Running for: Alumni Trustee and Alumni Council

Douglas Sharrott EE’83 Alumnus of the Year

Personal Statement

I am honored to be nominated for the position of Alumni Trustee.

I have worked very hard to support the Cooper Union and the Alumni Association. While I was a student, I held various elected positions on the student council. After graduating I supported the Cooper Union and assisted the Alumni Association in several capacities.

Most recently, in 2015, I co-authored the Alumni Association’s new constitution, which was overwhelmingly adopted by membership the following year. I was elected to the Alumni Council in 2022. That same year, I put into place a new online voting system. I presently chair the Elections Committee and the 501(c)(3) Transition Committee and serve on the Nominating Committee. In 2025, the Alumni Association named me Alumnus of the Year.

I look forward on continuing my service to the Cooper Union and Alumni Association. I promise to maintain transparency and seek input from all stakeholders and will strive to see The Cooper Union Return to Free. I believe my many years of working with the Alumni Association will allow me to be an effective Alumni Trustee. I will also bring my 40 years of engineering and legal experience to guide and advise my fellow trustees and help govern the academic, student, and alumni affairs of our great school.

Biography

Doug graduated from Cooper Union in 1983 with a Bachelor of Engineering, and from Polytechnic University (now NYU Tandon) in 1987 with a Master of Science, both in Electrical Engineering.

From 1983 to 1993, Doug worked as an electrical engineer at Fairchild-Weston, Hazeltine, and Grumman corporations. He designed anti-jam communication systems, combat friend-or-foe identification systems, and ballistic missile tracking systems for the Department of Defense.

From 1990 to 1994, Doug attended Brooklyn Law School at night. He was Notes and Comments editor of the Brooklyn Law Review. His 1992 law review article “Provider-Specific Quality-of-Care Data” helped pave the way for the public disclosure of medical outcome statistics. In 1994, Doug graduated with a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude.

From 1994 to 2024, Doug practiced law at the Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto and Venable law firms. He was recognized by Legal 500 as one of our country’s leading patent attorneys. Doug tried numerous cases before the federal courts, International Trade Commission and United States Patent and Trademark Office. He also worked with inventors to obtain and license patents. His clients included IBM, Hewlett Packard, Canon, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Becton Dickinson, Johnson Outdoors, Novartis and Bristol Myers Squibb. Besides litigation, Doug is well versed in alternate dispute resolution including mediation and arbitration.

Doug retired from the practice of law in 2024.

Doug served on the President’s Advisory Council of Brooklyn Law School and the Advisory Board of Nanotechnology Law and Review.
Doug and his wife Karen live in Orlando, Florida. They have four children and five grandchildren.