On Thursday, May 15, Alfred University hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for a state-of-the-art on-campus foundry, which will create new intersectional opportunities for art and engineering students. The facility was officially named the Cohen National Casting Center Foundry, in honor of Michele Cohen HD '18, Alfred University trustee, and her husband, Martin, whose $6 million gift made the foundry project possible.
The current foundry is located in a building behind Binns-Merrill Hall and will move into its new home in the university’s renovated former central heating plant next year.
At Thursday’s groundbreaking, Mark Zupan, Alfred University president, credited the Cohens for “providing the spark” needed to proceed with the foundry project. In November of 2020, they committed $6 million toward the endeavor, which leveraged $8.3 million in project funding from the SUNY Construction Fund. The University later received a $300,000 Fred L. Emerson Foundation grant to support design and construction of a new foundry.
In addition to the foundry, the Cohens’ gift supported two now completed projects: the installation of a campus-wide energy-efficient distributed boiler heating system and construction of a new facilities building on North Main Street in Alfred. “They saw the future this could create for Alfred University,” Zupan said.
Michele Cohen, who has served on the University’s Board of Trustees since 2001, is retired from Cohen and Steers Capital Management in New York City and currently serves as chair of the Board of Trustees at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. Alfred University awarded her an honorary degree in 2018. Martin Cohen, who co-founded Cohen and Steers in 1986, is the company’s chair. The Cohens’ son, Adam, earned a B.F.A. degree from Alfred University in 2003.
Michele Cohen, noting previous delays in the project, most notably caused by COVID-19, said that by the end of 2026, “we will have a foundry, a distributed boiler system, and facilities building — all state of the art.”
The foundry “will be a student-focused, collaborative space providing intersections between art and design and engineering,” she said. “Our dream of further collaboration (between the School of Art and Design and Inamori School of Engineering) is becoming a reality. This is what makes Alfred University ‘Outside of Ordinary.’ Marty and I thank you for letting us be involved with something so transformative.”
Michele Cohen (center), assisted by Bran Latham (right), an Alfred University graduate student in sculpture/dimensional studies, perform a ceremonial metal pour during Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremonies for the Cohen National Casting Center Foundry. Looking on is Coral Lambert, professor of sculpture in the Alfred University School of Art and Design.
“This truly is a momentous occasion,” said Coral Lambert, professor of sculpture and director of the National Casting Center. “This has been quite a long journey.”
Lambert, who is a past recipient of the International Sculpture Center Educator of the Year award, said the new foundry will reflect Alfred University’s core strengths of building intersections, fostering inclusivity, and promoting mentorship.
“The foundry arts are a vehicle for mentorship and demonstrate collaborative activity,” she said. “What will happen in that building will be a transformative experience for our students.”
In addition to housing metal and glass casting facilities, the Cohen National Casting Center Foundry will be home to an Advanced Digital Fabrication Lab and an Additive and Advanced Manufacturing Center. The student-focused collaborative space will provide melting facilities, classrooms, and other spaces for experiential learning opportunities. It will be utilized by the School of Art and Design’s Division of Sculpture/Dimensional Studies for its glass and metal casting programs, and by the Inamori School of Engineering for the materials science and mechanical engineering programs.
The facility—which creates the potential for new degree programs combining art and engineering, such as digital fabrication design and engineering—is expected to significantly benefit Alfred University’s student recruitment and retention efforts. It also further raises the profile of the New York State College of Ceramics, home to the School of Art and Design and Inamori School of Engineering, which this year is marking its 125th anniversary. Since the Cohens’ commitment to the foundry project, Alfred University has received additional support, largely for scholarships for engineering and art and design students and for educational and creative programming for the new foundry. This enhances the impact of the project by building a pipeline of prospective students interested in the intersections provided by Alfred University through its STEAM offerings.
“We celebrate the New York State College of Ceramics today,” said Gabrielle Gaustad ’04, dean of the Inamori School of Engineering and vice president of Statutory Affairs, noting the intersections the College has provided students and faculty throughout the years. Those intersections are reflected in the foundry, which will provide learning and experiential opportunities to art and engineering students alike. “Our students, faculty, staff, and alumni have built an incredible foundation in the New York State College of Ceramics: a 125-year foundation.”
Gaustad thanked members of the campus and Alfred communities and state leaders present at the event, for the support they’ve shown in making the project a reality. Sam Gross and Dominick Leonardi, representing the student Anvil Club, presented hand-crafted gifts — forged metal flames on pedestals — to Jim Ninos, Alfred village mayor; Mason Palude, representing New York State Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski, New York State Assembly District 148; Robert Haelen, general manager of the State University of New York (SUNY) Construction Fund; Ashley Smith, director of Economic Development for Allegany County; Fion MacCrea, Alfred town supervisor; and Jamie Babcock, associate vice president for Facilities Services at Alfred University.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday for the Cohen National Casting Center Foundry at Alfred University. Michele Cohen, Alfred University trustee (third from right) and her husband, Martin, provided a $6 million gift in support of the foundry project. Also shown in the photo are, from left: Jamie Babcock, associate vice president for Facilities Services; Gabrielle Gaustad ’04, dean of the Inamori School of Engineering and vice president for Statutory Affairs; Coral Lambert, professor of sculpture; Lauren Lake, dean of the School of Art and Design + Performing Arts Division; and Mark Zupan, Alfred University president.
Gaustad thanked Babcock for coming up with the idea to re-purpose the former central heating plant as home for the new foundry. The project required moving the university’s facilities services — it is now located in a new building on North Main Street — and installing a distributed boiler system to heat campus buildings.
“This adaptive reuse of the (central heating plant) building preserves the legacy of metal and glass casting” in the New York State College of Ceramics, Haelen commented, calling the new foundry “a signature building fitting of the caliber of students and faculty at Alfred University. When the project is complete, it will be four walls, but in those four walls, there will be a transformation of students.”
Michele Cohen—assisted by Lambert and students Bran Latcham (graduate student in sculpture/dimensional studies from Toronto, Canada) and Gina Colosimo (senior from Holland, NY, who will receive her B.F.A. degree at commencement Saturday, May 17)—performed a ceremonial metal pour, creating small figures of the former heating plant that will be home to the new foundry.
The Cohens’ previous philanthropy has endowed the deanship of the University’s School of Art and Design and Division of Performing Arts, established the Cohen Center for the Arts and Cohen Gallery, and launched APEX, our applied experiential learning program. This week, the Cohens announced a gift to endow the vice president for Student Experience position at Alfred University.
The Cohens made their $6 million commitment to the foundry/boiler project in honor of 1954 Alfred University graduate Marlin Miller (honorary degree recipient in 1989 and 2019), Michele Cohen’s colleague on the University’s Board of Trustees. Miller, Life Trustee and Board Chair Emeritus, is a noted businessman and philanthropist, and Alfred University’s most generous donor. “He taught us so much about the importance of philanthropy,” Michele Cohen said of Miller.
Projects funded by Miller’s gifts include the Miller Performing Arts Center, Miller Theater, Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, renovations of Tefft and Connors residence halls, and construction of the Link between Tefft and Moskowitz halls. His philanthropy also supports numerous student scholarships and endowed faculty/staff positions.