Professor of Political Science
Department of Political Science
562.907.4854
ncogan@whittier.edu
Academic History
LL.B., University of Pennsylvania
Ph.D., University of California at Irvine
Academic Focus
- Civil Procedure (Federal and California)
- Civil Rights (Disability, Employment, Religion, Speech)
- Comparative Law (Israel, Rabbinic)
- Constitutional Law (Federal and State)
- Criminal Procedure
- Evidence
- Federal Courts
- Interpretation
- Jewish Law
- Jurisprudence
- Legal History
Bio
Professor Neil H. Cogan has been on the faculty since 2001. He was Dean of the Law School and Vice President for Legal Education for the College from 2001 to 2009. During his deanship, the Law School focused on both supporting the teaching of the faculty and bar passage success of the student body. Among other successes, the Law School’s bar passage rate in California increased dozens of percentage points, including over fifty points in the July 2008, exceeding half of the accredited California law schools.
During Dean Cogan's deanship, the Law School established the Center for International and Comparative Law, the Institute for Legal Writing and Professional Skills, the Institute for Student and Graduate Academic Support, the Institute for Trial Advocacy, and six Summer Study Abroad Programs. He directs the Israel Summer and Winter Study Abroad Program. He taught at Quinnipiac University School of Law, where he was founding dean; Southern Methodist School of Law, where he was Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; and Bar Ilan University Faculty of Law. He was a Visiting Scholar at Yale Law School, a Visiting Scholar-in-Residence at Hebrew University Faculty of Law, a Visiting Scholar-in-Residence at the United States Department of Justice, Division of Civil Rights, and a Visiting Lecturer at Touro Law School.
Professor Cogan has edited books and written articles on constitutional law, civil rights, and civil and criminal procedure; his The Complete Bill of Rights (Oxford U. Pr., 1997) has been frequently cited by the United States Supreme Court and in the scholarly literature. The second edition of the work was published in 2015. In addition, he has edited Contexts of the Constitution (Foundation Press, 1999); and Union and States’ Rights (Akron, 2014). In 2019, Oxford University Press published his biography, "Theodore Roosevelt: A Manly President’s Gendered Personal and Political Transformations" (Routledge). Before doing administrative work, Professor Cogan participated in politics, lobbying, and community organizing; he frequently was an elected delegate at political conventions. He received “The Good Guy” award from the Texas Women’s Politic Caucus.
He reads and writes narrative in four languages and fiction and poetry in two. He is married and lives in Los Angeles and has seven children and nine grandchildren. His spouse, Mannette Antill, is an actor, producer, and voice coach. They enjoy traveling, cooking, and gardening.
