Paul Rosche

ChE '62

I give back because I feel I owe a debt to Cooper Union. Had it not been for Cooper Union and the education it gave me, my life would have been much poorer and less rewarding. Using the IRA rollover provision, I was able to make a lasting contribution during my lifetime. With the proceeds of my IRA distribution, my wife and I created an endowed fund that will provide scholarships to students in the Albert Nerken School of Engineering for generations to come. This manner of giving is rewarding for me, and will give future students at Cooper similar opportunities.

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.