The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration dedicated its new high technology wing last Friday in style and in rhyme.
The Whittemore Wing for Information Technology, located on the third floor of the Murdough building, has multiple uses as a computer lab, videoconferencing center, simulation space or small study space. It has been in use for six weeks.
Frederick Whittemore '53 and T '54, the major benefactor of the wing, said the addition "is a step into the future that starts out with a commitment to excellence" in his speech to about 100 people, which he delivered entirely in rhyme.
"With a little money, you can make a big impact. This puts Tuck students on the cutting edge," said Whittemore, the Advisory Director of Morgan Stanley and Company. "Tuck's always been small, and that is a plus."
Tuck School Dean Paul Danos introduced Whittemore at the dedication.
Danos told the audience he presented a plan to Whittemore and explained the benefits of the new technology.
"It took Fred about a nano-second to say yes," Danos said.
The new wing will "make the MBA curriculum come alive" and will help the school "stake out a leadership position," Danos said.
Danos said the new wing should help the Tuck School live up to its ideals.
"It brings us closer to our ideal learning community," he said.
Robert Hansen, Associate Dean of the Tuck School, said to the crowd that Wing was designed with the Tuck culture in mind.
"There are no individual study carrels. Everyone works together around round tables," he said.
Hansen teaches a first year course on Management Economics at Tuck.
"At one time in my class I had all 60 students on laptops. Using laptops in class allows the students to find out if they can do what the professor is talking about," he said.
The new technology makes other schools want to work with Tuck, Hansen said.
Danos said the wing would not fall victim to technological obsolescence.
"The Wing was designed with an open architecture that can be used forever," he said.
Steven Baker, architect for Cambridge Seven Associates, the designers of the wing, said "the built-in wiring allows us to add technology without disrupting the space."
The spatially flexible area has the capacity to seat 70 at one time in a classroom or lab environment and has 400 network ports, 95 computers and four videoconferencing sites, according to a Tuck press release.
"We incorporated the most advanced, reliable equipment. It was essential to find reliable technology and not the latest gadget," Baker told the audience.
Baker said that the wing was designed with "smart construction," eliciting chuckles from the crowd.
"Smart tables with implanted power and data ports plug into a smart floor," he said.
Students can gain network access by plugging their laptops into these smart tables, which are located in the large multi-purpose room and in the adjoining lounge area.
Tuck Second-Year Class President Gary Giles T '97 told the audience "to find a smart chair or smart table in a comfortable space means a lot when deadlines get tight."
"You also find smart students in those smart chairs," he added.
Tuck students said they appreciated the new study space.
Jen Geissel T '97 said the old wing was "a terrible Brady Bunch orange. It's a nice environment now. It's a great space and the first years use it a lot."
Giles said, "The difference between the avocado green couches and orange carpets and the new wing is like night and day."
Included in the ceremonies was a technology and business presentation in Cook Auditorium by Mary Meeker and Chris DePuy.
Meeker and DePuy, members of Morgan Stanley and Company's Global Technology Team, wrote a book titled "The Internet Report" and spoke about the Internet's impact on business.
