Top of the News

  • The Kresge Foundation has awarded Cooper Union a $1 million challenge grant toward construction of the new academic building. This prestigious grant is intended to help strengthen fundraising capacity, and is conditional upon the college's raising more than $11 million toward the building between July 2007 and June 2009. We've raised more than $3 million since the start of the challenge period and now have about $8 million to go. All gifts to the building fund will count toward this exciting challenge.
  • The Cooper Union will host its Sixth Annual Urban Visionaries Award Dinner and Silent Auction on Tuesday, June 10, 2008, honoring Annie Leibovitz for her accomplishments in visual art, David Childs for his achievements in architecture, Lloyd G. Trotter of GE Industrial Systems for his outstanding contributions to the field of engineering, Richard Ravitch for urban citizenship and Wangechi Mutu (A'97) as an emerging talent.

    Serving as dinner chairs are Kevin Burke (EE'72), T.J. Gottesdiener (AR'79), Hedy Klineman (A'62), Kathleen Lacey and James Hoge and Marilyn Jordan Taylor.

    This year's benefit will take place at 7 World Trade Center-a dramatic downtown space with spectacular 360-degree views of New York City. The evening will begin with a cocktail reception featuring an extensive silent art auction of small works by some of the country's most talented artists. Several artists have already agreed to participate: Karen Bausman (AR'82), Ernesto L. Caivano (A'99), Susanna Coffey, Stephen Doyle (A'78), Kimsooja, Vera Klement (A'50), Lisa Lawley (A'76), Janet Odgis, Yoko Ono and David Storey (Art fac.). A seated dinner with awards presentation will follow.

    Tickets are available for $500, $1,000 and $2,500 and tables for $5,000, $10,000, $25,000 and $50,000. A limited number of tickets are available for faculty and staff at the discounted price of $250. All proceeds will support The Cooper Union's hallmark policy of awarding full-tuition scholarships to all admitted students. For more information or to make a reservation, contact Lindsey Cole at 212.353.4106 or uv@cooper.edu.

    Keep checking www.cooper.edu/urbanvisionaries for updates and to see photographs of last year's event.
  • New academic building update: The project has now successfully transitioned into the superstructure concrete phase. The new academic building will be constructed primarily from reinforced concrete and a small amount of structural steel. The superstructure concrete phase will take roughly five months. All columns and floors, starting with columns in the subcellar through to the ninth floor, will be completed during this time. The progress of this phase will be rapid and visible. By the beginning of March, formwork will be visible above the street level.
  • The Cooper Baja Team is actively recruiting members to complete the 2008 vehicle, outfitted with a novel rear suspension and transmission design.

Congratulations

  • The Cooper Motorsports Team gratefully acknowledges Con Edison's $10,000 donation to the 2008 Formula SAE project. The team is months ahead of where it was last season and is excited to enter two competitions this year.
  • Stanley Allen (AR'81) is the recipient of a 55th Progressive Architecture award for Taichung Gateway Park, China.
  • George Delagrammatikas (Eng. fac.) has applied for a patent for his chronic intermittent hypoxia system used to study the effects of sleep apnea. Electrical, chemical, mechanical and interdisciplinary engineering students are developing the system for commercial viability through collaborations with researchers at Cornell Weill Medical College.
  • Elizabeth Diller (AR'79) is the recipient of the 2008 Tau Sigma Delta Gold Medal; she is a juror for the "White House Redux" competition, sponsored by The Storefront for Art and Architecture and Control Group.
  • Nelson Fernando Figallo (AR'03), co-writer and co-director of "Future is Now," is the winner of the Best Child Actor & Best Writing (Drama) awards, Film Racing 2007 Grand Prix.
  • Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe (A'75) received Essence's Photography Literary Award for her book Daufuskie Island.
  • Christian Roca (CE'08) has won a 2007 Google Hispanic College Fund Scholarship.
  • Jason Oliver Vollen (AR'94) has received a Boston Society of Architects 2007-2008 research grant.

publications, presentations and major exhibitions

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giving to cooper union

  • Trustee Ed Feiner (AR'69) and president of the Alumni Association Carmi Bee (AR'67) are reaching out to alumni and other friends in the architecture community to recognize John Q. Hejduk (AR'50) and raise $2 million to restore and renovate the Foundation Building. The first steering committee meeting was held on February 19.
  • Jane Deed, who worked at Cooper Union in the 1940s and celebrated her 102nd birthday last month, has donated real estate to the college valued at $340,000. Proceeds of her gift will be added to scholarship funds that she established in 2005. Deed's recent gift to the Jane E. and Donald W. Deed Engineering School Scholarship Fund and the Jane E. and Donald W. Deed Art School Scholarship Fund supports today's students as it honors her and her late husband's very special connection to Cooper Union. Donald Deed (ChE'37) also taught at Cooper Union after earning his M.S. at the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. from Columbia.
  • Phonathon, historically the largest fundraiser for the Annual Fund, begins Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. in Wollman Lounge and continues on Monday, March 17 through Thursday, March 20. Join the fun and reach out to alumni, parents and friends of The Cooper Union to support the Annual Fund. To volunteer, contact Matt Jones at 212-353-4103 or e-mail annualfund@cooper.edu. We look forward to seeing you there!
  • James Craig (A'63/Art fac.) has made a generous gift of appreciated securities to establish his second charitable gift annuity with Cooper Union—a gift that pays individuals income for life and then provides deferred support for the college. Thus far in FY08, alumni have contributed more than $900,000 in deferred support of their alma mater and more than $4 million since the start of Cooper Union's comprehensive capital campaign.
  • More than 270 alumni have reserved spaces on the Alumni Roof Terrace, providing more than $1.45 million in support of the new academic building. Please remember that all pledges are payable through June 30, 2012—a full five years. Only students and alumni are eligible, so mark your legacy in stone and secure a space for your name on the Terrace. For more information, contact Claire Michie at 212-353-4171 or michie@cooper.edu, or visit Give to Cooper Union.

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Don't Miss

General Interest

  • On Tuesday, March 4, at 6 p.m., the Cooper Union community is invited to The Great Hall for a private screening of Salim Baba, nominated for the 2008 Oscar for Best Short Documentary. Salim Baba, produced by Cooper Union alumnus Francisco Bello (A'02), is the portrait of a traveling bioscope projectionist, a true living link between the birth of cinema at the dawn of the 20th century and the digital age of today.
  • On April 1, Jonathan F. P. Rose will join Dr. Campbell for the Student Roundtable discussion scheduled at noon. The President's Roundtables are attended by students selected through each school's student representatives. Those interested in participating should contact their administrative chair.

    Jonathan F. P. Rose is president of Jonathan Rose Companies LLC, a network of community and land-use planning and development firms that collaborate with cities, towns and not-for-profits to plan and develop environmentally responsible projects by creating vibrant, diverse cultural centers with a balance of jobs, housing, open land and mass transit.
  • Open House for the Summer Research Internship Program for high school sophomores and juniors interested in learning about science and engineering will be held in 21E from 10:00 to Noon on April 17.

Alumni Events

  • Welcome to Lauren Sampson, our new annual fund manager. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, Lauren comes to The Cooper Union most recently from Baruch College, where she began as development assistant and was almost immediately promoted to stewardship coordinator. Among her responsibilities and accomplishments, Lauren has implemented and maintained systematized processes and procedures for tracking donor solicitations and giving, and has planned and implemented events with alumni and for students.
  • The Cooper Union Alumni Association will host its Annual Founder's Day Dinner Dance on Friday, April 11, 2008 at The Lighthouse, Pier 61 at Chelsea Piers from 7:00 p.m.-midnight. Dinner co-chairs are John Huddy (AR'85) and Elizabeth Huddy.

    The CUAA proudly announced the 2008 alumni award recipients: The Gano Dunn Award for outstanding professional achievement in engineering: Dr. Ira Whitman (CE'61/MCE'63); The Augustus Saint Gaudens Award for outstanding professional achievement in art: Whitfield Lovell (A'81); The John Hejduk Award for outstanding contribution to the theory, teaching and/or practice of architecture: Alexander Gorlin (AR'78) and Alumnus of the Year: Ronald Weinstein (CE'67).

    Honor alumni achievements, celebrate Peter Cooper's 217th birthday and recognize the 25th reunion of the class of 1983 at this event beginning with cocktails at 7 p.m., followed by dinner, award presentations and dancing until midnight to the music of The Cal James Orchestra. The evening features a special performance by students from the Cooper Union Ballroom Dance Group.

    Tickets are available for $125 and $175, tables for $2,000 and sponsorship tables for $2,500. Opportunities to sponsor student dinners and desserts are also available. Contributions made will support Cooper Union's full-tuition scholarships.

    Make reservations online at www.cualumni.com. For further information, please contact Madeline Kilroe, Alumni Relations Office (212-353-4267), or via e-mail at kilroe@cooper.edu.

Upcoming Lectures and Public Programs

  • Ensemble Pi
    Saturday, March 1, 8:00 p.m., concert, The Great Hall
    Suggested donation: $10
    Ensemble Pi is a new music ensemble dedicated to exploring the music of living composers. Under the direction of Idith Meshulam, pianist and educator, Ensemble Pi builds a bridge through lively and thoughtful performances to reach new audiences. The ensemble will perform a concert in the Great Hall at The Cooper Union.
  • Elliott G. Sander: State of the MTA
    Monday, March 3, 10:00 a.m., lecture, The Great Hall
    As part of the MTA 40th Anniversary series, Elliot G. Sander, executive director and CEO of the MTA, will speak at The Cooper Union in a lecture entitled "State of the MTA." He will outline the agency's current goals and its growth and change over time.
  • Jan Egeland: A Billion Lives
    Thursday, March 6, 6:30 p.m., lecture and book signing, Albert Nerken School of Engineering, Room 21E
    Jan Egeland of Norway, who is currently director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, was under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator from August 2003 to December 2006 at the United Nations. From 1999 to 2002, he was the United Nations secretary-general's special adviser. Egeland co-initiated and co-organized the Norwegian channel between Israel and the P.L.O. in 1992, which led to the Oslo Accord of September 1993. His book, A Billion Lives: An Eyewitness Report from the Frontlines of Humanity, will be the subject of his lecture at The Cooper Union.
  • Morley Winograd & Michael Hais: Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube and the Future of American Politics
    Monday, March 24, 6:30 p.m., lecture and book signing, The Great Hall
    Morley Winograd is an internationally recognized authority on the impact of technology on life and work and is currently the executive director at the Center for Telecom Management. Winograd is also the co-author (with Michael Hais) of Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube and the Future of American Politics, which is also the title of their upcoming lecture at The Cooper Union.
  • Women's History Month
    Monday, March 24, 6:00 p.m., panel discussion, Albert Nerken School of Engineering, Room 21E
    In recognition of Women's History Month, MTA female executives will discuss their experience of the progress, challenges and shifts in women's roles in the context of public transportation in today's New York. Eleanor Baum, dean of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, will moderate this panel discussion.

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Did You Know?

  • The graduate school panel series sponsored by the Center for Career Development and geared toward the graduate school interests of engineering students continues to be a success. On December 6th, 2007, admissions representatives from Brooklyn Law School and New York Law School gave an informative talk to an attentive audience of Cooper Union students. On February 7th, representatives from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, NYU College of Arts and Sciences Postbaccalaureate Prehealth Program, City College of New York's Biomedical and Chemical engineering program and Weill Cornell Medical College presented a lively discussion moderated by Megan Massimiano (career counselor, eng.). Students were delighted to hear from two Cooper Union alumnni on this panel, Dr. David Rumschitzki (ChE, Math'78) and Dr. Won Kim (BSE'03).
  • The Engineering Advisory Board held its annual meeting on February 5th to discuss "Applying One's Skills Globally."

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