Updates from VPAA Demetrius Eudell

Dear Cooper Union, 

I am pleased to share today an update on two roles, and the individuals working in them, that are closely aligned with the kind of interdisciplinary programming that enriches our academic community here at The Cooper Union. 

Firstly, Mokena Makeka, special advisor in my office, will serve this year as director of the Benjamin Menschel Civic Projects Lab. Mokena’s background makes him an excellent fit for the role of activating this multidisciplinary classroom, workspace, and public showcase to engage with the issues and topics that are important to New York City and the world beyond. To this work, he brings his experience as a multiple award-winning architect and public culture curator, having led numerous creative capital endeavors at regional and national levels in Africa, engaging communities, policy makers, and investors to support greater civic dialogue and expression. 

Mokena brings a transdisciplinary passion for the Civic Projects Lab to be a premier beacon for partnerships and impact-oriented research, for and beyond the physical borders of The Cooper Union. His sense of urgency toward addressing the pressing polycrisis of our time is palpable and is informed by his expertise in areas such as climate change, architecture, urbanism and heritage, as well as institutional design, and indigeneity in design. His duty of care toward all four faculties of The Cooper Union is evidenced by the number of initiatives he is curating as he continues to bring his world to The Cooper Union and shares The Cooper Union with the world. 

Case in point: Mokena will moderate his first program this Thursday, Sept. 26 in the Great Hall. Entitled Pathways Beyond Net-Zero: Harnessing the Bioeconomy for Climate Action, this program was intentionally scheduled for New York Climate Week 2024 and will feature a panel discussion help shape the understanding of the potential of bioeconomy solutions in the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon future. Please register to attend here. 

Secondly, I am pleased to share that David Gersten, distinguished professor adjunct, The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, is taking on the role of project director to lead the development of a series of exhibitions and programs in this 165th year of The Cooper Union that explore and celebrate the institution’s rich parallel history of education and activism. 

Since our founding in 1859, the educational project of The Cooper Union has stood as a nexus of social change in America. This has been particularly true around issues of civil rights, voting rights, worker’s rights, racial and gender equality, and the crises of war. David, along with several of Cooper’s incredible librarians and archivists, is developing two major exhibitions to open in our Spring 2025 semester to tell that story. One, delving into Cooper’s role in watershed moments of social change, will present the historical context surrounding many of these moments alongside contemporary artefacts. A second parallel exhibition will present student works, produced contemporarily to these crucial moments in history (in many cases, works never before seen by the public). 

Of course, the driving concerns of many historical movements that have moved through Cooper’s spaces each maintain urgent, evolving relevance in today’s fraught climate. As such, complimenting the exhibitions this spring will be a series of panel discussions with experts currently working in important arenas of socio-political change. 

There will be more details to share going forward on the work that David and the team create, and on additional Civic Projects Lab programs from Mokena. With these individuals at the helm of these important initiatives, we can anticipate meaningful opportunities to explore how and where our academic community can engage to shape our collective future. 

Demetrius Eudell 
Vice President, Academic Affairs

  • 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.