Message to Campus – April 21, 2025
Dear Cooper Union,
We write you this morning with wonderful news! The Board of Trustees has unanimously approved the selection of Steven McLaughlin as the 14th president of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Steve is currently provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at Georgia Tech in Atlanta where he has served in administrative and academic leadership positions and taught for more than 25 years. He will join The Cooper Union as of July 1, 2025.
Today at noon, we invite you to hear from Steve directly in a brief program in the Great Hall and to meet him during an informal reception in the Great Hall Arcade. Please join us!
This is the exciting outcome of a process initiated at the beginning of this academic year. At that time, we convened a Presidential Search Committee and established the plan for determining who the next president of The Cooper Union would be. We surveyed the community to determine the top priorities and attributes for our next president. With the support of Spencer Stuart, a global executive search firm with a specialty in academia and research, we launched a comprehensive, national effort. The aim was to find the candidate who champions students and would bring a proven record of academic and organizational leadership along with a proven ability to build an inclusive community, innovate across disciplines, and raise funds as we move ever closer to our goal of restoring full-tuition scholarships. The successful candidate would embrace the vision Peter Cooper established for this institution and have a demonstrated passion for The Cooper Union’s mission of advancing access to educational excellence, project-based learning, and engaged civic discourse.
From an initial pool of some 200 prospects, we stepped through a very intentional process to evaluate closely a core group of 31. Of the core group, the Search Committee selected eight individuals to interview to explore further their experiences and capabilities. Eight candidates became four for a second round of interviews. Two finalists emerged, and of them, Steve became the unanimous choice.
As Georgia Tech’s chief academic officer, Steve has led a community of 53,000 students and more than 2,000 faculty and staff. Over the course of his career at Georgia Tech, he was dean of the College of Engineering, chair of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and vice provost for International Initiatives. Beyond his expertise in engineering, he had engaged extensively with the university’s College of Liberal Arts and played a critical role in championing Georgia Tech’s College of Design. He co-led five different strategic planning processes during his time there, including the university’s current one, which emphasizes transformational learning, global connections, access and affordability, championing innovation, and cultivating student well-being. A long, accomplished list of honors also distinguished Steve, but what we noticed in every conversation we had with his references and colleagues was the way they singled out his high degree of emotional intelligence, affability, his commitment to being an ally and advocate for inclusivity, and his kindness. He is a listener, a bridge builder, a respected leader.
Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera shared this with us about Steve: “Steve McLaughlin is one of the most visionary, values-driven academic leaders I’ve had the privilege to work with. His deep commitment to student success, academic excellence, and innovation has left a lasting mark on Georgia Tech. While we will miss him greatly, I am thrilled to see him take the helm at The Cooper Union, an institution whose mission and spirit align so well with his own. Cooper is gaining a remarkable leader and an even better human being.”
Ellen Bassett is dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Design. She said of Steve, “He is a listener who keeps his eye on the prize which is about academic success.”
As co-chairs of the Search Committee, we must express our deepest gratitude to the eight other committee members for their engagement and leadership in this search process. They are alumni and non-alumni trustees, faculty representatives to the board, and a student trustee and spanned Cooper Union’s schools of architecture, art, and engineering as well as the Faculty of the Humanities and Social Sciences. Thank you to Trustees Anne Chao, Pamela Flaherty, and Jadyn Hammond A’25; to faculty members Ninad Pandit, Benjamin Davis, Beverly Joel A’95, and Michael Young; and to Interim President Malcolm King EE’97.
Steve has shared with us that, in addition to holding Cooper’s mission and legacy in high regard, he is excited to join Cooper Union in large part because of our smaller size. He said that having the chance to know personally each faculty member, student, and staff member feels inspiring and is especially important to him. He also understands that there is much to learn about The Cooper Union and looks forward to meeting members of the community in the months leading up to his July 1 start date.
To hear more from Steve McLaughlin, himself, please join us at noon today in the Great Hall, followed by refreshments and fellowship during an informal gathering in the Great Hall Arcade.
Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for The Cooper Union. The path to this institution’s 14th president is now set. It is an exciting time! We look forward to welcoming Steve McLaughlin to The Cooper Union and to celebrating together with you this afternoon.
Sincerely,
Jamie Levitt
Co-Chair, Presidential Search Committee
Trustee & Interim Board Chair
Lou Manzione ChE’75
Co-Chair, Presidential Search Committee
Trustee