Cooper Union Alumni showed their brightest faces on February 5th, as they came together to celebrate Peter Cooper’s 222nd Birthday and to celebrate the accomplishments of their peers. The annual Founders Day Celebration was a rousing success, with 222 attendees – including 56 young alumni.

The 2013 Alumni Awards in Art, Architecture, and Engineering were presented by students Julie Harris, A ’13, Che Perez, AR ’14, and Andrew Crudge, ME ’13 to Regina Granne A ’59 (posthumous), Michael Morris AR ’89 & Yoshiko Sato AR ’89 (posthumous), and Harold Goldberg EE ’44. CUAA President Peter Cafiero presented the Alumna of the Year award to MaryAnn Nichols, A’68, and Dean Stephen P. Baker was presented Honorary Alumnus of the Year award by Yoonjeong Shin, AR ’14, Dominik Goj, CE ’13, and Dean Linda Lemiesz.

This year, we implemented some changes to the traditional event format. As described in the January newsletter, Greg Skiano A ’12, created a challenging event concept asking alumni to imagine a world without Cooper, and this concept was implemented at the event in several ways:

First, the #withoutcooper stories shared by alumni at RSVP for the event were shared through projection during the event, and by placement of table cards around the room. Please take a look at some of the inspiring submissions here.

Second, the full impact of Cooper Union alumni on the world around them through professional achievements was illustrated by a large-scale timeline of the alumni awards presented since the inception of the school. Seeing the number of alumni who have been awarded over time and reading the many well-known names is an amazing experience that emphasizes how important Cooper Union is to the world.

Third, Noemi Charlotte Thieves A ’11, volunteered to video personal reflections on “Where would YOU be Without Cooper?” He interviewed several alumni at the evening, and has been preparing videos for each person. Noemi also graciously videoed the award presentation.

The annual Founder’s Day Celebration was held at Guastavino’s, an impressive space that is inspiring in the beauty of the functional fireproof tile ceilings that make up the underside of the 59th Street Bridge. If you weren’t able to attend, we hope you will look through the photographs of the event.