Although the artist Harold Altman (1924–2003) prized painting and drawing, he was especially drawn to printmaking for what he deemed its egalitarian quality: "I think in a sense, the original print is a very democratic kind of distribution of art. And when you do a unique work, only one individual has that work or one museum. However, a beautiful print can be in several hundred different locations in so many different countries." That same spirit imbues his 2023 gift to The Cooper Union, $1.2 million to the School of Art. 

In 2018, Mr. DiFranco committed to a $100,000 annual donation in support of a new endowment, The Victor and Eleanor DiFranco Fund.

Learn about the donors who helped make tuition free for Cooper Union seniors.

Alumnus John Manuck gave back to his alma mater in a big way: he and his wife established the John and Mary Manuck Distinguished Professor of Design professorship to raise the visibility of design as a unifying element of art, architecture, and engineering and the humanities and social sciences.

When Ross Wisnewski and alumnus George Reeves decided to donate $4 million to The Cooper Union in 2021, they were partly motivated by a sentiment expressed by the renowned physicist Stephen Hawking.