Lifetime Giving Societies

The Cooper Union is proud to recognize the individuals, families, and organizations whose contributions total $100,000 or more as members of our Lifetime Giving Societies. Each Society is named for a member of Peter Cooper’s family in recognition of the philanthropic legacy that has sustained this institution for generations. Members are listed on the Lifetime Giving Society Wall in the lobby of 41 Cooper Square, and receive invitations to special events and other benefits in recognition of their generosity. Contact us to learn how to become a member.

Lifetime Giving Society Members:

LUMINARY SOCIETY ($10 Million and above)

Maurice Kanbar
The Starr Foundation

FOUNDATION SOCIETY ($5 Million – $9,999,999)

Edward Durbin '48 and Joan Morris 
Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation
The Estate of William Hergenrother ’55
Richard and Ronay Menschel
Albert Nerken ’33
Rosemary ’53 and Milton Okun
George Reeves ’64 and Ross Wisnewski
Frederick P. and Sandra P. Rose Foundation
Irma Giustino Weiss ’45
Anonymous (3) 

PETER COOPER HERITAGE SOCIETY ($1 Million – $4,999,999)

The Estate of Jerome Ablon '60
Altman Foundation
Sidney J. Altschuler ’57
The Estate of Henri Irving Arnold '50
Daniel Arsham ’03
Robert ’43 and Margaret Bayuk
Joan and Robert Bernhard
The Estate of Howard ’49 and Anita Betts
Booth Ferris Foundation  
Michael Borkowsky '61 
Kevin ’72 and Patricia Burke
Irwin S. Chanin 1915 and Sylvia Chanin
The Charina Endowment Fund
George Clark ’41
Con Edison
James E. Craig ’63
Walter J. Dauksher ’51
Francois ’87 and Susan de Menil
Donald ’37 and Jane Deed
Vic ’63 and Eleanor DiFranco
Ronald Drucker ’62 and Lisa Ware
The Estate of Antonya Eisen ’62 and Daniel Eisen ’62
Susan Eisenberg ’62 and Benjamin Eisenberg ’61
Eleanor and Stanley W. Ensminger ’46
The Estate of Jack Feder ’50 
Barbara White Fishman ’60
Howard Flagg ’75 and Angelica Garcia-Flagg
The Estate of Elaine Flug
The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation 
F. Phillip Geraci
The Estate of Kathleen Gerla
The Estate of Byron Gibbs ’51
Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation
Paula and Jeffrey Gural
The Estate of George Hecht ’30/’51
The Estate of Roger ’25 and Tessa Heine
Isaac Heller ’52
Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
IDC Foundation
Stephanie and Timothy Ingrassia 
Benedict ’75 and Susan Itri
Alex ’49 and Ada Katz
William King ’48
The Estate of Helmuth Knapp ’50
John Kossak ’41 and Evelyn Kranes Kossak
The Kresge Foundation
Stanley ’70 and Ruth Lapidus
The Robert Lehman Foundation
The Estate of Harry Levine ’30
John ’69 and Mary Manuck
Robert B. Menschel
Marie Morrone, in honor of Vincent Morrone ’63
National Science Foundation
New York State Higher Education Capital Matching Grant Program
The Estate of Emil ’41 and Billie Pansky
Oscar Parr '43
Rubin ’42 and Rene Rabinowitz
The Estate of Earl Reddert 1915
Michael F. Roberti ’67
Robin Hood Foundation
Daniel and Joanna S. Rose
Susan and Jack Rudin
William ’63 and Patricia Sandholm
Morris Shane ’47
The Sheridan Family
Frank Stanton, in honor of Louis Dorfman ’39 and Ann Hysa Dorfman ’39
Peter Torraco ’28
The Estate of Leonard Trentin ’37
Martin ’56 and Diane Trust
The Trust Family Foundation
Until All Are Free
The Estate of George Wallerstein
The Estate of Mitchel ’49 and Marjorie von Wieser
Henry Wolf Foundation
Anonymous (3)

SARAH BEDELL COOPER SOCIETY ($500,000 – $999,999)

Judith Cassella '71 and Charles Cassella '68 
Anne and Albert Chao 
Lois M. Collier
Thomas ’77 and Diane Driscoll
Mark L. Epstein ’76
Alan Fortier ’79
George ’40 and Cecily Fox
Morris ’66 and Amanda Gelb
In honor of Roy Grace ’62
Bette-Ann and Charles Gwathmey
Roslyn and Elliot Jaffe
Elliott Kanbar
Richard and Ellen Lincer
Susan and John Michaelson
Frank W. Miner ’47
National Endowment for the Arts
The New York Community Trust—Henry C. Enders Fund
New York State Council on the Arts
Alphonse R. Normandia ’48 and The Normandia Family
The Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation
The Pinkerton Foundation
Harry Ploss ’68
Richard ’57 and Ardath Schwartz
Rochelle and Brian Steinwurtzel 
Surdna Foundation
Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund
Cynthia C. Weiler and E. Blake Moore, Jr.
Anonymous (2)


ABRAM S. HEWITT SOCIETY ($250,000 – $499,999)

Howard '70 and Nancy Amols
Lawrence B. Benenson
The Estate of Emily Bileck ’44
Alfred '67 and Kathryn Brand
Eugene '64 and Susan Briskman
The Brooks Family Foundation
Chubb
Citi Community Development
John P. Clarke '66 
Clo and Charles S. Cohen
William '76 and Sandra Cordiano 
Richard and Jean Coyne Family Foundation
The Charles A. Dana Foundation 
Gary Davis
Christine Degen '68 and Bruce Degen '66 
Marion and John Patrick Dugan
Raymond '86 and Tina Falci
Stephen '67 and Jane Gerard
Richard G. Graven '52 
Pearl Greenberg '48 and Murray Greenberg '49
Harold ’44 and Rose Goldberg
The Hearst Foundations
Paul '53 and Ann Heller
Tat-Sing Huen ’77
Aftab '97 and Ellen Hussain 
Anthony '85 and Claire Ianno 
Elise Jaffe + Jeffrey Brown
Evelyn and Peter Kraus
Ilan ’65 and Barbara Levi
Leon Levy Foundation
The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation
Susan Kamen Marsicano '61, in memory of Nicholas Marsicano 
Paul Millman '74 
Constance J. Milstein
Kenneth ’69 and Helene Mitchell
Ted and Monica Nicholas
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Carmin ’55 and Adrienne Rosato
The Estate of Ronald Rossi ‘58
Walter Schepp
Richard J. Slember '55
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Stuart ’55 and Etta Spater 
Robert '65 and Barbara Spindel 
Henry Sterne Trust
Nader Tehrani, in memory of Ahmad and Parvaneh Tehrani
Arthur Thomson '64 
Tiger Foundation
The Estate of Kathryn Vignini
Philip ’89 and Alla Weisberg
Jeremy Wertheimer ’82
Tom ’59 and Claire Wesselmann
Gary Williams ’71
Andrew '88 and Mary Wilson 
Dale ’45 and Charlotte Zand
Anonymous (2)

SARAH AMELIA HEWITT SOCIETY ($100,000 – $249,999)

Joel ’58 and Louise Alper
John and Corrinne Alpert Foundation
Robert ’54 and Linda Alwitt
Carol Amend-Lovell ’82 and John Lovell ’82
Marc and Joanna Appleton
H.B. Avison, in memory of Beth and Art Kramberg
Ronald Bajit '88 
George ’59 and Frances Barletta
Robert W. Bassemir ’49
The Bay and Paul Foundations, Inc.
Bernard ’40 and Lorraine Bayuk
Jacqueline Bernstein and Marvin H. Weiner
Mona Bhoyar and Milind Godbole, parents of Akash Godbole ’17
Charles ’39 and Zelda Bliss
Ivan ’62 and Diana Bottlik
James ’79 and Natalie Bracken
Leo J. Brancato ’50
Kenneth Bridbord ’64 and Maryanne Lachat
Lia Vodja Brillhart ’60
Curtis Browne '68
Michael Callan ’68
Mary Schmidt Campbell and George Campbell Jr.
Alicia and Michael Cantelmi 
Mariam Cantelmi ’95 and Frank Cantelmi ’93
Joseph ’66 and Marie Celkupa
The Ciafone and Argento Family 
The Estate of Stanley R. Cohen '55
Norma Rancken Cossey ME’46 and C. Murray Cossey E’40
Cross Ridge Foundation
Chris Curro '15 
David ’55 and Gladys Daniel
Arlene Poling D’Arienzo ’56
Faith Dean ’49
Ira W. Decamp Foundation
Roberta and Deke Dening
Brickson Diamond 
Elizabeth Diller ’79 and Ricardo Scofidio ’55
Edward '76 and Kathleen Dineen
Carol and Joseph Dobronyi
Louis Dorfsman ’39
Stephen Doyle ’78 and Gael Towey
Timothy Driscoll ’73
Timothy ’56 and Barbara Driscoll
The Estate of Herbert Dropkin ’50
Michael Duffy ’97
Jack Eichenbaum ’63
Lauren Esnes ’80 and Eugene Esnes ’80
Jose Esteves '82 
Chenggong Fan '95
Joyce Feinsilber ’50
Wanda Felton 
N. Phyllis Fischer ’54 and George A. Fischer ’54
Pam Flaherty
The Estate of Charlotte Freeman-Shapiro
Frezza Family Foundation
Jane and William Furman
Janet Paxton Gardner ’65 and The Edward and Elizabeth Gardner Foundation
Arthur '59 and Ruth Gerber 
Judith Gerrard '83 and Robert Tan '81 
Shirley Glaser ’56 and Milton Glaser ’51
Alan I. Goldsmith ’86/’89
Jack D. Goodman ’51 and Nancy Grabow
T.J. Gottesdiener ’79 and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
The Estate of James C. Gower ’88
Elizabeth Graziolo '95 
William 1921 and Polly Grimshaw
Agnes Gund
The Guzzardi Family
Adele Hall and Robert W. Sweet
Robert J. Hammond, Sr. ’38 and Elizabeth T. Hammond
Edward I. Hawthorne ’43 and Lillian Hawthorne
Jeffrey ’87 and Ronny Hersch
Eric ’89 and Hillary Hirschhorn
Albert ’69 and Abby Hochhauser
William J. Horvath
Sol Horwitz
Toni Howard and David Yarnell
John E. Huddy ’85
Bruce '79 and Alice Hudson
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Judith and Thomas Iovino
Mark H. Jay ’73 and Susan R. Jay
The J.M. Kaplan Fund
Jaishri and Vikas Kapoor
Evelyn Katz
Malcolm ’97 and Danielle King
Ronald '56 and Elizabeth Klein
Steven ’64 and Carolyn Koestenblatt
The Estate of Fred Kohler
The Estate of  Harvey J. Kosherick '64
John ’64 and Sarah Koster
Alan ’70 and Camille Kramer
Jimmy Kwong ’80 and Pauline Yep
The Labowsky Family
Lynn ’60 and Anne Lander
Eugene M. Lang Foundation
Joseph ’54 and Marie Lechleider
Sara Lee and Axel Schupf
Michael ’69 and Sheila Lefkowitz
The Estate of Seymour Lemler ’79
David ’74 and Diane Levy
Richard H. Lewis ’77 and Joan M. Sapinsley
Susan Lin ’88
Fredric Litt ’61 and Jane Ebbers Litt
John L. Loeb
Darrell ’89 and Jenny Low
Edgar Luber ’53
Raymond Luke
Mary Lynch '82 
Harriet and John Mack, in memory of William Cooper Mack ’06
James ’80 and Patricia Malanga
John Manferdelli '73 and Catherine Stricklin 
Max F. Mangelsdorff and Paul Emil Kleineberg
Winifred Marasco '66 and Joseph Marasco '66
Connie V. Martinez
David '74 and Doris May
Rhoda Metzger, in memory of Fred Metzger ’47
Cora and Clarence Michalis
Fernanda D. Milling ’29
Edgar ’78 and Mary Mokuvos
Kerry Mooney ’83 and Susan Everett
Vincent ’36 and Grace Moore
Toshiko Mori ’76 and James Carpenter
Corinne Musa ’04 and Derek Musa ’03
Katherine Faulkner, Daniel Gallagher, and Nader Tehrani, NADAAA
Bruce G. Nelligan '80
Lawrence Ng ’78 and Annie Chu
Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Paul Nikulin ’06 and Sasha Nagorny
Ernest Nussbaum ’50 and Patricia Pothier
Ernest E. Olson Jr. ’52
Open Society Foundations
Sean Patrick O’Neill ’03
Alfred G. Osterlund ’54 and Thelma L. Osterlund 
Edward ’63 and Mary Ott
John Papamarcos ’41
Emil J. Parente ’53
William Paulus, Jr. ’58 and Lois Paulus
Constantine ’00 and Beth Plakas
Alberta Poskanzer
Melissa Prober and Dana Hughes 
Marshall ‘63 and Jane Rafal
Stephen ’63 and Josephine Rattien
The Reed Foundation
Michael Reich ’72
Donald Reilly '65 and Katherine Domoto
Arthur R. Robinson ’51
Anne Dudek Ronan ’83 and Gregory Ronan ’81
Paul ’62 and Ann Rosche
John '69 and Gladys Roswell
Donald Rotunno '91 and Ann Bruns-Rotunno 
May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation
The Estate of Fujio Saito ’47
Dean Sansone ’89
Robert G. Sarubbi ’53
Walter '60 and Ruth Schillinger
Allyn ’66 and Meredith Schneider
Susan and Peter Schubert
Donald ’57 and Mary Lou Schwinn
Sciame Construction, in memory of John Fitzpatrick
Robert ’49 and Karen Sheridan 
Lee ’79 and Jo Ann Skolnick 
Silverweed Foundation
Bernard '70 and Janet Singer
Michael '77 and Elena Sisti 
Irma Sityar '83 
Sean ’85 and Penny Smyth
John Ben Snow Memorial Trust
Laura and Andrew Sparks
Tishman Speyer
The Estate of Louise Stephenson
Eugene Stueben ’61
Juh-Young Suh ’91 and Hai-Sik Lee
Joseph Sultan ’76 
Solon E. Summerfield Foundation
Ben ’49 and Helene Swedowsky
William '74 and Louise Symington
Gale and Thomas Synnott
Janice Hopkins Tanne
James Tellefsen Jr. ’77 and Martha Tellefsen
Diane Toy ’97 and Eric Fung ’97
Philip ’92 and Jennifer Trahanas
Nanako Umemoto '83 and Jesse Reiser '81
Otokar von Bradsky ’58
Bruce F. Waller, Parent of Greta M. Waller ’06
Rachel L. Warren
Clifford ’36 and Margaret Warren
Gerald Wasserman '66 
Herbert A. Weidner ’49
Jennifer Fenton Weishaupt ’95 and Erich Weishaupt 
Paul ’72 and Brinda Wiita
Barry '68 and Janet Winkler
YC Foundation 
Jack Yogman ’48
Tony Yoshida and Sunrise Mart
Gilly Youner '82 and John Leeper '85 
George W. Young
Alfred Zacharias ’53
Martin '77 and Beth Zubatkin
Anonymous (8) 

Names in bold indicate new 2024 inductee.

List as of September, 2024.

  • 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.