John Cook, rest in peace

The Yale Institute of Sacred Music has announced the death of John Cook (1933-2019), former director of the institute and emeritus professor at the Yale Divinity School, where he taught religion and the visual arts.

John Wesley Cook, Professor Emeritus of Religion and the Arts at Yale Divinity School (YDS) and Yale Institute of Sacred Music (ISM), and former director of the ISM, died peacefully on April 14 in Houston, Texas.

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John Cook’s first faculty appointment at Yale was as lecturer at YDS in 1967; he rose through the ranks and was appointed Professor of Religion and the Arts at YDS in 1977.  In 1992, he left Yale to serve as president of the Henry Luce Foundation, where he remained until his retirement in 2003.

He was an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ as well as a respected art historian and author. He will be especially remembered for his commitment to the inclusion of the arts in theological education, a cause he championed throughout his career.

You can read more about his life here.

There is a memorial service scheduled for June 17 at Yale Divinity School, 409 Prospect St, New Haven, Connecticut.