Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, accredited institution of higher education; in New York City; coeducational; chartered and opened in 1859. Founded by Peter Cooper, it pioneered in evening engineering and art schools; day schools were added in 1900. Today it includes schools of engineering, art, and architecture, a division of adult education, and a faculty of humanities and social sciences. A new academic building located at Cooper Square in the East Village and designed by Thom Mayne opened in 2009. The Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, was founded in 1897 as part of Cooper Union by Sarah, Eleanor, and Amy Hewitt, granddaughters of Peter Cooper. Since 1967 the museum, still located in New York City, has been a division of the Smithsonian Institution.
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