Ira S. Cohen, born in New York City in 1922, taught psychology at the University at Buffalo from 1952 until his retirement in 1987 as Professor Emeritus. Prior to receiving his bachelor's degree from Queens College and his Ph.D. from Indiana University, Cohen served in the United States Army during World War II. Before coming to the University at Buffalo, he worked at Veterans Affairs' Psychological Clinics in Indianapolis, Indiana and in Bath, New York, and was a Teaching Fellow at Indiana University.


In addition to his teaching at the University at Buffalo, Cohen served in several administrative positions. These include, Provost of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Administration, director of graduate studies in the Department of Psychology, director of the clinical psychology training program, and Chairman of the Psychology Department. He also served as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard University. After his retirement from the University at Buffalo in 1987, he was named director of the Office of Educational Affairs for the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C. In 1978, Cohen won the State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.


In 1990, Cohen moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico where he became a founding member of the Santa Fe Friends of Jazz band. He played alto saxophone and clarinet for several jazz and classical groups and was active in the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society. Cohen, who enjoyed skiing, died from a heart attack at the Santa Fe Ski Basin in 1992. From a 1993 editorial letter in The Spectrum, Murray Brown, Professor of Economics, remembered Cohen as "a principled man and a friend of students."