Alumni Profile: Carol Wolf A’84
Carol (Robinson) Wolf graduated with a BFA from the School of Art in 1984. She was recipient of the A.A. Low Fund Prize for Excellence in Art. Carol is currently a Council Member and Chair of the CUAA Annual Fund committee. She has also served on the Nominating and Augustus Saint-Gaudens committees, is the CUAA representative on the Art Admissions committee, and frequently assists other committees and groups within the Cooper community with graphic design.
Carol has been actively engaged in the efforts to preserve the school’s full scholarship model since 2011. Understanding the transformative value of communication – a key takeaway from her student years at Cooper – Carol focused her energies on helping to disseminate clear and accurate information about Peter Cooper’s vision and the ongoing struggles at his beloved institution. She corresponded regularly with the Board Chair and trustees (offering a counterpoint to the administration’s PR-driven narrative), participated in discussions on social media, and reported for the CUAA newsletter. When a false narrative claiming that wealthy women paid “tuition” for art classes during Cooper Union’s early years began to appear in the press as justification for charging tuition, Carol worked proactively with the New York Times, Associated Press and other news media to correct the record. The historical documentation she shared with them elicited the publishing of public corrections.
As a vocal supporter of the Committee to Save Cooper Union, Carol played a lead role – along with her husband Bill Wolf A’84 and M’Liz Keefe A’85 – in a fundraising effort that mobilized 18 CU alumni artists who donated their work to raise money for the CSCU Legal Fund. In August 2014, as the court date for CSCU’s legal challenge approached, Ms. Wolf called for an emergency Council meeting, during which her co-authored statement was ratified by the CUAA Council. This statement reaffirmed the Alumni Association’s commitment to a return to free tuition for all students, challenging the Administration’s claim that a “majority” of alumni accepted and supported the Tuition Plan.
Following the signing of the Consent Decree and establishment of the Free Education Committee, Ms. Wolf has committed to making sure the CUAA plays an active and vocal role in the prudent restoration of free tuition at Cooper Union, as efficiently and carefully as possible. “I consider this a matter of great urgency, and I believe it should be our highest priority as alumni,” she said in her 2017 campaign statement.
Carol is a graphic designer with over 30 years of experience creating and building brands for global clients in a wide range of industries. Currently an independent consultant, she has worked for leading branding firms including Landor Associates, Interbrand and FutureBrand NY. Her client list includes IBM, Bank of America, Underwriters Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson and GM. Carol and her husband Bill are currently building a collection of historical Peter Cooper memorabilia and ephemera. Carol also oversees The Cottage Place Gallery in Ridgewood, NJ., where she has presented the work of several Cooper alumni.
Carol is the 2017 recipient of the CUAA Alumna of the Year Award.