At Cooper: Spring 2017

Table of Contents: Vol. XLVII, No. 1, Spring 2017

At Cooper Spring 2017

Welcome Letter by Laura Sparks

Features

Meet Laura Sparks

Our full-length interview with the 13th president of The Cooper Union

Outreach Programs: A Parallel Union

A fresh examination of Cooper's free or low-cost classes for working people and youth

Creative Inquiries

The Menschel Fellowship reaches 20 years

Refugee Rescue: Witness to a Crisis

How Helena Zhu, a third-year civil engineering student, spent her summer 

Now Arriving

How Cooper Union graduates contributed to the Second Avenue Subway

Cooper Dot Edu

What's Brewing at Cooper

Engineering professor Sam Keene’s cross-disciplinary course, “the science and art of brewing,” culminated with an exhibition and tasting

Dore Ashton 1928-2017

An eyewitness to art history, she taught generations of cooper students

Class Notes

Marisa Lago PHY’77 named NYC’s Director of the Department of City Planning

Staff Art Show

The talents of the men and women who run the shops and work in the administrative offices get a rare showcase

Obstacles to Diversity in STEM

The Cooper Union celebrated MLK day by co-hosting a panel discussion with esteemed scientists who addressed the paucity of women and minorities in STEM fields and how to turn that trend around

Iselin Lecture

The former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York will deliver the John Jay Iselin Memorial Lecture on April 6 (sold out)

Hejduk Built Works

An exhibition, including an outdoor sculpture, opens March 29

Cooper to Cooper: The Archivists

The Cooper Union’s three archivists—Alexander Tochilovsky, Carol Salomon and Steven Hillyer—describe some of their favorite objects

FEC Status Report

The Free Education Committee released its annual report on progress being made toward reinstating full-tuition scholarships in a sustainable way

Current Work: Nader Tehrani

Dean Nader Tehrani will present his work with NADAAA in a public lecture on April 5

The Return of a Bolted Book

Raffaele Bedarida, assistant professor, on reproducing a rare 1927 art book by Fortunato Depero

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  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.