Whitney Oldenburg began working at The Cooper Union in 2017. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 2009 and her MFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 2015. Whitney is the recipient of Cornell University’s Charles Baskerville Scholarship, the Virginia Commonwealth University Fountainhead Fellowship, the Toby Devan Lewis Award, the Maharam STEAM Fellowship, and the Artist Now Award from the Eden Art Foundation. She was also nominated for a Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellowship in 2024. Whitney has attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the Atlantic Center for the Arts. She is currently represented by CHART Gallery in Tribeca and is part of the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Studio Program. Most recently Whitney's artwork was featured in a solo exhibition, consisting of over 50 artworks at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville, Florida. 

In addition to her career as an artist, Whitney has gained diverse professional experience both within and outside higher education, serving as an adjunct professor, admissions counselor, and recruitment officer, as well as working in logistics, administrative support, and hospitality. In her current role as Director of The Center for Career Development, Whitney provides senior-level leadership and direction within the Student Affairs department, with a primary focus on career development programs and services. Her responsibilities include employer development, career counseling, job search assistance, graduate school counseling, portfolio development and review, and internship development. She conducts more than 300 individual student meetings each year, providing one-on-one feedback and support related to students’ professional aspirations. Whitney also develops and leads workshops addressing career-related topics across all three schools, collaborates on outreach initiatives, and supports programming efforts across the institution.