Cooper Union College - Cable Yearbook (New York, NY)

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EW of us have had the opportunity to meet and talk with the Director of The Cooper Union, Doctor Edwin Sharp Burdell. How- ever, all of us know him in one way-by his work and his accom- plishments which do him more honor than volumes of words. One of the outstanding achievements of Dr. Burdell's administration has been the program of liberalizing the art and engineering courses. lVlost thinking people today agree that the broadening of these specialized cur- ricula will result in graduates of The Cooper Union being better able to cope with the problems of the demanding world because they are socially and culturally competent as well as scientifically and artistically trained. The task of combining the already intensive courses in engineering and art with the liberal education required for a successful career was indeed a difficult one, but Dr. Burdell was well qualified for it. His wide experience in this field as a student and as an instructor have left him mindful of the value of extra-curricular activities to the student. One interesting illustration of his intense interest in student activities was his inauguration of a' service of inestimable value to all student leaders. His so-called Press Conferences, begun soon after he became director, have proved a very effective way in which the faculty and students have been brought together to discuss informally student problems. These meetings are a sort of clearing house for ideas, old and new, which have often brought about, through clearer and 'better understanding, satisfactory solutions for many problems. One event which will be remembered long after our school Work is forgotten was Dr. Burdell's address to the entire school assembled in the Great Hall on that fateful day, December 8, l94l. Following on the heels of the President's call for a declaration of war against Japan, the meeting was truly one of the most impressive in many years. Dr. Burdell recounted in his simple yet direct manner, his own experiences in the first World War when he was yet a student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology together with what little was known of the Pearl Harbor attack. His strict adherence to facts without recourse to rhetoric made a profound impression on the students. He left no doubt in any mind as to the difficulties of the task ahead. Everyone, confused and questioning before the assembly, left with a much more vivid idea of the type of character he must maintain in times such as these. With such a record behind him and with the attributes which he has already exhibited as Director, Dr. Edwin Sharp Burdell will continue to instill a spirit of confidence and hope in The Cooper Union which shall not be destroyed.

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