A Message of Gratitude

Dear Cooper Union,

For many, Thanksgiving is a time of coming together. It’s a time for taking a step back from our work and studies to rest, recharge, care for one another, and reflect. That is precisely what I hope these few days off can be for each of you. Do the things that fill you up, provide perspective, bring you peace, sustain and energize you.

When we come back together next week, we will be just a short time away from another semester accomplished together. Let’s make the most of that. Let’s choose to experience it with kindness, respect, and empathy. Let’s lift one another up, whether classmates or colleagues. Doing so strengthens us, as it always has.

I am thankful for you and all who contribute to our Cooper Union community.

With gratitude,
Laura

  • 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.