The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at the Cooper Union in New York announced this week that architect Michael Young, a faculty member at the school for the past two decades, will serve as its next dean. The appointment brings to an end a series of prolonged searches to fill the role that has lasted over three years and witnessed the installation of new Cooper Union president Steven W. McLaughlin in July of this year. Professor Benjamin Aranda is currently serving as acting dean.

Young, whose appointment begins April 1, 2026, will be only the fourth architecture dean at Cooper Union, following John Hejduk, Anthony Vidler, and NADAAA principal Nader Tehrani, who stepped down in 2022 following a seven-year tenure.

Young is currently associate professor and coordinator of graduate studies for the school of architecture. His New York–based firm, Young & Ayata, which he leads with Kutan Ayata, has completed acclaimed work around the globe, receiving awards including RECORD’s Design Vanguard (2016), a Progressive Architecture Award, AIANY Honor Award, the Rome Prize (2019–2020),and, most recently, the Architecture Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. He has served as a visiting professor at Yale and the University of California, Berkeley, and authored numerous books.

“He is a dedicated teacher, inspiring architect, and distinguished academic, whose new role as dean formalizes the longstanding leadership he commands here among both students and faculty,” said Aranda of Young in a statement. “I have the highest ambitions for our future together and can think of no one better to steward this precious institution forward.”