Today was a day for lawsuit settlements.
As the Committee to Save Cooper Union just announced:
... a Consent Decree has been signed by The Cooper Union, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, and The Committee to Save Cooper Union. As a part of this agreement, which will be filed with the Court tomorrow, CSCU has settled its lawsuit with the trustees. The Attorney General will also be filing a cy pres petition.
The changes dictated by the Consent Decree and cy pres petition will enable Cooper Union to find a practical path back to its full scholarship model; give alumni, students, faculty, and staff a powerful role in Cooper’s governance; institute strict oversight of the school's progress toward its goals; spur a serious effort to balance its budget; and reform its governance.
Cooper Union was the site of an extended student Occupation of then-President Jamshed Bharucha's office in 2013. Bharucha and the Board of Trustees had announced a plan to make Cooper Union college charge tuition; an unprecedented change since the college began in 1859, established by wealthy industrialist Peter Cooper. It was also at some level illegal, since Cooper Union's charter called for it to be tuition-free, and later promises were made in 2006 to the New York State Supreme Court that
all students admitted to the Cooper Union’s degree programs receive a full-tuition scholarship, which allows talented students of all economic backgrounds to attend, in accordance with Peter Cooper’s vision.
Bad financial decisions on the part of the Board and the school's management, coupled with the Great Recession, had, however, left Cooper Union in serious financial straits by 2013.
The student Occupation ended with a pledge to take another look at the finances by a combined student, faculty and administration committee. This was done, and a plan was presented to the board in 2014, but it was rejected.
On May 27th, 2014, the Committee to Save Cooper Union filed a lawsuit, and at some point the Attorney General of New York State, Eric Schneiderman, got involved. On June 11th, 2015, amid further scandals and the resignation of five trustees, Bharucha resigned. The just announced outcome of the lawsuit goes beyond what I ever envisioned possible:
The Consent Decree and cy pres include the following provisions:
- Cooper Union's Board of Trustees, together with the community, will work to return Cooper Union to a high-quality, sustainable, tuition-free model as soon as practical. A special committee of the Board will be dedicated to development of a strategic plan to return the school to its traditional tuition-free policy;
- Alignment of the trust and charter of the school, through the cy pres petition, to reflect the evolution of the institution into its modern form and provide for judicial oversight of the effort to return to a full tuition scholarship model;
- Expansion of the Board to include student trustees (2), additional alumni trustees (2), and faculty and staff representatives (6);
- Establishment of the Council of the Associates of Cooper Union - comprised of the alumni, student, and faculty trustees - with the charge to develop a full plan and proposal for The Associates of Cooper Union.
- Appointment of an independent financial monitor who will be responsible for evaluating and reporting on the financial management of Cooper Union, including compliance with the Consent Decree;
- Transparent disclosure of Board materials, budget documents, and investment results;
Formation of a board committee to further reform the school's governance; and
An inclusive search committee to identify the next full-term president.
While the agreements to be filed with the Court are not an immediate, or guaranteed, return to "free," they impose an independent financial monitor; establish a Board committee made up of alumni, students, and faculty that is dedicated to developing a plan for the return to free tuition; and require the school's leadership to make a good faith effort to return to free. As always, CSCU and the larger community will remain vigilant in assuring genuine progress.
Peter Cooper had the vision to know the value of a free, college level education to society. While our benighted government does not as yet recognize this, there are signs of progress to be find in various Democratic Presidential candidates evolving positions.
Strike Debt has computed what it would take to make all public universities in the United States tuition-free, in an analysis called "How Far to Free?" The bill? $15 billion a year, hardly a drop in the Federal budget; a few less toys for the Pentagon.
So congratulations to the Committee to Save Cooper Union, and may they find a viable path to restore the school they obviously love.
Tue Sep 01, 2015 at 7:05 PM PT: New York Times article on the settlement.
http://www.nytimes.com/...