Cooper Union

Senior Leadership Team

The senior leadership team at the Albert Nerken School of Engineering comprises the highest level administrators, deans, and academic department chairs of the College.

As of February 2024

Administration

Barry L. Shoop, Dean, Professor of Electrical Engineering

Lisa A. Shay, Associate Dean for Educational Innovation, Professor of Electrical Engineering

Ruben Savizky, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Professor of Chemistry

Douglas Thornhill, Laboratory & Technician Manager, Office of the Dean

Academic Department Chairs

Benjamin J. Davis, Professor & Ensminger Chair of Chemical Engineering

Cosmas Tzavelis, Professor & George Fox Chair of Civil Engineering

Fred L. Fontaine, Jesse Sherman Professor & Chair of Electrical Engineering

Melody Baglione, Professor & George Clark Chair of Mechanical Engineering

Andrea Newmark, Professor & Chair of Chemistry

Mili Shah , Professor & Chair of Mathematics

Philip Yecko, Professor & Chair of Physics

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.