is the only faculty member in UC Santa Cruz history to have served twice as chair of the Academic Senate and went on to serve as chair of the systemwide University of California Academic Council. His leadership in these roles helped steer the university through times of transition and challenge, always with a steadfast commitment to academic freedom, equity, and faculty voice.
Beyond UC Santa Cruz, Cowan was a nationally recognized figure in the field of American Studies. He served as president of the American Studies Association from 1984 to 1986 and remained an influential presence in the field throughout his career. His work—on subjects ranging from performance studies and folklore to cultural pluralism and urban design—was notable for its originality and scope, often weaving together strands from literature, anthropology, history, and sociology.
In retirement, Cowan worked with the UC Santa Cruz Library’s Special Collections to support its efforts to tell the history of UC Santa Cruz and advance its mission for archival work.
“Michael was a stalwart champion of campus, with a particular focus on engaging with and learning from UCSC’s history,” said Teresa Mora, head of Special Collections. “A dear friend of Special Collections & Archives, he dedicated endless hours to reviewing and contextualizing our University Archives and was a stalwart champion of the program, establishing a named endowment to support the preservation of UCSC’s institutional history. His passion, inquisitiveness and kindness will be sorely missed by the numerous folks in the University Library who worked closely with him over the years.”
Colleagues remember Cowan as a generous mentor, a gifted teacher, and a thoughtful friend. His students recall his classes as both intellectually challenging and personally transformative—spaces where curiosity, rigor, and compassion came together. Even in retirement, he continued to write, reflect, and contribute to conversations on the future of the humanities and the role of public universities in society.
Cowan’s legacy lives on in the departments he helped shape, the programs he led, and the generations of students and scholars he inspired.