Campaign Statement

On December 5, 2011 in the Great Hall, Kevin Slavin said that “Money is a derivative. It is a derivative of trust.” I was struck by the simple unavoidable truth of this. If elected, I will foremost seek to effectively gauge and implement the will of the alumni population. My personal belief is that the traditional all-scholarship model at Cooper Union, and it’s relative obscurity, have subtly encouraged a deficit of trust, transparency and institutional credibility, which is at odds with the traditional values of the school and it’s founder, and has had real financial costs. Trust and Credibility are the life’s blood of any school, business, or charitable organization, and I would focus my efforts on rebuilding that trust.

Bio

Eric is an art director and concept artist working in television and major motion pictures. He has designed sets, costumes, props and special visual  effects for major motion pictures such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Noah, and television dramas Gotham and the Knick, as well as live concerts at Royal Albert Hall in London, and over 100 tv commercials and music videos. In 2015, both Gotham and The Knick were nominated for the Art Directors Guild award for production design.

In 2000 he co-founded Crye Associates and later Crye Precision, where he was head of design until 2008, designing body armor, protective clothing and camouflage patterns for the US Department of Defense, Department of Justice, and fire fighters. In 2006 the camouflage pattern he designed for the US Army was included in the Museum of Modern Art permanent collection, and was adopted by the Army as standard issue in 2010. His work has been featured in design exhibitions at the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the San Jose Museum of Fine Art.

Eric has been an active member of the Cooper Union Alumni community, and has contributed to the Building Fund.