Fellow Alumni:

Last month, we asked you all to submit nominations to help us create a diverse slate of nominees to participate in an unprecedented special election to fill two new Alumni Trustee seats on the Cooper Union Board of Trustees. This is a pivotal moment in Cooper’s history, and we continue to count on you to rekindle Peter Cooper’s original vision and be a catalyst for change.

The response was extraordinary. The nominating committee received over 40 nominations, and after two weeks of personal interviews, information gathering, and careful consideration on the part of each nominee, we can now report that we have approximately 25 exceptionally qualified candidates who are able and willing to fulfill the role of Alumni Trustee.

We understand that presenting a ballot with 25 candidates, when there are only two positions to fill, presents a challenge to voters. But the nominating committee, as your elected representatives, vigorously debated the options of narrowing down the list to a more manageable size, versus setting forth all qualified candidates to the electorate. We feel strongly that each of these candidates are qualified, and as a diverse group express the unique skills and talents that we were looking for when we originally called for nominations. Excluding any of these candidates simply because there are “too many” would be a disservice to the community and could potentially cause a host of new and unnecessary problems. On the contrary, this enthusiasm is a “problem” that we are happy to have. Rather than looking at this as something that needs fixing, the CUAA nominating committee embraces this outpouring of dedication and commitment on the part of our alumni nominees, and has voted to put forth a ballot with all of the candidates.

We are grateful to and proud of these candidates for their willingness to serve, and urge everyone in the Cooper Union alumni community to take the time to get to know all of them and their extensive qualifications so that you can cast an informed vote. Looking forward, beyond the election, the CUAA is exploring opportunities that will allow alumni like these — who are willing and able to offer their valuable time and expertise — to engage in other meaningful ways to help the school.

The calendar is as follows:

Wednesday October 28th: Ballot will be emailed to registered alumni (register here)

We will host a meet the candidates night the following week (more details to come)

Wednesday November 18th: The polls will close

Tuesday December 1st: the winners will be announced

The candidates’ information will be/has been posted on the website here. We thank you in advance for your participation and support., and we look forward to a great election!

Thank you,