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Cooper Union

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The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Cooper Union:Cooper Union
Established 1859
Type Private
Endowment 282 million
President George Campbell Jr..
Students 918
Location New York, NY, USA
Campus Urban
Colors Maroon and Gold
Nickname Cooper Union, Cooper
Website http://www.cooper.edu/

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is a privately funded college in Lower Manhattan of New York City. Cooper Union is located in the East Village, around Cooper Square and Astor Place (Third Avenue & 6th-9th Streets). It is one of the few American institutions of higher learning to offer a full-tuition scholarship to all admitted students. The school offers degree programs in architecture, fine arts, and engineering. The Cooper Union is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium of thirty-six leading art schools in the United States.


The Cooper Union is one of the most selective colleges in the United States, with an acceptance rate of 13%, tying it for sixth place nationwide with Columbia University and the United States Naval Academy (Annapolis]] in the U.S. News & World Report survey of America's Best Colleges 2007.[1] With over 70% of accepted students coming to attend, it also claims one of the highest yield rates of American educational institutions.

A substantial portion of the annual budget is generated through donations from a highly successful group of alumni in both the public and the private sector. Alumni of the School of Engineering have become important figures not only in the science and engineering community but as leaders in corporate and government organizations. The art and architecture schools have produced some of the most renowned creative figures in recent times, most notably Herb Lubalin, Eva Hesse, John Hejduk, Chuck Hoberman, Daniel Libeskind and Milton Glaser.


Contents

Founding and early history

The Cooper Union was founded in 1859 by American industrialist Peter Cooper, who was a prolific inventor and a successful entrepreneur. A self-made millionaire, Cooper had not received formal education and he made it his lifelong mission to provide opportunity for the poor by offering "education that was as free as the air we breathe and the water we drink." The Cooper Union began with adult education in night classes on the subjects of applied sciences and architectural drawing, as well as day classes for women on the subjects of photography, telegraphy, typewriting and shorthand. Discrimination based on race, religion, or sex was expressly prohibited.

Early board members included Horace Greeley and William Cullen Bryant.

According to the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britanica, in 1907, the principal departments of The Cooper Union consisted of a five-year course in general science (667 students) and in chemistry (154), a three-year course in electricity (114), and a night school of art (1333); a day school of technical science—four years in civil, mechanical or electrical engineering—(237), a woman's art school (282), a school of stenography and typewriting for women (55); a school of telegraphy for women (31); a class in elocution (96); and classes in oratory and debate (146). The highest simultaneous enrollment that year was 2,505, and 3,000 were on the waiting list.[2]

The Cooper Union would later become the place where Susan B. Anthony had her offices and both the Red Cross and NAACP were organized.[3]

Important speeches

Cooper Union:The Great Hall
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The Great Hall
On February 27, 1860, the school's Great Hall became the site of a historic address by a little-known attorney from Illinois, then an undeclared candidate for the Republican Party's Presidential nomination. Abraham Lincoln's dramatic speech opposed Stephen A. Douglas on the question of federal power to regulate and limit the spread of slavery to the federal territories and new States. Widely reported in the press and reprinted throughout the North in pamphlet form, the speech galvanized support for Lincoln and contributed to his gaining the Party's nomination for the Presidency. Coincidentally, Peter Cooper himself ran for President in 1876.

Since then, the Great Hall has served as a platform for many historic addresses by American Presidents Grant, Cleveland, Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and most recently, Bill Clinton. Clinton spoke on May 12, 1993 about reducing the federal deficit and on May 23, 2006, as the Keynote Speaker at The Cooper Union's 147th Commencement along with Anna Deavere Smith. To this day, the Great Hall continues to serve as an important metropolitan art space, hosting lectures and performances by key figures such as Joseph Campbell, Steve Reich, Salman Rushdie, Ralph Nader, Richard Stallman, Rudolph Giuliani, Pema Chodron, and Hugo Chavez.

Modern changes

The Cooper Union evolved over time into its current form of a college with three schools in architecture, art, and engineering. Regardless of the changes, the tradition of tuition-free education is still thriving. Cooper Union is currently conducting a comprehensive revision to its curricula and has proposed plans to change the usage of its real estate assets, so that it may continue to offer full-tuition scholarships to all accepted students.

A new facility designed by Thom Mayne (Morphosis) and Gruzen Samton will provide new Art Studios and Engineering Labs, replacing an aged Hewitt Building on Cooper Square. A mixed-use commercial/academic building is also planned for the current Engineering Building site.

The School of Art

The School of Art draws on the creative energy of the East Village to produce some of the most distinguished artists in the world today. It is arguably the most prestigious art school in North America. Cooper Union is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium of thirty-six leading art schools in the United States. Admission is largely based on the rigorous and sometimes infamous 'home test'. Students spend most of the time in studio courses equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. Notable figures that are alumni of the Cooper Union School of Art include illustrator/designer Seymour Chwast, designer Milton Glaser, designer Herb Lubalin, designer J. Abbott Miller, designer Lou Dorfsman, writer/educator Ellen Lupton, designer Paul Carlos, designer Tom Kluepfel, designer Stephen Doyle, artist Eva Hesse, and artist/printmaker Alex Katz. Internationally-known faculty have included people such as conceptual artist Hans Haacke.

Curriculum

Unlike most art schools Cooper Union does not require students declare a major. Instead they encourage a generalists approach and curriculum. After their foundation year students are allowed to choose classes from all of the art departments. In effect this means that students can still focus on a discipline but are allowed the freedom to explore alternative interests. This creates a rich cross pollination when you have someone whose focus is graphic design taking a sculpture class or a painter taking a film class.

Saskia Bos was appointed Dean of the School of Art in 2005.

The School of Architecture

The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union offers a five-year program leading to the Bachelor of Architecture, a first professional degree accredited by the NAAB. The philosophical foundation of the school is committed to the complex symbiotic relationships of education, research, theory, practice and a broad spectrum of creative endeavors relevant to significant architectural development. The five-year Design sequence is structured to integrate the elements of architecture, investigation of program, construction, structure, form and space; and to generate an effective, forceful and spirited architecture. Students are encouraged to search deeply into the existing abundance of architectural knowledge and to focus on the ideas and works of architecture that have positively affected the environment for the betterment of the human condition. Fundamental to the school is the maintenance of a long-established creative environment where freedom of thought and intuitive exploration are given a place to flourish, where the intangible chemistry of personal and public interactions stimulate an intensity of purpose and dedication, where the gifted mind and spirit can seek the means of expression and the mastery of form, and where a sense of the vast and joyous realm of creation can reveal an unending path for gratifying human endeavor. Students' spontaneous or directed collaboration results from a community wherein mutual respect and appreciation are honored. This authentic collegial environment and experience fosters a developing professionalism drawn from inner growth rather than acquired manner.


The Cooper Union's location in the heart of New York City affords a wealth of practicing professionals of the highest distinction as faculty and has a profound effect on many other features of the program. Students live, work and study in a world city that provides an urban laboratory unparalleled in its stimulation and opportunities for research, as well as unique social and cultural institutions. The school's renowned faculty includes, among others, architects who have won awards in international competitions in the United States and abroad. The school's diverse student body consists of highly talented and motivated individuals and its distinguished alumni are leaders in architecture and related fields.

With over 8,000 square feet of studio space, each student has their own drafting table and work area. The studio functions as a classroom in which instruction occurs, as a laboratory in which projects are conceived and developed, and as a base of operations. Classroom facilities include a lecture hall, seminar room and ample presentation space. Design studios are team-taught and the overall faculty–student ratio is 1:5. The faculty has usually included influential practicing architects (Peter D. Eisenman, Diana Agrest, Raimund Abraham, Lindy Roy, Diller+Scofidio). Well-known graduates of the school include Shigeru Ban and Daniel Libeskind. Anthony Vidler is the current dean.

The School of Architecture Computer Studio work stations are each equipped with a drawing table, parallel edge and computer. The computer applications include the latest two-dimensional drafting and three-dimensional modeling and animation programs. The facility offers video-editing programs and equipment with a large projection screen linked to each computer station. Internet access is also available from each computer station.

The School of Engineering

The Albert Nerken School of Engineering has about 550 students. It is arguably one of the most prestigious engineering schools in the nation among those whose highest degree is a bachelor's or master's degree.[4] The school offers ABET accredited Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) programs in Chemical Engineering (ChE), Civil Engineering (CE), Electrical Engineering (EE), and Mechanical Engineering (ME); a Middle States accredited Bachelor of Science (B.S.) program in engineering (BSE); and a Master of Engineering (M.E.) program.

Until the mid- to late 1970's, students could choose to major in physics. Thereafter, this major was eliminated. Until the class of 2006, students choose to major in the one of the four traditional disciplines (ChE, CE, EE, and ME), or customize their education by opting for the BSE degree that has fewer requisite courses and greater opportunity for elective courses.

New curricula take effect beginning with the class of 2007. Under the currently published Course Catalog, students can still choose to pursue the traditional ChE, CE, EE, and ME degree programs, but greater flexibility in course selection is being planned for the four degree programs. In addition, there are proposals to offer students choices of "concentrations" (possibilities include Nanotechnology and Bio-engineering) that will offer groups of courses in more specific fields than the four traditional disciplines. The details of the new curricula are work in progress and therefore subject to change.

The Master of Engineering program offers an opportunity for Cooper Union undergraduate students to obtain a master's degree in one of the four disciplines while conducting research at the school. The requirements for the Master's Degree are a 30-credit course of study including a 12 credit major and a 12 credit minor. At least 6 credits of thesis study are required. Candidates for this degree are also required to conduct an oral defense of their thesis which is organized by the student's department.

Like Cooper Union's other schools, the Albert Nerken School of Engineering is intimately involved with the New York metropolitan area. The school draws on the region's abundant talent and resources, including the outstanding array of engineers and scientists employed at major corporations, governmental agencies and consulting firms in the New York region. The school also calls on physicians, lawyers and other specialists to give unique insights into contemporary problems and social issues confronting modern engineers.

Students benefit from close contact with faculty and the school's devoted alumni, who delight in sharing their experiences and insights with students and in serving as role models. Many undergraduate students also work on significant research projects with faculty, an unusual feature in most undergraduate programs.

Curriculum

Chemical Engineering

The Chemical Engineering program at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art provides a very rigorous, thorough overview of the chemistry, mathematics, and engineering thinking necessary for a practicing Chemical Engineer. The Chemical Engineering student will take two year-round chemistry courses: organic chemistry and physical chemistry. In addition, the student will take the core principles of physical chemistry (Thermodynamics) and general chemistry with its laboratory class. Many of the classes the chemical engineering student will take are spent in the laboratory, but due to credit distributions, the lab classes get half the amount of credits as the number of hours student spends in the classroom (at best). The following is a breakdown of the required courses for the Chemical Engineering degree, which will follow suit with the breakdown given in the other majors:

Total of 135 credits

The chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering is Professor Irving Brazinksy. Also working within the Chemical Engineering Department are Professors Stock, Ahmed and Okorafor. Additionally, the Chemical Engineering Department works closely with the Chemistry Department, which includes Professor Bové (Chair), Professor Newmark, and Professor Savizky.

Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering is the oldest degree granting engineering program at Cooper Union, with a rich history of over one hundred years. The department maintains small class and laboratory enrollment to provide for personal attention. Approximately 25 students are admitted by the department in the undergraduate program. The department also offers a master's degree.

Civil Engineering graduates are recruited regularly by companies nationwide. Alumni are found in the top management and research leadership of many American corporations; hold key positions in federal, state and city agencies and distinguish themselves on university faculties and administrations nationwide. Through their many and varied professional accomplishments, alumni have earned for the department and the school their reputation for excellence.

The Civil Engineering degree program is designed to allow students to enter the profession immediately after graduation or to pursue graduate study. The integrated master's program offers the opportunity to earn both a bachelor's and a master's degree in five years. An extraordinary number of its Civil Engineering graduates have gone on to earn Ph.D. degrees at the nation's most prestigious graduate schools.

The faculty are committed teachers. However, in addition to being teachers, many carry out advanced research for government agencies and industry through the Cooper Union Research Foundation (CURF). CURF, whose annual budget is more than $1 million, employs undergraduate and graduate students in its wide array of research projects that have been funded by such agencies as NASA, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Consolidated Edison and the federal departments of commerce and energy. This research has led to an alternative technology to recover energy from sewage sludge; a pollution-control computer model to eliminate odors in urban harbors; a dolphin-shaped robot to inspect the inside of pipelines for structural defects; a computer model to predict the performance of gasification plants that synthesize fuels from coal; a non-smudging newsprint ink and a better adhering asphalt for road repair.

The Civil Engineering program at Cooper Union is constantly evolving to respond to societal challenges. For example, following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the department developed a new interdisciplinary elective course on urban security which is now one of the most popular electives in the School of Engineering. Similarly, following the recent devastation caused in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, several student projects have researched and devised effective, low-cost plans that include both design and strategic positioning of protection barriers, floodgates and floodwalls to prevent floodwaters from entering coastal cities.

Electrical Engineering

The curriculum before the class of 2007 requires 135 credits for graduation and has the following breakdown of credits:

Required courses:

Elective courses:

There is a strong emphasis on basic math and science courses, as well as an emphasis on developing students' expressive skills by the unusually high number of credits required by humanities/social sciences courses.

In the required undergraduate electrical engineering courses, electrical engineering students learn about the fundamental concepts of digital logic, circuit theory, electronics, digital signal processing, computer architecture, control systems, communication theory, electromagnetics, integrated circuits, and electromechanical energy conversion. Juniors are guided through a series of lab experiments and assigned projects. Seniors propose their own projects and many of them participate in inter-collegial contests.

In the new tentative curriculum proposed for the class of 2007 and beyond, three tracks of specialization are offered: Computer Engineering, Signal Processing & Communications, and Electronic Systems & Materials Engineering. The tracks offer different selections of advanced courses for specialization, while sharing the same "foundation courses".

Mechanical Engineering

Like the other named majors, the curriculum of the Mechanical Engineering Department requires 135 credits for graduation. The current Department Chair, Professor Chih-Shing (Stan) Wei, has overseen a sizeable expansion in the past two years, which has included the hiring of two new professors. The tenure-track (non-adjunct) roster of the "MechE" department now includes the following:

There are several important adjunct faculty serving the Mechanical Engineering Department, including Professor James Abbott, Director of the Acoustic Laboratory, and Professor Robert Dell, Director of the Laboratory for Energy Reclamation and Innovation.

Recent curriculum changes include the addition of several upper-level electives covering topics such as Advanced Engine Concepts, Heat Exchanger Dynamics, Micro-Elecro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), Autonomous Mobile Robots, and others. This has coincided with a reinforcement of the traditional curriculum, especially areas such as thermodynamics and instrumentation labs. Other sections of traditional curriculum include control systems, mechanics (beams, etc.), materials science, and a few other areas. Mechanical Engineering is often viewed as being the most versatile and broad of the Engineering majors; graduates go on to almost every possible engineering field. It is also a large crossover point for design and art graduates.

Other

Curriculum development was supported by a planning grant from the National Science Foundation and directed by Dean Simon Ben-Avi. The new multi-disciplinary B.E. degree has a freshman and sophomore class already. (2004-2005). First graduation is expected in 2007.

Eleanor Baum is Dean of the Albert Neken School of Engineering.

Facilities

Electrical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

Civil Engineering

Notable alumni

Cooper Union in Pop Culture

Cooper Union acts as a symbol of Progressivism in the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel His Family by Ernest Poole.

In Susan Skoog's coming-of-age independent film Whatever, precocious suburban teen Anna Stockard (Liza Weil) harbors dreams of moving to the city to study art at Cooper Union in the early 80s.[8]

Cooper Union is featured in an early scene in the now-legendary 1981 movie Downtown 81 starring Jean-Michel Basquiat. Suitably, Cooper Union students have earned a reputation as being fiercely independent and artistic yet organized and strangely off the beaten path.

Cooper Union is mentioned in a spoken word performance of Bowery Blues read by Jack Kerouac and with piano by Steve Allen.

References

  1. ^ America's Best Colleges 2007: Lowest acceptance rates, U.S. News & World Report, accessed November 14, 2006
  2. ^ Cooper Union, in the 11th (1911) edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed November 14, 2006
  3. ^ Cooper Union: History, accessed November 14, 2006
  4. ^ Rankings, U.S. News & World Report, accessed November 14, 2006
  5. ^ Thomas Edison, Chemistry and Cooper Union, accessed October 16, 2006
  6. ^ About the Cooper Union: History, accessed October 16, 2006
  7. ^ Russell A. Hulse: The Nobel Prize in Physics 1993
  8. ^ Whatever, The New York Times, capsule review


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