Cooley was born in New York City in 1919.[2] She attended Hunter College, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and graduated in 1940.[2] In 1943 she began to study at New York University, where she obtained an M.A. in 1946 and a PhD in 1949.[2] She continued teaching classes at New York University after completing her degree, and remained there for the rest of her 42-year-long career.[2] When Cooley began teaching in that department, she was the only woman teaching there,[1] and she was also the first woman to become a full professor or receive tenure in the Department of Politics at New York University.[2] She served a term as chair of the politics department beginning in 1975, and was also the first woman to do so.[2] While a professor at New York University, she taught more than 30,000 students,[2] and she won 7 university-wide teaching awards: she was selected by undergraduates to win seven Golden Dozen awards, which recognize the student body's 12 favorite professors, as well as the 1967 Great Teacher Award.[3]
Cooley's scholarship largely focused on American judicial politics, as well as on pedagogy and teaching social science in universities. In 1950, she co-authored the textbook Government in American Society.[2] She also wrote on legal history in the United States, for example on the origin of attorneys general in America[4] or the United States Marshals Service.[5]
Cooley's husband was Hollis R. Cooley, who was a professor of mathematics at New York University.[2] Rita Cooley retired in 1986.[2] Upon her retirement, the Department of Politics at New York University named a seminar room for her, and an award was endowed in her honor.[2] She died on October 1, 2006.[2]