Natalie Brooks Departure

Dear Faculty & Staff,

I am writing to share that Natalie Brooks will be bringing her time with Cooper Union to a close at the end of this summer. This is a change that has been a year in the making; Natalie actually informed me of her decision at the end of last summer, but agreed to stay on an additional year to support me as the Interim President. As you are aware, Natalie has managed an extensive portfolio for Cooper Union as the Vice President of Administration, overseeing various departments, including human resources, labor relations, the facilities staff, security, the AACE Lab, and facility rentals.

Her leadership and problem-solving approach were instrumental to the institution at many critical points over the years. Among other areas of impact, she has been instrumental in the progress we’ve made in recruiting key leaders and ensuring diversity among faculty and staff, which better reflects our student community. She was integral to our ability to successfully reopen the college in the fall of 2021 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and in bringing signature capital projects and spaces such as the Civic Projects Lab, the Foundation Building’s refurbished façade, the renovation of the Cooper Library, and the relocation of the Center for Writing and Learning to fruition.

With the arrival of Steve McLaughlin as Cooper’s next president just around the corner (July 1) and with several key positions in academic and administrative departments to fill, Steve and I are grateful that Natalie will continue to support this transition period. Between now and the end of August, she will continue to provide leadership for HR and labor relations and oversee various summer CapEx projects as she works to transfer her portfolio of responsibilities. She is also working with Steve to identify new executive leadership for her position and the Vice President of Development and Alumni Affairs.

We will share plans in the coming weeks for a campus gathering to toast Natalie before she departs. In the meantime, on behalf of our community, I would like to extend our best wishes and gratitude for all she has done for Cooper.

Malcolm King

  • 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.