Whitney Oldenburg

Director, Center for Career Development

Whitney Oldenburg began working at The Cooper Union in 2017 after working as an Adjunct Art Professor, Admissions Counselor, and a Recruitment Officer at Virginia Commonwealth University. In her role, Whitney regularly meets with students to give one-on-one feedback and support related to their professional aspirations. Whitney also develops a variety of workshops to address career-related topics within the arts, collaborates on various outreach initiatives, and supports programming efforts within The Center for Career Development. 

Whitney obtained her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 2009 and graduated with her MFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 2016.  Whitney is the recipient of Cornell University’s Charles Baskerville Scholarship, the Virginia Commonwealth University Fountainhead Fellowship, the Toby Devan Lewis Award, and the Maharam Steam Fellowship. She is a practicing artist and has exhibited her work in New York City, Chicago, Richmond, Houston, and Ottawa. Whitney has also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the Atlantic Center for the Arts with Michelle Grabner. 
 

  • 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.