Dean -Albert Nerken School of Engineering, of Science and Art

The Albert Nerken School of Engineering, the largest of Cooper Union’s three degree-granting Schools, seeks a new Dean. Reporting directly to President Steven W. McLaughlin, the new Dean will join a collegial and well credentialed team of senior leaders as Cooper Union progresses on its 2018 Plan to Return to Full-Tuition Scholarships for all enrolled undergraduate students (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). The new Dean will build on the achievements of the retiring Dean, including the hiring of 21 new faculty out of 49 total and the establishment of a Department of Computer Science.

Enrolling 450 undergraduates and 70 master’s students, with a student-faculty ratio of 7-1 and $12 million budget, the Engineering School is perennially ranked as one of the top ten undergraduate engineering programs in the US. It combines the intimacy of a small baccalaureate institution with the intellectual ambition, rigor and opportunities of a research university. The School offers Bachelor of Engineering degrees in chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, a Bachelor of Science in computer science and a Master of Engineering degree.

Engineering faculty members are drawn from the pre-eminent graduate programs and maintain a vigorous and dynamic research agenda. Current research concentrations include bioengineering; materials and fluids; autonomy, control, cyber physical systems; machine learning, data science, and artificial intelligence; sustainability; theoretical and computational sciences and mathematics; signal processing and communications; and pedagogy.

The Dean reports directly to the President and is a member of the President’s Cabinet and Deans Council, playing a critical role in overall institutional planning and academic policy decisions. The Dean will work with the President and the development staff to increase philanthropy that supports the School of Engineering and institution-wide goals. Over the last decade, Cooper Union has worked diligently in the direction of restoring its historical commitment to free education.

The institution seeks a Dean of Engineering who embraces this priority and is aligned with the goal of returning to full-tuition scholarships for all enrolled undergraduate students by 2028.

• Partner with the President and Board to build an entrepreneurial fundraising mechanism for the School that enhances its connection with, and energizes, alumni and industry;
• Partner with the President and the Deans of architecture, art and the Faculty of humanities and social sciences to craft and implement a strategic plan that will guide Cooper Union into the future;
• Engage and interact regularly with students, faculty and staff, with the option of teaching one course per semester;
• Lead, mentor and advise the faculty, and interact with campus wide and faculty committees;
• Carry out yearly reappointment reviews, provide evaluation of candidates for promotion and tenure and provide opportunities for faculty and staff professional development;
• Explore and promote a wide variety of student learning environments that support and sustain the School’s mission;
• Work with members of the Academic Leadership Team to identify and support potential interdisciplinary collaborations, both among the engineering, science, and mathematics disciplines and with Cooper Union’s exceptional Schools of architecture, art, and the Faculty of humanities and social sciences;
• Develop and facilitate professional partnerships with external institutions that have deep relevance to the academic and social mission of the School in the New York metropolitan area, nationally, and internationally to advance and sustain the School’s mission;
• Engage in open dialogues that…