Cooper Union

Robin Beth Schaer

Writing Associate

Robin Beth Schaer received a B.A. in Comparative Religion from Colgate University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Columbia University. Her work has appeared in Tin House, Bomb Magazine, Denver Quarterly, Washington Square, and Prairie Schooner, among others. She has received fellowships from Yaddo, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Saltonstall Foundation, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She is an adjunct instructor at Marymount Manhattan College and a Writing Associate at Cooper Union.

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.