Academic and Community Updates

Dear Cooper Union Community,    

As we move into the second half of the fall semester, I hope you've found these first months to be inspiring, productive, and rewarding. The caliber of work and academic inquiry that is in high gear around here is astonishing, and it always reinforces for me the critical work of stewarding the institution so that it continues to be, as Peter Cooper said, “equal to the best.”     

To that end, I wanted to share a few updates with you.    

  • Dean Searches – We recently announced that a search for the next dean of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering is underway. If you missed it, that message is here. On a parallel track, I’m pleased to announce that we will also be initiating a search for the next dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Professor Bill Germano is heading the search committee. We expect that process to officially launch later this year and will keep you updated.    
  • IIP – I am also pleased to announce that Peter Cooper IIP now has a director, Michael Bambino, adjunct instructor of mechanical engineering. You may recall that IIP is an initiative we launched last spring to connect education, exploration, invention, and the public good through student-led interdisciplinary work and mentorship. Michael served this summer as the acting program lead for IIP’s pilot Summer Exploration Residency. He will continue to lead efforts across campus and external communities to create more opportunities for students to engage.    

As part of this broader effort, the Idea-to-Impact (I2I) Faculty Planning Group, led by Neveen Shlayan, associate professor and chair of electrical engineering, brings together faculty from art, architecture, engineering, and humanities to develop the academic and curricular pathway within IIP. The cross-school faculty group is creating a coordinated framework to help students advance promising work beyond individual courses, studios, research experiences, VIP participation, and Senior Design into sustained interdisciplinary development and real-world impact. Beginning in Spring 2027, the group plans to pilot the I2I pathway through the VIP structure, enabling students to engage in sustained project development over multiple semesters. Students will be supported by a cross-school faculty team, an external mentorship network, and seed funding to help them develop their own ideas toward ventures, professional practice, research, creative work, civic impact, and other meaningful outcomes. Much more to come here!    

  • Institutional Effectiveness Transition – Earlier this month, we celebrated Toni Torres who retired as vice president of institutional effectiveness, a role she originated in 2018. Toni led our institutional research efforts, centering robust data analysis, reporting, evaluation, and assessment. In addition, she oversaw a diverse set of academic initiatives for Cooper, including Continuing Education, RPIE, Typographics, Type @ Cooper, accreditation processes, and the Menschel and Fulbright Fellowship programs. We are searching for a new person to lead this function (posting here) and would appreciate nominations and recommendations. Our deepest thanks to Toni for her long service and leadership and our congratulations on her well-deserved retirement.    

As a reminder, the primary contact for each of the areas that Toni oversaw is below:  

Area and Contact  

Continuing Education, Type@Cooper, Typographics: Cara DiEdwardo, director, adjunct professor, School of Art  
RPIE and Certificates: Avra Spector, program director   
Institutional Research: Michael Carhart, director   
Institutional Research Board: Lisa Shay, associate dean, Albert Nerken School of Engineering  
Menschel Fellowship: Buck Wanner, adjunct assistant professor   
Fulbright Fellowship: Mili Shah, professor, chair of mathematics, School of Engineering        

  • Middle States Reaccreditation Process – We are currently in the beginning phase of our reaccreditation process with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). This process happens every eight years, and we are now in the self-study phase, which will culminate in a site visit by a peer evaluation team in March 2027. Earlier this month, the chair of our evaluation team, President James Troha of Juniata College, was on campus to prepare for the spring visit. My thanks to our Middle States Committee for spearheading this project and to all who participated in President Troha’s productive visit. We will have more to share on this process as it moves along.     

As always, it is an exciting time to be part of The Cooper Union community. Students, I wish you all the best in the coming weeks of midterms and mid-semester projects. Remember to access the resources that are here to support you in your schools, HSS, and within Student Affairs. I look forward to experiencing the remainder of the semester alongside you!    

Steve McLaughlin  

  • 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.