“To be within the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is to be within a spiritual place, an authentic place. An institution that is lovingly held in trust. A place that believes one of society’s prime social responsibilities is towards learning and education in the deepest sense. It’s a place that contributes to thought, free thought, thought that is exploratory thought, founded by Peter Cooper, a man with a vision that still sustains and maintains the spirit of place and cares for enlightenment.
I don’t think there are many things more important than being a teacher and being a student. That, to me, is the deepest social contract, to understand the idea that individual creativity within a willing community is a profound social act. The privilege of being teachers and students within this remarkable place-to be teachers in a place of spirit, to be teachers of spirit, and to be with spirited students.
All one can do is to celebrate one’s discipline.”
John Hejduk Arch 1950
Professor of Architecture 1964-2000
Dean of the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture 1975-2000