Quick response emergency grants are available to matriculated students in good standing with short-term financial emergencies through the Carroll and Milton Petrie Student Emergency Grant Fund. Applications are reviewed by the Dean of Students. Only one grant is available per year, up to $1500.
Since January 29, 2020, The Cooper Union has been keeping the college community informed about the pandemic and, like all colleges, instituting enormous changes as the virus has come to the US (they maintain a page at http://cooper.edu/about/safety/coronavirus-covid-19). Cooper has also set up a COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund.
The Cooper campus started to close on Saturday, March 13, 2020, at the start of spring break, with all academic and administrative buildings closed by Sunday, March 22, 2020. The college reported the first campus case on March 16, 2020, a visiting professor in the School of Architecture who had last been on campus on March 10, 2020. The first "presumptive positive" case of a student was reported on April 6, 2020; the student had not been on campus since March 12, 2020.
On March 18, 2020, Cooper reported that the May Commencement ceremony, End of Year Show, Senior Shows and Exhibitions, and all other events were cancelled. A future celebration of the Class of 2020 is promised. Students in the Residence Hall were given the option of vacating by March 29, 2020, or being relocated in the building to better accommodate social distancing rules. Students who left received prorated refunds of housing costs.
On March 23, 2020, Cooper commenced an Independent Study Week while faculty prepared for on-line learning using MicroSoft Teams.
Around March 27, 2020, a collective of art students submitted a letter to President Sparks, Dean Chamberlin, and Associate Dean Farmiga (the Cooper Pioneer is attempting to obtain a copy of the letter), which was responded to by School of Art Dean Mike Essl. On March 30, 2020, with the recommendation of all four faculties and approval of the deans and president, all classes were changed to Pass (P) / No Credit (NC).
In non-Cooper news, Drogin has also set up a COVID-19: NYC Resources page that is updated daily. Feel free to share the page with those inside New York City who are inside and outside of the Cooper Community. A press release can be found here.