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After being roiled by a financial crisis that led to the end of its free-tuition policy in 2014 and the resignation of its president a year later, Cooper Union is recommitting to free higher education. Laura Sparks became the school's first female president 18 months ago, inheriting an arts and engineering institution that had a state-appointed independent monitor overseeing its finances and management. The arrangement was the result of a consent decree to end a lawsuit over tuition, which Cooper Union had not charged almost since its inception in 1859. In March the school's board approved a plan to begin increasing scholarships in two years with the goal of restoring free tuition within a decade.
What drew you to this job?
I got excited about the mission. Peter Cooper started this school to provide access to the best education so people could improve their livelihood. It resonated from a professional and personal standpoint--my father was the first in his family to go to college. Cooper was incredibly progressive. The school was open to women, people of all races, all religions.
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