ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM REPORT FOR THE NATIONAL ARCHITECTURAL ACCREDITATION BOARD 7 SEPTEMBER 2015 THE IRWIN S. CHANIN SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE THE COOPER UNION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND ART NADER TEHRANI, DEAN ELIZABETH O’DONNELL, ASSOCIATE DEAN The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of the Cooper Union Architecture Program Report September 2015 The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture Architecture Program Report for 2016 NAAB Visit for Continuing Accreditation Bachelor of Architecture (160 credits) Year of the Previous Visit: 2010 Current Term of Accreditation: From the VTR dated July 27, 2010 “The accreditation term is effective January 1, 2010. The Program is scheduled for its next accreditation visit in 2016.” Submitted to: The National Architectural Accrediting Board Date: 7 September 2015 The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of the Cooper Union Architecture Program Report September 2015 Program Administrator: Nader Tehrani, Dean and Professor Chief administrator for the academic unit in which the Program is located: Nader Tehrani, Dean and Professor Chief Academic Officer of the Institution: NA President of the Institution: William Mea, Acting President Individual submitting the Architecture Program Report: Nader Tehrani, Dean and Professor Name of individual to whom questions should be directed: Elizabeth O’Donnell, Associate Dean and Professor (proportional-time) The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of the Cooper Union Architecture Program Report September 2015 Section Page Section 1. Program Description I.1.1 History and Mission I.1.2 Learning Culture I.1.3 Social Equity I.1.4 Defining Perspectives I.1.5 Long Range Planning I.1.6 Assessment Section 2. Progress since the Previous Visit Program Response to Conditions Not Met Program Response to Causes of Concern Section 3 Compliance with the Conditions for Accreditation I.2.1 Human Resources and Human Resource Development I.2.2 Physical Resources I.2.3 Financial Resources I.2.4 Information Resources I.2.5 Administrative Structure & Governance II.1.1 Student Performance Criteria II.2.1 Institutional Accreditation II.2.2 Professional Degrees & Curriculum II.3 Evaluation of Preparatory Education II.4 Public Information III.1.1 Annual Statistical Reports III.1.2 Interim Progress Reports Section 4 Supplemental Material The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of the Cooper Union Architecture Program Report September 2015 A note on organization and format: We are aware that those professional degree programs submitting Architecture Program Reports this September are the first for whom the 2014 Conditions for Accreditation are being used for program review and evaluation. In the pages that follow we have made every effort to interpret the NAAB 2014 Conditions for ​ Accreditation in a clear and straightforward manner that best presents the distinctive strengths of the ​ professional degree program of the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture. In order to provide the NAAB and the Visiting Team with a succinct and comprehensive Architecture Program Report, we have used the NAAB ​ Guide to the 2014 Conditions of Accreditation and Preparation of an Architecture Program Report to provide ​ the explicit outline of subjects to be addressed in each numbered Condition for Accreditation. Where the Guide ​ details the requirements of the numbered Condition through bullet­points, the bullet points have been used as sub­headings to the numbered title of the Condition in this APR. The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of the Cooper Union Architecture Program Report September 2015 APR – SECTION 1 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION ​ I.1.1 History and Mission st a) History, mission and founding principles of The Cooper Union, and 21 Century context​ ​ ​ The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, established in 1859, is among the nation’s oldest and most distinguished institutions of higher education. Dedicated exclusively to preparing students for the professions of architecture, art and engineering, the college has an enrollment of approximately 1,000 students, all accepted on merit alone. Through the Charter and Deed of Trust, Peter Cooper, inventor, industrialist, philanthropist and public servant, endowed a newly established institution, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a building and land “for the purpose of establishing a public institution…for the advancement of science, art, philosophy and letters, for procuring and maintaining scientific and historical collections, collections of chemical and philosophical apparatus, mechanical and artistic models, books, drawings, pictures and statues, and for cultivating other means of instruction.” Thus, Peter Cooper endowed a public building, not a particular program. The original Foundation Building housed a large public lecture hall, classrooms, galleries and a free reading room. The Deed of Trust of the new institution specified five goals in support of its general mission: 1. Providing free night courses on applied science, social and political sciences and other branches of knowledge; 2. Creating a free reading room, art galleries and scientific collections; 3. Providing instruction for women in the arts of design; 4. Establishing a polytechnic school; and 5. Organizing a society to be called The Associates of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. It is possible to see within these five original programs the seeds of The Cooper Union’s current structure: professional schools of Architecture, Art and Engineering with outreach programs for high school students, continuing education and other public programs, many of them offered without charge. The Cooper Union was the first private institution of higher education in the nation to admit students based exclusively on merit; the first to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on race, gender, religion, ethnicity or national origin; the first to provide a free education to every admitted student (before free public education at the pre­college level was public policy); and the first to offer a free reading room open to all residents of the city, the forerunner of the public library. The Charter placed an emphasis on “practical” education, to extend and develop knowledge in a democratic fashion, not to teach trade or craft skills. The aim of a truly practical education was not employment but rather independence and innovation in thought. Having grown up as a radical artisan, Peter Cooper had a personal horror of indebtedness, dependency and private patronage. Cooper believed that competence and independence assured both political stability and material progress. By 1907 the school had grown to over two­and­a­half thousand students (with 3,000 on the waiting list), taking full­time and night courses in a broad range of subjects. In response to changing contexts of education and the work force, a new phase of the institution gradually came to the fore: the training of professionals. This education would still be as “free as air and water,” and the working classes and immigrants would remain its primary beneficiaries. Practical learning is now emphasized in the unique combination of programs in architecture, art and engineering. Civic improvement is to be found in its public and outreach programs and in its continued emphasis on educating ethically vigilant students within the disciplines. 1 The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of the Cooper Union Architecture Program Report September 2015 Beyond its educational programs, the public lecture hall included in Peter Cooper’s Foundation Building would th th become one of the most significant public spaces in 19 and 20​ century New York. Originally designed to ​ ​ ​ accommodate a standing audience of three thousand, The Great Hall of the Cooper Union would become a center of civic engagement for the greater public, providing a space for free lectures and a forum for public debate of the most significant issues of the time. View History of The Great Hall ​ In 1967, the extensive collection of decorative samples and artifacts housed in The Cooper Union’s Museum for the Arts of Decoration was turned over to the Smithsonian Institution to become its first museum outside of Washington, D.C.: the Cooper­Hewitt Museum of Decorative Arts and Design. The current mission of The Cooper Union, last revised and approved as part of the process to prepare for the college’s decennial re­accreditation review by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education is: Through outstanding academic programs in architecture, art and engineering, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art prepares talented students to make enlightened contributions to society. 1 The College admits undergraduates solely on merit and awards full scholarships to all enrolled ​ students. The institution provides close contact with a distinguished, creative faculty and fosters rigorous, humanistic learning that is enhanced by the process of design and augmented by the urban setting. Founded in 1859 by Peter Cooper, industrialist and philanthropist, The Cooper Union offers public programs for the civic, cultural and practicable enrichment of New York City. The mission statement identifies the uniqueness of The Cooper Union’s educational environment, stresses a commitment to particular disciplines and approaches and indicates with some specificity the means to achieve or support the stated objectives. The three degree­granting schools are named in