Alumni Roof Terrace Campaign Raises $2.7 Million

POSTED ON: November 21, 2011

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President Jamshed Bharucha greets parents of the class of 2016 on the Alumni Roof Terrace

President Jamshed Bharucha greets parents of the class of 2016 on the Alumni Roof Terrace

An open and expansive outdoor space on the eight floor of 41 Cooper Square, the Alumni Roof Terrace is an urban oasis with spectacular views of the New York City skyline. The Terrace bears the engraved names of alumni who made generous contributions to help Cooper Union construct our new academic building. Since opening in 2009, thisbreathtaking space hasbecome a populargathering place for students, alumni, parents and friends. The campaign has been enormously successful so far, with nearly 600 alumni raising almost $2.7 million.

Dr. Dorothy Hayes (A’78) is an alumna whose name is inscribed on the Alumni Roof Terrace. Born in 1935 in Mobile, Alabama, Dr. Hayes moved to New York in 1957 to pursue a career in art. Dr. Hayes studied at Cooper’s night school while working as a commercial artist. Later, she was invited to join the faculty at the New York City College of Technology, where she taught for nearly 40 years while showing her work and curating major exhibitions. Dr. Hayes explains why she supported the Terrace: “I recognize that without my scholarship to Cooper, it would have taken me longer to achieve my goals in life. It’s important for me to give back to an institution that shaped me as an artist and a thinker.”

The Alumni Roof Terrace Campaign closes on December 31, 2011. There are 90 spaces left for alumni who would like to celebrate their experiences at Cooper with a permanent tribute in stone.To get involved, make a pledge of $2,500 to $20,000. Pledges may be paid in installments by December 31, 2014. Contact Brooke Bryant, Major Gifts Officer, to learn more: 212.353.4171 or bbryant@cooper.edu.


  • 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.