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Vernon Floyd Cook (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 1987) is a former member of the
Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in C ...
. and former faculty member of the
University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...
Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...
Department. Cook was the first Director of the
Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics The Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics is a nonpartisan research and educational organization located at the University of Akron in Akron, OH. The Bliss Institute, founded in 1986, is named for Ray C. Bliss, University of Akron alumnus, un ...
. He was a cousin of former U.S. Representative
Robert E. Cook Robert Eugene Cook (May 19, 1920 – November 28, 1988) was an American attorney, politician, and judge. A Democrat, he is most notable for his service as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1963 and a judge ...
.


Early life and military service

Cook was born in
Kent, Ohio Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 28,215 at the 2020 Census. The city is counted as pa ...
. He left high school in 1944 to enlist in the
United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
, and served as a cryptographer for the 231st AAF BU. He was stationed in Alamogordo, New Mexico, England, and Germany as part of
Operation Paperclip Operation Paperclip was a secret United States intelligence program in which more than 1,600 German scientists, engineers, and technicians were taken from the former Nazi Germany to the U.S. for government employment after the end of World War ...
. After his discharge from active duty, Cook served in the
United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020, ...
and obtained the rank of captain. His reserve duties included teaching cryptographic and interrogation techniques at
Fort George G. Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, the ...
. He married Sharen Louise Mills from
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
.


Education

Cook graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pu ...
in 1951. He also attended
Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 1 ...
and completed the classwork required for a doctorate, but never his dissertation. He was posthumously awarded an honorary Ph.D. from the
University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...
in 1988.


Career


Teaching

Cook was an assistant professor of political science at
Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...
and
Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Res ...
before becoming an associate professor at the University of Akron in 1965. He continued in that position after being elected to public office, until his death in 1987.


Politics

Cook was first elected to the
Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in C ...
in 1972. In 1979, he was made Assistant Majority Floor Leader. He served on the Finance and Appropriations committee, the Ethics and Standards committee, the Rules committee and was chair of the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review.


Bliss Institute

In 1987, Cook was made the first director of the
Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics The Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics is a nonpartisan research and educational organization located at the University of Akron in Akron, OH. The Bliss Institute, founded in 1986, is named for Ray C. Bliss, University of Akron alumnus, un ...
at the
University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...
. Although Cook had been
Ray C. Bliss Ray Charles Bliss (December 16, 1907 – August 6, 1981) was one of the important national U.S. Republican Party leaders of the 1960s and served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1965 to 1969. He helped to pull the Republican ...
's choice, Cook's appointment was controversial. Despite some partisan wrangling, Cook was eventually given the post. An internship named for Cook provides students with the practical experience in politics.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Vernon Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Ohio State University alumni University of Akron alumni 1927 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American politicians