Brookes Cowan

Brookes Cowan was a Senior Lecturer Emerita in the Department of Sociology at the University of Vermont, where she taught from 1983 until retirement. A medical sociologist and gerontologist, she specialized in end-of-life care and served as Founding Chair of the Madison-Dean Initiative, which produced the award-winning documentary 'Pioneers of Hospice: Changing the Face of Dying'.

Her career included extensive hospice volunteer work since 1978, and she coordinated care for Elisabeth Kubler-Ross during her final days in 2004. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1976 and was recognized as Outstanding Professor of the Year.