THE WAY FORWARD
(PDF) Sign the petition
The Way Forward is a better plan — certainly a better start to the future of The Cooper Union. It was developed with thought and care by alumni, students and faculty, the people who maintain and own Peter Cooper’s legacy. It plays to our strengths and is not a grab bag of get rich quick schemes similar to the plans that got us into this mess to begin with. –Professor Richard Stock
Students and alumni stage "Read Out" for "The Way Forward," May 8, 2012 - Photo Credit: Masha Vlasova (A '11)
From the introduction: So how are we going to save Cooper Union? Because the root of this crisis is not only financial, we have come up with ways to improve Cooper’s civic presence, academics and mission. Despite having limited access to the numbers, we have identified what we believe to be sensible first steps toward closing the deficit. Finally, during the long, fraught and sometimes tedious process of mapping out what seems to us the right and just path for Cooper Union in the coming months and years, we’ve discovered what is perhaps the most crucial element to Cooper’s survival: a sense of community that transcends disciplines, reaches across generations, and, in this moment of confusion, has the vision and spirit to point Cooper Union in the right direction. We are the Cooper community and this is The Way Forward.
Endorsements of The Way Forward:
Both of my maternal great-grandfathers attended Cooper. I have been teaching at Cooper since 1999. The Way Forward is a clear plan that maintains the mission of The Cooper Union while still moving it forward. — Kevin Kolack
The key fact is that Cooper Union is different. That is what makes it such an amazing institution. That is what should be celebrated. “The Way Forward” takes this into account. The President and the Board’s proposal does not. –Rachel Matts
I endorse The Way Forward and believe that its suggestions should be placed on the table along with existing plans. Solutions from alumni, students, faculty, and the rest of the Cooper community are equally as valid as proposals put forth by outside consultants and internal administrators. We need to demand a response from President Bharucha and the Board of Trustees which indicates that they are considering the options outlined in The Way Forward.–Ethan Elenberg
Copies of The Way Forward at the 2nd Community Summit. Photo: Xenia Diente. Click above to read The Way Forward
As a currently enrolled and concerned student at the Cooper Union, I have signed this petition because I found the solutions presented in The Way Forward to be the only viable solutions that have been presented to keep The Cooper Union open and functional. –Asher Mones
The Way Forward must be adopted in its entirety… It is a comprehensive, all-encompassing concrete plan of complementary parts addressing multiple simultaneous problems at Cooper, created by a stakeholder process that was strictly followed to address all stakeholders and be as fair and balanced as possible. –Barry Drogin
The Way Forward is a set of solutions that signifies the dedication of the Cooper community to the mission of this school to preserve the quality of education that is presently offered by the Cooper Union while also preserving its focus on merit and hard work (free of the politics of money). –Andrea Tults
Practically, The Way Forward presents no-risk solutions that will begin to balance Cooper Union’s budget and re-root the school healthily in the community around it. Philosophically, ‘The Way Forward’ is based on the observation made by Peter Cooper and many others that society is composed of people, not lots of little mounds of paper profit. Imagine dollar bills walking around, inventing, writing poetry…. Our best investment as human beings, ensuring immeasurable return, is in the skulls of young citizens not their wallets! “For,” according to one of the Cooper/Hewitt gravestones at Greenwood Cemetery, “all you can hold in your cold dead hand is what you have given away”– and they oughta know. Annabel Roberts-McMichael
Please accept this invitation to return Cooper Union to its principal values and to foster and nurture its students development in years to come. Only through a tuition-free model and merit-based admissions are the students truly equal. Cooper Union should be a beacon for others to follow, rather than a submissive follower of the times. –Esteban Quijada Link
Something has to be saved. We can’t keep throwing away everything worthwhile. And your community has a better idea to save the school, so if you don’t listen you’ll be throwing them away along with Cooper Union’s historical mission. –Judith Davidson
