The Inauguration of Steven W. McLaughlin

An animated gif that switches from a picture of Peter Cooper to the words Forever Devoting with date of inaguration

Join us on Friday, March 27, 2026, for the inauguration of Steven W. McLaughlin as 14th president of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. The ceremony will be held in The Great Hall at The Cooper Union Foundation Building from 10 am to 12 pm. 

Please register to attend here.

Stay tuned for more information about a series of public programming and community events throughout March as part of Cooper Union’s inauguration celebrations for its 14th president, Steven W. McLaughlin.
 



Gardiner Foundation Great Hall Forum
Everybody’s Fly: A Life of Art, Music, and Changing the Culture
March 10, 2026, 7 pm
 



John Jay Iselin Memorial Lecture
Apple: The First 50 Years
March 24, 2026, 7 pm


Gardiner Foundation Great Hall Forum
TBA
March 25, 2026, 7 pm


Cooper Union Alumni Association Awards
March 26, 2026, 7 pm 

  • 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.