Last night five members of the Cooper Union’s board of trustees resigned: real estate mogul Mark Epstein (the board’s former chairman), Vassar College president Catharine Bond Hill, architects Daniel Libeskind and Francois de Menil (the board’s vice chairman), and investment banker Monica Vachher. Three of the departing trustees — Epstein, Libeskind, and Vachher — have written public resignation letters [...]. — hyperallergic.com
Following are the three resignation letters by Epstein, Vachher, and Libeskind — all widely claimed as strong tuition supporters and loyal to hotly contested Cooper Union president Jamshed Bharucha — in full length as published on the Committee to Save Cooper Union from the Committee to Save Cooper Union (CSCUFCSCU) website.
All,
I am writing to you from under two hats. One as trustee, and one as donor.
As a Trustee, I am hereby resigning from the Board, effective immediately. During my term as Chairman we were able to put the school on a path to sustainability. It was going to be a difficult path with some hurdles to get over. We were on our way, but have now gotten so far off of that path due to the actions (or inactions) of the Board that I no longer want to participate. I know that there are some in the Cooper Community that will take my resignation as a false victory of some sort. I am not resigning due to any pressure from that group, rather that I no longer want to associate with them.
As a donor, I am withdrawing my financial support for the college. Although I respect the rights of those of the faculty, alumni, and students, to act as they see fit, I no longer want to support them.
If the schools fail in the future, it will not be due to the change in the scholarship policy (a major part of the sustainability plan) as some will claim. It will be due to the organized opposition to it.
I’ve spent a good part of the last 30 years being pretty active for the benefit of The Cooper Union. These were not easy decisions to make.
Thank you,
Mark Epstein
Chairman Emeritus
________________________________
Colleagues on the Board,
It is with tremendous disappointment that I tender my resignation from the board of Cooper Union, effective immediately. As a fiduciary of Cooper Union, I began my board engagement with great enthusiasm and excitement about restoring the institution to a financially stable position, and renewing and burnishing the preeminence Cooper Union had historically enjoyed.
Regrettably, it has become clear that these fiduciary goals are not shared by many on the board, and that the board is unwilling to make or support often difficult decisions that would be in the long-term best interests of the institution.
Since my views on what is best for Cooper Union are at such variance with others on the Board, I do not believe I can fulfill my fiduciary responsibilities and function as an effective board member.
Sincerely,
Monica Vachher
________________________________
Dear Chairman Lincer
Dear Members of the Board,
I hereby resign my position as a Trustee of the Board of Cooper Union, effective immediately.
As an alumnus of the school who had joined the Board recently, I expected that in this difficult time of change, there would be a meaningful and open discussion – one which would assure Cooper Union’s stability and future. My experience was far from that.
I do not support the leadership and direction of this Board. I believe that decisions being taken are not in the best interest of Cooper Union.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel Libeskind , AR ‘70
Studio Libeskind
New York City
Previously on Archinect:
10 Comments
Another article here, rightly wondering why these resignations haven't hit the news media.
Too little too late, the endowment is blown.
Maybe sell Mayne's POS building?
"If the schools fail in the future, it will not be due to the change in the scholarship policy (a major part of the sustainability plan) as some will claim. It will be due to the organized opposition to it."
What planet is this guy from and how do I get there?
interesting how nothing is more clear after reading those
I like how he says "change in scholarship policy" rather than "charging admission", which is what he means.
boy, you're right that those letters make the situation clear as a brick. The website I linked to explains a little more, but not much.
@lightperson
He's just saying charging tuition is the correct course of action.
Subject: Presidential Transition
From: The Cooper Union <alumni@cooper.edu>
To: All community and alumni
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2015 7:09 PM
Dear Members of the Cooper Union Community:
I am writing to let you know that I will be leaving my post as President of The Cooper Union at the end of June, 2015. Starting in the fall, I will serve as Visiting Scholar at Harvard University in the Graduate School of Education.
It has been an honor to serve as the 12th President of Cooper Union these past four years. The focus of my presidency has been to secure Cooper’s finances for generations of deserving students in the future, while preserving excellence and increasing socio-economic access.
The class completing its freshman year was the first to be admitted under the 2013 Financial Sustainability Plan, and the class just admitted will be the second. These two classes uphold Cooper’s unparalleled standard of excellence. With need-based financial aid, we have also been able to increase access to those who can least afford it, as shown by an increase in the proportion of students eligible for Federal Pell Grants.
Jessie and I want to thank all the students, faculty, alumni, donors, friends, and neighbors whom we have been privileged to meet during our stay at Cooper, and we wish you all the very best.
Jamshed Bharucha
President
On June 10, 2015, the Cooper Union Board of Trustees released the following statement:
The Board of Trustees is grateful to Jamshed Bharucha for his service as the 12th President of Cooper Union.
The financial exigencies with which he was confronted upon his arrival were not of his making and he deserves credit for sounding the alarm about the need to take urgent action to ensure Cooper Union’s long-term financial sustainability.
We wish President Bharucha all the best in his future endeavors, and have agreed to name him President Emeritus effective July 1, 2015.
The board has asked Cooper’s vice president for finance and administration, William Mea, to assume interim leadership responsibilities on July 1. In the fall, the board will form a presidential search committee that will include representation from the faculty, students and alumni.
Mea, who is currently responsible for financial planning and budgeting, the controller’s office, human resources, information technology, public safety, facilities and legal affairs, joined Cooper in September 2014.
I will cut you off at the knees
i got cut off at the paywall. . .
more
old news
lest we forget
i guess its a many faced clusterfuck
but how deep does the rabbit hole go into the land of the ill-intentioned, the no one will ever find out, the i hope nobody ever finds out, the quasi legal or the outright illegal, cuz hey thats just how shit gets done, yaknowwahimsayin capish?
yeah, so i went down the internet hole on this one for a bit and there's just so much strange shit out there im not even gonna post any more links. . . obviously so many turf wars, personal stakes, media insults . . . satire of satire of satire out there. fucking over the top. but still, there must somewhere be a clear trail of decisions, recession or not, that leads to the evisceration of peter cooper's ideals that we are witnessing. there are some very clear financial view points at odds with one another out there, but clearly someone had a plan for it 'working' regardless of how it accommodated the school's mission - which was fine because they could always confuse what that mission was.
fuck epstein's blame the alumni shit. and fuck slavin's tuition is here to stay.someone had a spreadsheet and an argument to sell that went wrong, with the out being "well higher education isnt for free for everybody" based on a narrow read of Peter Cooper's mission (thats epstein's line). lets have the AG investigation continue and let's at least find out the idiotic arc that brought the thing down (or down-ish). Lets get the names and bring the shame. It will probably collapse into a diverse array of ugliness too bright to behold.
Thanks for posting all of that and for your anger over it, boy in a well!
It's an infuriating issue, to be sure.
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