Reported COVID-19 Case on Campus

To All Members of the Cooper Union Community: 
  
We have our first reported COVID-19 case on campus of the 2020/21 academic year. The students and faculty member who were with the student are being contacted. The classroom has been disinfected and will be closed until Wednesday.  
  
We wish anyone with a positive case recovers quickly. 
  
In case you are not clear of our protocols for reporting a positive case on campus you can review them via the FAQ. Below is a brief summary: 

A student, faculty or staff member who has been on campus and receives a positive COVID-19 test should immediately notify Mary Ann Nissen at maryann.nissen@cooper.edu to ensure that the campus is alerted. 
 
Mary Ann Nissen has been designated to be the lead contact tracer for Cooper Union. She is registered with NYC Test and Trace as the primary contact for the Cooper Union.  
 
She will be contacted by public health officials when NYC Test and Trace is notified that a person with a positive COVID-19 test was on campus within 14 days of testing positive for COVID-19. NYC Test and Trace has the primary responsibility for contact tracing any positive cases in New York City.  
 
As an additional precaution, the College has established a team of eleven internal contact tracers to work with Mary Ann. All contact tracers have completed the Johns Hopkins Contact Tracing training program.  
  
The contact tracer’s role is to provide additional communication when there are positive or potential positive cases on campus. Their role is limited to campus contact tracing. 
 
The individual may also contact a Manager within their School or Department after communicating with Mary Ann Nissen. Mary Ann or her designee will guide the individual on COVID-19 protocols to follow. The person will be in isolation until released by NYC Test and Trace. 
  
If you have any questions please contact healthandsafety@cooper.edu 
  
Wishing all the best for our community, 

The Health and Safety Committee 

  • 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.