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Kemeny Hall and the
Haldeman Center are already buzzing with activity, though the spaces will
not be formally dedicated until November 3 and 4, respectively. Home to the mathematics department and the
interdisciplinary centers—the John
Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, the Ethics Institute, and
the Fannie and Alan Leslie
Center for the Humanities—the new buildings offer technically outfitted
classrooms, conference areas, offices for full-time and visiting faculty, and
spaces dedicated to student collaboration.
Graduate student in mathematics John Bourke (left) works on a problem with Emma
Nairn '10 in Kemeny Hall. The new building includes public spaces with
blackboards and chairs to encourage spontaneous discourse.
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From left: Amita Kulkarni '10, Aine Donovan, and Ronald Green share a
discussion in the Haldeman Center. (Photos by Laurel Stavis)
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Professor and Chair of Mathematics Thomas R. Shemanske says Kemeny
offers a range of innovative teaching and learning features. "The
classrooms have been designed to accommodate simultaneous viewing of the
blackboard and projection screens, which is critical in teaching
mathematics."
The design of Kemeny Hall, Shemanske adds, "facilitates a great deal of
out-of-classroom learning." Its corridors are punctuated by ad hoc study
areas, complete with overstuffed chairs and blackboards—spaces where
mathematical conversations can happen spontaneously and informally.
Kenneth
Yalowitz, director of the Dickey Center, explains that Haldeman provides
space for activities and programming that wasn't available before. "Having
the centers together under one roof allows us to work even more on an
interdisciplinary basis," he says. Yalowitz adds that in housing the three
centers, Haldeman provides a physical place on campus that facilitates the work
of the Dartmouth Centers Forum, a collaborative group of eight centers on
campus.
Like all of the centers housed in Haldeman, the Ethics Institute was
previously located in a much smaller space. Each now has large conference
rooms, libraries, faculty offices, offices for visiting professors, and spaces
for students.
Aine Donovan, executive director of the Ethics Institute and adjunct
associate professor of business administration at the Tuck School of Business,
says, "To be able to offer this state-of-the-art, welcoming space to
faculty and students—it's priceless."
"It changes the dynamics," says Samuel Levey,
associate professor of philosophy and a member of
the Leslie Center Advisory Committee. The integrated suites of offices, common
areas, and conference spaces create what Levey calls "a true community
research environment."
By STEVEN J. SMITH
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