Summer 2017 CUAA Newsletter

September 3, 2017

CUAA News

Board of Trustees Seats New Trustees

On Monday, July 24, The Cooper Union Board of Trustees convened a special meeting to seat CUAA President Paul Nikulin CE’06 and Stephen Gerard ME’67 on the board. Stephen Gerard ME’67 was elected Alumni Trustee in the 2016 CUAA Spring Election. He was seated at this time, in fulfillment of one of the requirements of the 2015 Consent decree. His term will be for 4 years. Paul Nikulin CE’06 was elected CUAA President in the 2017 CUAA Election. His BOT term coincides with his term as president which is 2 years.

Paul Nikulin

Stephen Gerard

Welcome to our New alumni!

Commencement Ceremonies took place on May 23, 2017. Bachelor’s degrees were awarded to 188 graduates and Master’s degrees were awarded to 44 graduates. 11 graduates received a Masters in Architecture and 33 received a Masters in Engineering. We are thrilled to welcome them into the CUAA. Congratulations on your achievement and also congratulations on exceeding your class goal for the senior gift. senior class gift

The class of 2017 had three goals to achieve: 1) 50% Participation 2) 85% Participation 3) Raise more than $4,000.

We are proud to say, the class met goals 1 & 3 and were barely short of goal number 2. They raised $4,496 dollars and achieved 78% participation. A foundation backed by a family foundation by the descendant of Peter Cooper gave $10,000 in recognition of their work. This is part of the work we do to help reinforce a culture of philanthropy here at Cooper.

Congratulations to the CUAA Service to the School Award Winners!

Each year the CUAA recognizes members of the graduating class who have provided outstanding service to the school. The award winners are chosen by the Department Deans and by the Director of alumni Engagement. The awards are presented to the awardees in a honor ceremony that occurs the day before graduation. This years Nils Anderson, 2016 CUAA President, presented the awards to Jessica Marshall EE’17, Vishesh Padnani ChE’17, Emily Adamo A’17 and Celine Park AR’17.

Full list of Service Awardees

The CUAA starts new Year on July 1, 2017.

Welcome to our new CUAA officers:

President: Paul Nikulin CE ’06 ,
Alumni Trustee: Lynn Lander ChE ’60

Secretary: Mary K. Lynch ChE ’82
Treasurer: Ciera Lowe ChE ’14
Vice President Faculty-Student Liaison: Daren Rogers AR ’05
Vice President of Events: Kelly Occhiuzzo Zack A’90
Nominating Committee Chair : Susan Shaw A ’72

In Memoriam: Adrian Jovanovic BSE’89

Adrian Jovanovic BSE’89 died in a tragic accident on June 17, 2017 while hiking in Washington State. Adrian was a founder of the Committee to Save Cooper Union, an organization of students, faculty and graduates that mounted a successful legal challenge to this decision. In a special election, Adrian was elected to the Cooper Union Board of Trustees in 2015. Adrian worked tirelessly with his fellow trustees to help Cooper Union fulfill its promise to restore free education.

While a student at The Cooper Union, Adrian served as President of the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi and was founder and captain of the division-winning tennis team. After graduation from the Cooper Union, Adrian worked for Microsoft as a Software Design Engineer and Program Manager, and then went on to found eMedia Music Corporation, a leading publisher of educational music software, where he was President. Adrian also served on several non-profit boards and was a City of Seattle Music Commissioner. Adrian was awarded the CUAA Alumnus of the Year Award in 2016 for his longstanding dedication and commitment to the CUAA and The Cooper Union.

A Memorial will be held at The Cooper Union in the Great Hall for Adrian Jovanovic BSE’89 on Tuesday, September 26, 2014 at 6PM. To RSVP, contact Crystal Ortiz at cortiz@cooper.edu or 212.353.4269.

In Memoriam: Judith Seigel A’54

Judy Seigel, was a proud Cooper alumna and member of the Cooper Union Alumni council from 1983 to 1985. She was a pioneering feminist artist, painter, photographer, publisher and writer most recently dubbed an “unsung heroine” of the alternative photography movement. Judy worked as a 1950s Mad woman illustrator, then turned to large scale abstract painting in the 1970s. Later, she taught alternate photo processes including cyanotype and gum bichromate at ICP, Pratt and elsewhere. She taught at Pratt university for 14 years.

Judy Siegel was an important member of the feminist artist movement of the 1970s. She was co-founder and editor of the formative Women Artists News (1975-1994) and author of “Mutiny and the Mainstream: Talk That Changed Art” (1992) that documented the active New York City public discussion scene. The book has been used as a college text, especially in women’s studies courses.

Read more

In Memoriam

Sadly we have lost several alumni during 2017.

In Memoriam listing

Recent Events

2017 End of Year Show ran May 24 – June 10, 2017

Once again, every gallery space, lobby and hallway was used to exhibit student projects during the End of Year Show, and students from every year and every discipline participated.

Learn More

2017 CUAA Award Ceremony was held on June 2, 2017

The Founder’s Day Awards and the Awards for Alumni of the Year were presented at the CUAA Awards Ceremony on June 2, 2017. It began at 6PM with cocktails. At 6:30PM, the ceremony began in Rose Auditorium. The ceremony was followed by a reception on the Alumni Rooftop Terrace.

Learn More

See photos.

Additional Photos

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Award for professional achievement in art is presented to: Victor Moscoso A’57

Gano Dunn Award for professional achievement in engineering, industry, science, or finance is presented to: Ronald Brookmeyer Math’75

John Q. Hejduk Award for professional achievement in architecture is presented to: Mark West AR’80

Peter Cooper Public Service Award for exemplary service to the public is presented to: Agustin (Tim) Maldonado AR’66

Alumni of the Year Awards for longstanding dedication and commitment to the CUAA is presented to: Carol E. Wolf A’84 & James Liubicich ChE’83

Young Alumna of the Year Award for exemplary volunteerism and public service to the CUAA is presented to: Ciera Lowe ChE’14

CUAA awards are very special to alumni because they are given by fellow alumni who understand the hard work and dedication that is behind the awardees’ accomplishments.

Council News

Would you like to volunteer to be a Live Reporter of Council Meetings and Events? We are looking for individuals to help provide real-time video coverage, so that alumni can attend CUAA events virtually. You can be one of a group of alumni live-streaming to our Facebook and Twitter accounts. send an email to Contact@cooperalumni.org if interested.

The June CUAA Council meeting was held on June 22, 2017

The last meeting of the 2016-17 council year was held in the Rose Auditorium. It began at 6:30 PM. CUAA President, Nils Folke Anderson A’94 opened the meeting and and thanked all who have helped during the previous 2 years. Casey Gollan A’13 and Victoria Sobel A’13 gave a presentation about their recent work, and followed that with a discussion about plans for a fall block party that will build on past successful block parties. It was announced that Claudia Giordano A’76 and Mina Greenstein A’56 A will be co-chairs for the block party committee. The date for the block party is not yet set. Volunteers are needed. Annual Fund Chair, Carol Wolf A’84, announced that there was 1 week left to contribute to the Annual Fund. We are only 1/2% away form the 20% participation goal. She encouraged all to encourage their friends to participate. Each of the Committee Chairs gave a brief summary of their committee’s accomplishments for the year. On behalf of the Council, Karina Tipton CE’99 thanked Nils Folke Anderson A’94 for his service as CUAA President and presented him with a thank you gift.

The July Council Member Retreat was held on July 18, 2017

The Annual Retreat is a goal setting meeting that includes the incoming and outgoing CUAA officers. This year all Council members and officers were invited. Nineteen alumni took part in the retreat which was held in the conference room on the 4th floor of The CU Residence Hall. The Facilitators for the retreat were Rachel Appel A’13 and Lynn Lander ChE’60. After short introductions, there were two workshop segments where participants identified and ranked goals for the coming CUAA year. The goal that emerged as being most important is increasing alumni engagement. Some preliminary discussions were held discussing ideas for increasing engagement. It was decided that this will be a theme for the year, and all committees will incorporate engagement increase measures in their work. Next, each of the committees were described and alumni had an opportunity to sign up for committees.

Chicago Regional Group Casual Meetup

Some members of the CUAA Chicago Regional Group came together on July 28,2017 at the Social restaurant in downtown Chicago. They shared a great dinner and conversation. Pictured here are James Luibicich ChE’83, Mary Lynch ChE’82, Robert Kudder CE’67, Zev Saloman AR’01, and Lauren DeVita Gerardi ME’05.