Message from President McLaughlin

Dear Cooper Union, 

I know I speak for all of us when I say how upsetting it was to learn of yesterday’s shooting at Brown University. On behalf of Cooper Union, I want to express our heartfelt condolences to the Brown community and to all those who were affected. We stand with their students, faculty, staff, and families during this painful time, sharing in their grief for the lives lost and holding in our thoughts those who were injured, with hopes for their full recovery. 

News like this understandably can shake all of us who work and learn on college campuses. And sadly, Brown wasn’t the only story of gun violence this last week. A student was killed and another injured at Kentucky State University on Tuesday, and today, there was a shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia. All of this is horrible, heartbreaking, and impossible to make sense of, and I know the victims and families of these tragedies are also on our minds. 

I want to reassure you that, in light of incidents like these and always, we remain vigilant about your safety and well-being. Our campus security team is operating on heightened alert and is in regular communication with our local NYPD precinct. Campus Safety and Security has relayed to me that the Foundation Building entrance door will remain locked today, requiring everyone to swipe in to gain access. A security team member is also stationed at the entrance of 41 Cooper Square to ensure only Cooper community members with valid ID cards can enter. We will continue to assess conditions and will adjust protocols as warranted throughout the week. 

With the last week of the semester upon us, I know you are deep in preparations for final crits and exams. Stress levels are likely already high, and tragic news can have the capacity to compound that. Please know that support and resources are available to you. Students, our Student Care resources and services can be accessed here, including immediate care and crisis support and counseling services. Faculty and staff can access resources via HRConnect or by contacting the Employee Assistance Program at 800-252-4555 or www.theEAP.com. You can also bring any concerns to me, to your faculty and deans, or to our safety and security team members, who are located at our building security desks 24/7. 

Taking care of one another is part of who we are as a community. Let’s do that as we begin this final week of the semester together. 

And to all celebrating the first night of Hanukkah tonight, Chag Sameach. 

Sincerely, 
Steve McLaughlin 
President 
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.