Gerard A. Cox was a graduate of Marist College. After completing his graduate degree at Hunter College, he joined the Marist College English Faculty in 1966. In 1969 Professor Cox was also appointed Associate Dean under the Academic Dean, then the chief academic officer at the college while continuing to work with departmental colleagues on designing and teaching a variety of new courses. Ten years later, in 1979, he was named Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs, a position he held for twenty-two years until his retirement from administration in 2001. He has worked with students as a theatre advisor and director since the late 1960s, teaching the history of theatre and performance arts, writing, and working with students on theatrical projects. He served as the director of student theatre programs, conducting the college's annual student playwriting competition, organizing Marist's annual festival of student written plays and serving as the faculty advisor to the students' theatre organization (MCCTA). The Student Theatre Collection reflects Professor Cox’s passion for students' creative writing and for developing the student-playwright's script with minimalist staging as a means of focusing on inherent qualities of text.