VISION
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is dedicated to Peter Cooper’s radical commitment to diversity and his founding vision that fair access to an inspiring free education and forums for courageous public discourse foster a just and thriving world. MISSION
Our mission is to sustain The Cooper Union as a free center of learning and civic discourse that inspires inventive,
creative, and influential voices in architecture, art, and engineering to address the critical challenges and opportunities of our time. FOUNDATION BUILDING
The Cooper Union’s Foundation Building, a national and city landmark houses Cooper's School of Art and The Irwin S. Its Great Hall has served as a public forum since 1859, when 3,500 people could stand to hear free lectures by the speakers whose views were reshaping society. This exceptional venue served as a platform for Abraham Lincoln’s “Right Makes Might” and the birth of the NAACP and the women's suffrage movement. As a presidential candidate and then returning two years later as President, Barack Obama spoke on financial reform and economic regulation. Today, The Great Hall continues as a forum for civic discourse, cultural events, performances and community activities.
41 COOPER SQUARE
Awarded LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), 41 Cooper Square houses the college’s Albert Nerken School of Engineering and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences along with additional facilities for the School of Art. Built with stringent sustainability goals, 41 Cooper Square is the first LEED Platinum certified academic building in New York City. ALUMNI
The college has educated leaders whose contributions have significantly shaped our world, including design of the microchip prototype, cancer detection processes, signature buildings and widely recognized works of art. Just a few celebrated Cooper Union alumni include:
Daniel Libeskind
Jewish Museum in Berlin
Russell Hulse
Nobel Prize in Physics (discovered binary pulsar)
Wangechi Mutu
Internationally known artist
Elizabeth Diller/ Ricardo Scofidio
Designers of the High Line and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hal
Kevin Burke
Consolidated Edison
CEO and Chairman
Alex Katz
Legend in contemporary art scene since 1950s
