New Lifetime Giving Society Named for Sarah Amelia Hewitt

POSTED ON: June 1, 2009

On Wednesday, November 19, 2008, President George Campbell Jr. and members of The Cooper Union’s Board of Trustees hosted the founding members of a newly established lifetime giving society—The Sarah Amelia Hewitt Society.

Sarah Amelia Hewitt (1830-1912) was the daughter of Peter Cooper. She married Abram S. Hewitt in 1855, and together they were influential in the world of public service. Sarah Amelia shared her husband’s dedication, as an economic and civic leader, to uncompromising excellence and access to education. The Society that bears her name celebrates the many individuals and families whose lifetime support of The Cooper Union has reached $100,000 or more. The College is deeply indebted to the many members of its lifetime giving societies and The Cooper Union was pleased that many of the 85 inaugural members of The Sarah Amelia Hewitt Society attended this very special event held in their honor.

More News 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.