City upon a hill: Yale's shiny science citadel

At a press conference on Thurs., Jan. 20, Yale announced a $500 million plan to construct five new science buildings and to renovate existing ones over the next six to eight years. Two new science lecture halls will also be built at an unknown location on central campus. In addition to providing modern facilities for teaching and research, this effort seeks to improve the ineraction between different disciplines, thereby reasserting Yale's position as a leader in the sciences.

Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry William Summers feels that the construction is much-needed after years of delays during which Yale ironed out the details. "Science and engineering are heavily facility-oriented fields, and they are facilities that need to be constantly renewed," he said. "There's been a real problem for science space."

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The plan includes an Environmental Sciences Facility, already under construction with the help of money from Edward P. Bass, SY '68, ARC '72, who has helped Yale to fund an Institute for Biospheric Sciences over the past decade. The other Science Hill projects are buildings for biology, chemistry and forestry.

A building will also be constructed for engineering at the base of the Hill. It is funded in part by $24 million from John Malone, TD '63, chair of media holding company Liberty Media Corporation and a director of AT&T. "In an era when technology is clearly leading the way for American productivity and competitiveness, I am delighted to help Yale re-establish its leadership in this vital area," Malone said in a press release.

University President Richard Levin explained that the additional building is what pushed the price tag of the project from $400 million to $500 million. A third of the money is expected to come from donations, while the rest will be funded by a bond issue. Additional funds will be needed for employees and equipment to support the space.

Graduate School Dean Susan Hockfield says the plan provides facilities "where they are needed most" at a surprisingly rapid pace. She added that her graduate students are excited, even if they will not get to use the labs, because of the new facilities' impact on Yale's prestige and future hiring.

Making Science Hill a member of the club

Part of the plan involves building passageways to connect the various buildings, as well as a new dining hall and social space, to form what the press release calls a "vibrant social and intellectual center."

However, no specific details have been confirmed. "The exact nature of the social and dining space has not yet been determined," Levin said.

Summers thinks such additions could make Science Hill more a part of campus. "One of the opportunities as well as one of the problems is that this is a chance to change the culture of science at Yale," he said. "The separation sometimes felt between the sciences and the rest of the campus on the one hand might be accentuated by this. Or it may make the whole place better."

Although Summers said there was once talk of converting one of the labs to a residential college to tie Science Hill to campus more effectively, he thinks the perceived distance is purely psychological. Efforts such as the shuttle bus, which was added when the MB&B major appeared, helped to tie Yale's pieces together. "It's not really a barrier," he said. "We've learned to deal with it."

Summers sees the social space on Science Hill as "an opportunity to reach out to non-science colleagues," if, for example, space is made available for non-science-related club meetings and for arts performances.

Levin seems to have a similar vision. "We don't think dining and social facilities will increase the sense of separation; it will make Science Hill more of a real `place,'" he said. "We do plan to improve the links, by more attractive landscaping up the hill, and by having some science lecture halls closer to the center of campus." Geology and Geophysics Professor Mark Brandon added, "I think that it will add a human dimension to Science Hill."

Breakdown of discipline

The connections between buildings and social space are also intended to foster interdisciplinary work, something that Summers feels is already a Yale hallmark. "Yale has been pretty good at not building walls," he said. "If we can do more between disciplines, it will be fruitful." Despite distinct disciplinary buildings, the plan describes broader environmental and molecular campuses. "While the plan provides a geographic identity for each set of efforts, it doesn't discour-age communication between them," Hock-field explained.

Summers and Brandon both thought that, although only certain fields were targeted, all disciplines would benefit. "It lessens the sense of the zero-sum game," Summers said.

"Molecular biosciences is certainly a major breakthrough area right now, and desires the enhanced support and attention it is getting," Brandon said. "Engineering and environmental sciences are starting to get the attention that they desire. I see every indication that other areas, such as chemistry, physics, geologic sciences, astronomy, will continue to enjoy the strong support they have always had. So I sense that the tide is rising for all."

Good for the gander?

Attendees at the press conference included Governor John Rowland, Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro. Their presence reflected their hope that the initiative will inspire increased growth of technological industries around New Haven.

"We are currently working with the city and state on adding new space at Science Park," Levin said. "We will continue to be vigorous advocates and sometimes co-investors in the development of commercial space. But we have no interest in putting industrial companies on Science Hill."

While some feel that the lack of shared labs will hinder growth, Brandon does not think this will be the real problem. "Corporate synergism is difficult to plan for," he said. "Stanford was lucky to find itself in the middle of Silicon Valley. I contend that the biggest attraction for companies to move into the New Haven area would be to have more than one major university in the area. Silicon Valley has Stanford and Berkeley. Boston has MIT and Harvard, among others."

Come one, come all

The large-scale announcement is also an effort to encourage applications and donations. "We believe that the publicity in the New York Times and in other national media will have a very positive effect on student applications and faculty recruiting," Levin said. Meanwhile, Hockfield foresees a "substantial, positive" growth in graduate applications.

Brandon also predicts growth in donations. "The effort is genuine, but the publicity is important to maximize the impact of the effort. Yale's future depends critically on the continued support of numerous donors, so it is always important to broadcast a clear picture of our long-term plans and objective," he said.

But when it comes to applications, Summers doesn't think that getting would-be scientists to matriculate is an issue. "The problem is that once they get here, they jump ship," he said. "I think it really reflects the need to build more of a culture of science." He hopes that programs to encourage science majors once they're at Yale will accompany the buildings.

It's about time

Since everybody seems in favor of it, why was the plan two years in coming? "The long history is that Yale has not done much building in general in the last 30 years," Summers said. "It had to do with finally coming to consensus." Although he did not contribute directly to the plans, he feels confident that they are well thought-out. "The Ad-ministration is very supportive of this," Sum-mers added.

Brandon emphasized the need to continue bringing in the best talent."The president's announcement signals strong support for sciences at Yale," he said. "It is clear that the `bricks and mortar' will be in place. We also have to continue working on attracting the best talent available."

Summers, like everyone else involved, is excited about the opportunities that the new project will create: "I feel the announcement is a significant and very positive step in the right direction for all of Yale - not just the residents of the new buildings, or the `sciences,' or the graduate school - but the whole community."

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