Pratt Institute
“I know we can do better than that”.
These words were said by a man who had been denied the opportunity to attend college, despite that he personally supported the working class of his time to obtain an education. In my opinion, and this it what makes the Pratt Institute an iconic place, Charles Pratt was the most humanistic philanthropist ever known. He was also one of the richest men in the history of Brooklyn. He endowed and founded the Pratt Institute in 1886. One of the things that made this man and his institution incredibly special was that it was one of the first colleges in the country open to all people regardless of color, class, and gender. Although he didn’t acquire such a high quality education himself, he was able to foresee how valuable such investment would be.
The first few educational programs offered by the Institute included engineering, architecture and fine arts. Pratt believed in the betterment of society through education and he always acted for the greater good of all, which makes him a unique individual. His generosity, his good intentions and hard-working nature made it possible for him and his Institute to become highly prestigious. Today, Pratt Institute offers undergraduate as well as Master’s degree programs in a variety of fields, but it’s most famous for the architecture, interior design and industrial design programs. Nowadays Princeton Review recognizes it as “one of the best colleges in the northeast, making it among the top 25% of all four-year colleges and universities in the United States.”
