The Anti-Bias/Anti-Discrimination Task Force

The Anti-Bias/Anti-Discrimination Task Force was convened in February 2024 as part of the college’s approach to “Charting a Path Forward Together: Plans for Safety, Well-being, and Learning at Cooper Union.” The Task Force sought to identify priorities for workshops, seminars, and professional development that would respond to the evolving geopolitical and humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, the reported rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia nationally, the October 2023 protest and counter-protest on Cooper Union’s campus, and the events that transpired in its aftermath. In the course of its discussions, the Task Force would also reflect on the current status of academic freedom and freedom of expression rights, and the legacy of protest at The Cooper Union.  
 
Meeting weekly from Feb. 12 through March 25, 2024, the Task Force worked towards identifying measures that would restore the capacity at Cooper Union for vibrant discourse and renew the commitment to a culture that, although grappling with differences in perspective, would find ways to respect and support the multiple identities, experiences, and viewpoints that exist across our community. 
 
The Task Force Report provides preliminary observations, findings, and recommendations with the aim of fostering appreciation for the individualized cultures and affinities that coexist within the Cooper community and providing safe space for their self-expression and for the discourse that fosters understanding and reasoned empathy.  
 
You can read the full text of the Anti-Bias/Anti-Discrimination Task Force findings and recommendations here.
 
The Task Force Report will be discussed in a Community Roundtable on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 in the Cooper Union Library during Club Hours, 12 pm – 2 pm.  
 
Updates from these community discussions will be shared on this webpage. Additional programming will be scheduled throughout the Spring 2025 semester.
 
Task Force Members
The Task Force was composed of 12 members, including students, faculty, and staff, with three members each from Cooper Union’s Schools of Architecture, Art, and Engineering; and three members representing Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Student Affairs, and Academic Affairs. Members were nominated by the academic and administrative leaders on campus. Campus climate and geopolitical concerns were such that Task Force members requested they not be named in this report unless they consented to being identified. This does not belie the incredible commitment of the membership. The Task Force collectively brought knowledge and scholarship, perspectives and experiences, and insights and questions to the table, and they engaged trustfully and forthrightly, though with uncertainty about recommendations being adopted.  
 
The following Task Force members gave their consent to be identified:
·       Brad Samuels, Visiting Professor, School of Architecture
·       Raquel Sapeg, Director of Academic Operations, School of Art
·       Robyn Fitzsimmons, Departmental Staff Assistant, School of Engineering 
·       Atina Grossmann, Professor of History, Humanities and Social Sciences
·       Grace Kendall, Interim Dean of Students
·       Antoinette Torres, Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Initiatives, and Chair

  • 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.