Update on Academic Leadership

Dear Cooper Union, 

What a thrill it was for me to be a part of my first Cooper Union commencement, already a few weeks back. The ceremony represented all that is special about this community – the determination of a student body that has achieved and continues to aspire to great things; the dedication of faculty and staff, joyous in the celebration of student success; and the accomplishments possible when we come to together with all our differences. It was a beautiful day. 

Of course, commencement also marks the endpoint of the academic year, which means we now begin anew for the year that is to follow. To that end, I am pleased to provide today an update on our academic leadership. 

School of Art
Effective July 1, Adriana Farmiga will officially assume the position of dean. As you know, Adriana deftly and seamlessly stepped into the role of acting dean in January, drawing on her experience as associate dean (2018-2023), as assistant dean (2017-2018), as a faculty member since 2011, as a 1996 graduate of the school, and as a practicing artist. She has effectively ensured a sense of consistency for students and faculty this semester, and her leadership has contributed significantly to sustaining The Cooper Union as a close-knit and dynamic learning environment. With this change, we will initiate a search for an associate dean to work in tandem with Adriana. Please join me in congratulating Dean Farmiga. 

Humanities and Social Sciences 
Nada Ayad is moving into a two-year term as acting dean of HSS, also effective July 1. Nada originally joined Cooper Union in 2016 as a Post Doctoral Fellow in HSS. After a one-year departure to FIT, she rejoined Cooper as assistant dean in 2019 and was subsequently promoted to associate dean. She has led HSS since 2021, after the retirement of then-dean Anne Griffin. Nada has been invaluable in the process of reimagining the future of HSS at Cooper, working with a Visiting Committee of scholars in 2021 and 2022, and integrating the new HSS minors across each of our schools. She is an enthusiastic and trusted resource, an advocate for students, and a creative and responsive collaborator for faculty and staff. Congratulations to Acting Dean Ayad. 

The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture 
At the outset of the 2023-24 academic year, Acting Dean Hayley Eber was appointed for a two -year term. I am asking the faculty of the School of Architecture to immediately initiate a search for a permanent dean. 

Mokena Makeka continues to serve in his role as the Special Advisor to the VPAA, driving progress in pedagogy and collaborative practices across the three schools and the Faculty of HSS. I look forward to seeing you all in the fall. In the meantime, I wish you a well-deserved, restorative summer. 

Warm regards, 

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.