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Donor Recognition
Annual Donor Report
Lifetime Giving Societies
New Academic Building Naming Opportunities
Acknowledgements
The Cooper Union publishes an Annual Donor Report for distribution to the College community. This is a public thank you to all those individuals and organizations who have given in a variety of ways to the institution in the previous fiscal year, a venue for The Cooper Union to express its gratitude.
- Peter Cooper Heritage Society
- Established to recognize The Cooper Union's most generous benefactors, The Peter Cooper Heritage Society celebrates the philanthropic spirit that perpetuates this institution. Individuals and families who, over the course of their lives, have donated $1 million or more to The Cooper Union are inducted into the Society. The college is grateful for the exceptional generosity shown by these patrons, which supports the institution's enduring commitment to academic excellence, public access to intellectual and cultural opportunities, and full-tuition scholarships for all admitted students.
- Sarah Bedell Cooper Society
- Sarah Bedell Cooper (1793-1869), Peter Cooper's wife, was instrumental in establishing a "Golden Wedding Fund" on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary, to support charities. The Sarah Bedell Cooper Society celebrates her commitment to The Cooper Union as well as her strong philanthropic spirit and initiative. The Society honors the individuals and families who, over the course of their lives, have donated $500,000-999,999 to The Cooper Union. Their support helps sustain the college's mission—to provide an education that is "as free as air and water" to talented and deserving students, regardless of means.
- Abram S. Hewitt Society
- Abram S. Hewitt (1822-1903) was a teacher, lawyer, iron manufacturer, U.S. Congressman, and mayor of New York City. He was also Peter Cooper's son-in-law and Cooper Union's most important founding trustee. The Abram S. Hewitt Society honors individuals and families who over the course of their lives have donated $250,000-499,999 to The Cooper Union. The far-sighted philanthropy of these donors helps ensure that this institution will continue to educate and enrich the lives of exceptional students for generations to come.
- Society of 1859
- The Society of 1859 is designed to recognize and honor benefactors who have made enduring gifts by including Cooper Union in their financial or estate plans. Through their commitment, they help make certain that the college will have financial resources sufficient to ensure its continued ability to provide full-tuition scholarships for all admitted students. Their permanent gifts and provisions for the college sustain the values of excellence and opportunity set forth in 1859 by Peter Cooper.
New Academic Building Naming Opportunities
The Cooper Union honors the exceptional generosity of donors who make gifts to the building fund by naming spaces on The Cooper Union campus. The name may be that of the donor, a family member, or some other person whom the donor wishes to honor, creating a lasting legacy while addressing a vital College need.
- Donor Walk
- With a gift of $25,000 or more to the new academic building fund, each donor will be prominently recognized with unique and attractive signage on the Donor Walk. Donor names will be permanently engraved into aluminum panels that hang dramatically above the stairway descending from the building's Main Lobby to the Gallery and Auditorium on the lower level. This highly visible passage will be frequently traversed by members of the Cooper Union community, as well as visitors to the college attending public exhibitions and lectures. Integrated into the architectural design, the Donor Walk will function as a permanent and elegant tribute to those whose generosity and far-sightedness made construction of the building a reality.
- Alumni Roof Terrace
- On the Eighth Floor of the new academic building, the Alumni Roof Terrace will provide rare, outdoor urban space that spectacularly overlooks the Foundation Building and historic Cooper Square. The terrace will bear the engraved names of alumni and their families who have contributed $2,500 to $20,000 to the new academic building.
- Faculty Offices
- The Cooper Union is proud to recognize generous donors to the new academic building—at the $100,000 level—by naming select, individual faculty offices. Clustered together on floors three through seven, 45 offices provide Cooper Union faculty members with quiet space for work and meetings with students. Each room features individual temperature control, acoustical treatments to ensure isolation and privacy, extra light from an above-door clerestory, and a flexible layout to suit the needs of the occupant. Lining the west side of the new building, these windowed offices overlook Peter Cooper Park.
A gift of $150,000 to The Cooper Union's new academic building merits the naming of a larger office within the building. These five northwest corner offices afford views of Peter Cooper Park and the historic Foundation Building. These rooms are currently programmed to serve as Engineering Centers—shared office space for academic interest groups working on research projects in the fields of Biomedical Engineering, Signal Processing & Information, and Manufacturing Innovation & Infrastructure. Alternately, these spaces may be converted to large faculty offices.
- Classrooms
- Several technologically-rich studio classrooms are located throughout the new academic building, each of which provides facilities for professors to give multimedia presentations and for students to communicate electronically. Naming opportunities are available for classrooms of all sizes, with gifts from $500,000 to $1,500,000.
- Laboratories
- Located throughout the new academic building, a variety of laboratories are equipped to support study and research in all of Cooper Union's engineering disciplines. These spaces will provide a context for experimental learning in the sciences, and important research in the field of engineering. A variety of specialized labs in Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and in Physics—along with Research labs for student work on faculty projects—are available for naming with gifts ranging from $75,000 to $3,000,000.
- Art Suites
- Art students have individual studios in a number of spacious art suites throughout the new academic building, many of which are sky-lit. These studios are where Cooper Union's exceptional young artists spend their most productive hours experimenting and creating new works. The suites themselves can be named with gifts from $1,500,000 to $3,000,000.
The Cooper Union sends letters of acknowledgement and thanks to all of its donors and includes tax language for gifts at or above $250. Named funds generate reports on an annual basis. Student thank you letters and faculty reports are included as applicable and available. Our letters focus on how the donation has been used to further the mission of the College.