Fred Siegel

Professor Emeritus of History

IN MEMORIAM

Fred Siegel is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a think tank which focuses on urban policy and politics and holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and a M.A., Ph.D. from University of Pittsburgh. He remains a contributor to numerous publications, including The New York Post (where he had a weekly column), The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly, Commonwealth, Tikkun, and TELOS.

In the past he has served as a political advisor to several political figures in New York City, most notably former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. He is the author of several books, including The Prince of the City: Giuliani, New York, and the Genius of American Life and The Future Once Happened Here: New York, D.C., L.A., and the Fate of America's Big Cities.

  • 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.