Former APSA Vice-President, Samuel DuBois Cook, Dies

Samuel DuBois Cook, the first African-American faculty member at Duke University whose career of scholarship and activism inspired numerous scholars and students of all backgrounds, died Tuesday. He was 88.

Through more than 60 years in higher education, Cook had a distinguished record as a political scientist, scholar, educator, author, teacher, administrator, civil and human rights activist and public servant.

“Samuel DuBois Cook was a devoted member of the Duke community who had a special place in Duke’s history,” said Duke President Richard H. Brodhead.  “A scholar of political science who was intimately involved with the leadership of the civil rights movement, he was the bearer of the vision of the beloved community and, throughout his life, worked for a society based on inclusion, reconciliation, and mutual respect for all. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife and family and express our gratitude for all he did for Duke.”

Dr. Cook was the first black president of the Southern Political Science Association and served as the vice-president of the American Political Science Association (1978-1979). Cook was a member APSA Committee on Professional Ethics, Rights and Freedoms (1976-1978). He was also president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History Inc., and chair of the Presidents of the United Negro College Fund.

Read the full memoriam on Duke Today.