![\"Cooper](\"https:\/\/www.arch.tamu.edu\/app\/uploads\/2025\/01\/cooper-scholars-1-1024x819.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nInspired scholarship<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\nRecognizing his lasting impact on Texas Target Communities, a nationally recognized initiative at Texas A&M focused on providing technical assistance to rural counties and small cities across Texas, colleagues of former director Cooper established a scholarship in his honor. The program, housed within the Texas A&M University College of Architecture, partners with local governments and stakeholders to build sustainable, equitable and resilient communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen he joined in 2012 to revitalize the program, he was the visionary behind a new approach to partnering with communities,\u201d said Jaimie Masterson, current director of TxTC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cooper says that while the scholarship has his name on it, it is really a \u201creflection of the inspiration and a manifestation of the encouragement I received from my parents and grandparents, mentors, community elders and ancestors.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese students were impressive both on paper and in person,\u201d Cooper said of the first cohort of recipients. \u201cI\u2019m proud they\u2019ll represent this scholarship.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cooper Scholar Lopez, a Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning student, said she\u2019s excited to continue to learn and grow in her education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe upcoming generation, my generation, is the future,\u201d said Lopez. \u201cThe cities we plan to develop and design are fundamentally based on the people they serve.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cooper\u2019s legacy<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\nOrganizers say the scholarship was created to recognize and support the next\u00a0generation of leaders in city planning and community development.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cooper has a strong commitment to education which he said is deeply rooted in his family’s legacy of valuing learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He is a two-time A&M graduate with degrees in economics\/finance and urban planning, and a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He joined the faculty in 2012, became director of Texas Target Communities in 2013 and moved up to be assistant vice president at Texas A&M in the former Office of Public Partnership and Outreach. He currently serves as a professor of the practice in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning in the College of Architecture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coming from a long line of educators and scholars, he said he often reflects on the influence of his great-uncle Maurice Smith, who dreamed of becoming a veterinarian from a young age. When Smith\u2019s mother, Margarette Dangerfield-Smith, wrote to Texas A&M’s veterinary school, they were turned away because the university did not admit African American students at the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1988, when Cooper was admitted into Texas A&M as an undergraduate student, he said his uncle was very proud. Years later, Smith was one of the first people Cooper called when he accepted a job as professor of the practice at Texas A&M. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUncle Maurice was one of my biggest supporters with regard to my pursuit of an education,\u201d said Cooper. \u201cHe was a role model for me; an intellectual, a gentleman and a man of style. When you see me in a suit and tie or wearing a fedora like the logo of the Cooper Scholarship, just know I\u2019m imitating my Uncle Maurice.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cooper said he hopes the scholarship will continue to grow and create a network of students that will serve as a legacy at Texas A&M. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Organizers say the scholarship was created to recognize and support the next\u00a0generation of leaders in city planning and community development.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cooper has a strong commitment to education which he said is deeply rooted in his family’s legacy of valuing learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He is a two-time A&M graduate with degrees in economics\/finance and urban planning, and a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He joined the faculty in 2012, became director of Texas Target Communities in 2013 and moved up to be assistant vice president at Texas A&M in the former Office of Public Partnership and Outreach. He currently serves as a professor of the practice in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning in the College of Architecture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coming from a long line of educators and scholars, he said he often reflects on the influence of his great-uncle Maurice Smith, who dreamed of becoming a veterinarian from a young age. When Smith\u2019s mother, Margarette Dangerfield-Smith, wrote to Texas A&M’s veterinary school, they were turned away because the university did not admit African American students at the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1988, when Cooper was admitted into Texas A&M as an undergraduate student, he said his uncle was very proud. Years later, Smith was one of the first people Cooper called when he accepted a job as professor of the practice at Texas A&M. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUncle Maurice was one of my biggest supporters with regard to my pursuit of an education,\u201d said Cooper. \u201cHe was a role model for me; an intellectual, a gentleman and a man of style. When you see me in a suit and tie or wearing a fedora like the logo of the Cooper Scholarship, just know I\u2019m imitating my Uncle Maurice.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cooper said he hopes the scholarship will continue to grow and create a network of students that will serve as a legacy at Texas A&M. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Cooper](\"https:\/\/www.arch.tamu.edu\/app\/uploads\/2025\/01\/BOMI4468-edited-1024x683.jpg\")
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