SMU mourns the loss of Distinguished Alumna and economics pioneer Mona Hersh-Cochran

SMU mourns the loss of the first woman to earn a Ph.D. from SMU, Dr. Mona Sheinfeld Hersh-Cochran ’66. A scholar, economics professor and women’s advocate and activist, she passed away on Friday, September 6, 2024.

“Mona Hersh-Cochran’s remarkable career as an international specialist in health economics led her to serve as an advisor to notable U.S and international organizations,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. “In addition to her own pioneering work in economics, she also mentored thousands of other women, inspiring them to break through barriers to pursue careers in academia, government and the corporate sphere. Her tireless dedication to helping others, her intelligence and her unwavering support will be deeply missed by her former students, her family and the SMU community.”

Hersh-Cochran was born Mona Barbara Sheinfeld on Dec. 3, 1934, in Philadelphia. Raised in Atlantic City by her mother and grandmother, she was among a group of groundbreaking women to pursue higher education and a career as a professor in the 1950s and 1960s. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 1956 and her master’s degree in 1964 from Rutgers University. She moved to Dallas in 1960, where she earned her trailblazing Ph.D. in economics in 1966 from SMU.

Doctorate in hand, Hersh-Cochran embarked on a distinguished 35-year professional career teaching economics at Texas Woman’s University, where she earned an international reputation as a specialist in Health Economics. She served as an advisor to the World Health Organization and as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Additionally, she was actively involved in nearly 20 professional and community organizations, holding elected offices in the Southwestern Economics Association, the Association for Social Economics and Omicron Delta Epsilon, the national honorary economics society.

Her scholarship, publishing and teaching excellence earned her numerous awards and honors. She received Texas Women’s University’s most esteemed award for faculty—the Cornaro Outstanding Professor Award—in 1991 as well as SMU’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995.

According to her family, the honor that perhaps best represents her life’s work was the “Maura Award” from the Women’s Center of Dallas in recognition of her more than thirty years of devoted commitment to helping open new doors for women and advancing their professional careers. When she officially retired in 2000, dozens of her former students honored her with what she considered to be her most precious and “prestigious” award—the self-proclaimed “Mentored by Mona” club. Her beloved students celebrated her at her retirement party and shared stories and memories of their days in her classroom, highlighting the myriad ways she touched their lives and inspired them to chase their dreams.

Retirement proved just as fruitful for Hersh-Cochran as her career. She traveled often in RVs and on cruises with her loved ones. Her passion for the opera and symphony led her from the Met in New York City to the Tanglewood Music Center in Boston, to venues in Florida. Along her route, she would often stop to visit friends and family. Always on the go, she kept busy at home in Dallas, ensuring she fulfilled her “bucket list.” She led by example always demonstrating (and telling her daughters) what women could achieve—earning degrees, having successful and outstanding careers while also being wives, mothers and grandmothers. Her legacy lives on in the women she taught, mentored and raised.

Hersh-Cochran was preceded in death by her husband, Kendall P. Cochran, and later, by her longtime companion Gustave “Gus” L. Hoehn. She is survived by daughters Paula Hersh and Susan Geller and their husbands, John Davenport IV and Michael Geller; and by her son Kenneth Hersh, who serves as President and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, and his partner Regen Horchow. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Daniel Hersh and wife Jessica, Rachel Hersh and husband Dan Knight, Simcha Nachman Geller, Elchanan Yosef Geller and Tuvia Leib Geller.