Cooper Union financial scandal and tuition protests | |
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![]() Students hung a banner from the Cooper Union Foundation Building during a December 2012 occupation | |
Location | |
Goals | To keep Cooper Union tuition-free and hold administration accountable |
Status | Ongoing |
The Cooper Union financial crisis and tuition protests constitute the events surrounding Cooper Union's announcement that they would begin charging tuition after being a tuition-free school for most of its history. The possible mismanagement of the school's finances and the subsequent reactions of students, faculty, alumni and organized protest groups attracted widespread media attention. Activist groups staged a series of occupations and protests demanding the resignation of the school president, Jamshed Bharucha, promoting a vote of no confidence in Bharucha and the school's Board Chair, Mark Epstein,[1] both of whom resigned in 2015, and insisting that the administration address the concerns of students, faculty, alumni, and the public, and alternate plans to avoid having the school charging tuition.
It has been reported that the Cooper Union financial crisis was due to a combination of problems caused by poor fiscal decisions, lack of accountability, the economic recession of the late 2000s, the selling off of the institution's assets, and taking on significant debt due to the 2009 building of 41 Cooper Square, which cost the school US$175 million.[2][3] In fiscal year 2009 ending in June, Cooper Union's managed assets (including investments in hedge funds) lost 14%, and the value of its endowment in 2013 was lower than it was at the end of fiscal year 2008, even as the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index hit new highs.[2]
Cooper Union assessed tuition for the freshman class of 2014, with plans for tuition for future students.
The New York State Attorney General reached an agreement in September 2015 to settle a lawsuit filed by the Committee to Save Cooper Union against the board of trustees. A consent decree, signed by the attorney general and both parties in the lawsuit and pending court approval, outlined additional fiscal and administrative oversight of the school by the attorney general and made provisions for students, alumni, and faculty, who would work with the board of trustees to determine how Cooper Union could return to a tuition-free school.[4][5]
In an interview with an alumnus, former Board chairman Mark Epstein said "in the 70s it became apparent that the school couldn't be sustainable forever ... I would imagine that if people paid 10% over the last 40 years, the school would be in pretty good shape".[52] Epstein and Vice Chairman Francois de Menil were among those who resigned along with Jamshed Bharucha in June 2015.[53][54]
Former chairman, Richard Lincer, noted of the decision on January 10, 2014, that: "the easiest thing would be for me to say, 'We're going to keep it'. And then in 3 years, we might be dissolved. And I'm not going to have that on my conscience. I'm going to weigh the risks. And this is a considered judgement and one that the board made". He also noted that the board "met without the president" when coming to this decision.[55] According to consent decree IV.A.1, the terms of service of Lincer & former chairman, Robert Bernhard, expired as of December 7, 2016.[56]
In response to the Committee to Save Cooper Union's lawsuit, Justin Harmon, a spokesman for Cooper Union since 2013, told The Wall Street Journal: "The decision to charge tuition was tremendously difficult and every member of the Cooper community feels the profound effect it has had… We are disappointed that the Committee to Save Cooper Union would choose costly litigation over constructive conversation... Beginning this fall, we have increased financial assistance to the most needy students… Cooper Union will remain among the most affordable elite institutions in the world".[57]
In December 2015, Acting President Bill Mea noted "I have projected numbers out to fiscal 2019 and 2020, and I think it can become financially sustainable by those periods and thereafter", with tuition.[58]
Free Cooper Union is the name of an organized effort to protest the 2011 proposed changes in the Cooper Union tuition policy. The group demanded a vote of no confidence in the school president, Jamshed Bharucha.[59] Free Cooper Union is responsible for a sit-in at the President's office in June 2012, and two occupations of the Foundation Building, one in December 2012, and one in May 2013.[60]
The red square is worn as a symbol of support for the Free Cooper Movement. It was built from the carré rouge (red square) worn for the 2012 Quebec student protests against tuition hikes. The patch also symbolizes the Cooper Union clock tower, which is red when illuminated.[citation needed]
In May 2013, Students for a Free Cooper Union held an exhibition in connection with the occupation of President Jamshed Bharucha's office, called, "The Free Cooper Union Salon: Step Down!" The exhibition included work from students, alumni, faculty and the community.[61][62]
Friends of Cooper Union (FOCU), composed of alumni, students, faculty, and staff, met in December 2011 to generate its own solutions to the financial crisis. The Way Forward, released in April 2012, outlined future plans without tuition and demanded more transparency and community engagement from the administration. They developed a financial plan based on reasonable measures to start cutting costs and develop more effective fundraising based on the school's mission.[63]
Committee to Save Cooper Union, Inc. (CSCU), a voluntary association of faculty, students, and alumni, formed on December 16, 2013, in order to investigate and remedy serious issues regarding the fiscal and academic management of the school. In May 2014, CSCU "is pursuing legal action as a last resort after Cooper Union's board of trustees and administration proceeded with their plans to abolish a 150-year tradition of free tuition, refusing alternatives that would preserve free tuition".[64]
The Committee to Save Cooper Union filed a Petition with the Supreme Court of the State of New York that was electronically received by New York State Courts Electronic Filing System (NYSCEF) on May 27, 2014.[36] A Memorandum of Law In Support of Petitioner's Article 77 Petition was received by NYSCEF on June 13, 2014.[65]
In describing the intent of CSCU's actions, former Cooper Union Trustee Michael Borkowsky stated: "This is not a battle between The Committee to Save Cooper Union and The Cooper Union's board of trustees. It is a battle between The Cooper Union as a unique and extraordinary institution of higher education and The Cooper Union as just another college".[66]