Karen Cattan Rutizer A'83

Photo of Karen Cattan Rutizer

Karen Cattan Rutizer A'83, 61, of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, passed away peacefully on July 13, 2023, after a long battle with cancer. Universally known for her kindness, talent, and intelligence, Karen will be deeply missed by family, friends and coworkers. Highly skilled in digital and art design and a graduate of Cooper Union, Karen's career included photography, branding and advertising designs for Conde Nast Traveler, Domino magazine, Cooking Light, Time Inc., New York Magazine and Vox Media. 

To read her complete obituary, please click here.

  • 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.