Build the Endowment

Nothing is more critical to the financial well-being of the college than the value of our Endowment.  Your generous contributions to The Cooper Union's Endowment can support faculty chairs, scholarships and fellowships, and perpetuate your annual giving.  When you make an endowed gift, the principal is never depleted, while the return on its investment is used to fund the many critical continuing needs of the college.

In recognition of your generosity, you have the opportunity to name endowed funds, chairs or programs. The name you choose may be your own, a family member, or another person whom you wish to honor.  You will be creating a lasting legacy while addressing a vital college need.

Endowment gifts can support:

  • Faculty positions such as deanships, chairs and professorships, presidential scholars, visiting scholars, faculty fellowships and lectureships
  • Scholarship and Fellowship Funds which provide vital financial assistance or support research projects, thesis work, and travel and study abroad
  • Institutes and Centers, such as the Center for Writing or the Center for Signal Processing, Communication and Computer Engineering
  • Named lectures and exhibitions
  • Equipment, computers, library books and other critical lab or studio resources
  • PAGE (Perpetual Annual Giving Endowment) Funds which provide Annual Gifts to The Cooper Union in perpetuity
  • Prize Funds to reward the accomplishments of Cooper Union students

The Cooper Union values contributions from alumni, students, parents and friends of the College.  Click on Meet Our Supporters to see how we acknowledge your generosity.

To discuss how you can support The Cooper Union Endowment, please contact Jeanne Lunin, Director of Development, at (212) 353-4107 or jlunin@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.