In Memoriam

Charles Phillip LaVarge A'67

Charles Phillip LaVarge passed away at home in Norwich, Connecticut, on December 26, 2023, at the age of 78.

George Barletta CE'59

George Barletta passed away peacefully on Tuesday afternoon, February 13, 2024, at the age of 86, after a long battle with amyloidosis.

To read his full obituary, please click here.

Vera Klement A'50

Vera Klement, whose boldly gestural art navigated between abstraction and German Expressionist-influenced figuration over the course of a career spanning seven decades, died October 20, 2023.

Lauren Esnes ChE'80

Lauren Patricia Esnes, 65, of Boca Raton, Florida, passed away on October 24, 2023. Lauren graduated from New Hyde Park Memorial High School in 1976 and later earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering in 1980 from The 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.