New Year's Message from Malcolm King

Dear Cooper Union,

The final days of the year present their own gift to us — a time to reflect and assess, appreciate, set intentions, and change course if need be. When I think about 2023 through my Cooper Union lens, I am struck, as always, by the level of ingenuity and agency that shapes our experiences together. I’m proud of student work and innovations that challenge and subsequently define what is possible. I’m inspired by a faculty and staff dedicated to supporting and cultivating that student exploration. And I’m grateful for a community of alumni that gives of its talent, time, and treasure to do the same. 

I am also grateful for the clarity of vision, principled actions, and compassion exemplified by our leadership. In spite of tremendous challenges in the world and on college campuses across the country, President Sparks and her team of deans and senior administrators ensured that our leading-edge academic programs continued to grow and thrive. And with incredibly intense and divergent reactions to the horrors of war in the Middle East — around the world, on college campuses nationally, and at Cooper — they fortified their resolve that Cooper Union remain a rigorous place of learning and civil discourse, where all students can continue to challenge themselves, develop new skills, expand their world views, and inform their perspectives.

Amidst the unexpected turmoil of the world around us and the usual cadence of an academic semester, our critical work toward reinstating the legacy of full-tuition scholarships continued to build momentum. In 2018, when the Board of Trustees approved the Plan to Return to Full-Tuition Scholarships, we did so with incredibly high expectations. In every year since, those expectations have been met, including in this past fiscal year, which closed on June 30. As a result, at the October Board meeting, we again voted to hold tuition flat, marking the sixth consecutive year of 0% tuition increases. This a remarkable and important accomplishment, especially given the current state of higher education costs nationally and the ongoing burden of student debt. It’s been possible due to the diligence and discipline of President Sparks and her team, along with my fellow Trustees, and all who have given to support this worthy pursuit. 

Finally, I’d like to share my deepest thanks to Elizabeth Graziolo AR’95, who concluded her fourth and final year this month as a member of the Board of Trustees. Liz has been a trailblazer in every sense of the word, both in the field of architecture and here at Cooper, first as a student, then as the parent of a student, and as a Trustee. We are fortunate to have benefited from her contributions on the Board and look forward her continued engagement with the Cooper community.

As 2023 draws to a close and we focus on all the possibility of 2024, I offer my hope for peace, good health, and goodwill for all of us in the new year.


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.