A formal dedication of Yale’s new Maurice R. Greenberg Conference Center, a state-of-the-art facility supporting the University’s burgeoning agenda of international programs, took place on Sept. 21.
Among the celebrants and speakers at the day’s event were President Richard C. Levin, Vice President and University Secretary Linda Koch Lorimer and Maurice (“Hank”) Greenberg, whose philanthropy and vision made the new center possible. Among the guests was the building’s designer Robert A.M. Stern, dean of Yale School of Architecture.
The new center will serve as a meeting place where established and emerging leaders in government, education and industry throughout the world can deliberate on matters of global importance. The center has already hosted events for the Yale World Fellows and programs for India’s parliamentary leaders and global health representatives from five countries.
Greenberg is the chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of C.V. Starr and Company. He retired as chair and CEO of American International Group Inc. (AIG) in 2005 after a 40-year tenure at that company. In addition
to contributing to the conception and construction of the Greenberg Conference Center, he is the lead benefactor
of the Greenberg Yale-China Initiative. This endowed program brings emerging leaders from China and other countries to Yale through the World Fellows Program and funds opportunities for Yale students to study in China and for Chinese students to study at Yale. In recognition of his generosity to Yale, the University has named Greenberg a Sterling Fellow.
Among the highlights of the building’s design are a sloping amphitheater with interpretation booths, classrooms, seminar rooms and a kitchen. An upper-level of the lobby can function as a reception space for as many as 90 guests, and a wood-paneled dining room with vaulted ceilings, recalling the character of Yale’s residential colleges, can serve equally for large or small gatherings.
A glass-paneled walkway links the Greenberg Conference Center to the nearby Betts House, headquarters of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, the Yale World Fellows Program and the Office of International Affairs.
Like all new construction on campus, the Greenberg Conference Center was designed to meet the standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. Yale has applied for a gold-level LEED rating.
The dedication day program included two panel discussions. One featured students talking about the Yale and China exchange programs. The other, on “China and the World,” featured a panel of leaders from industry and education as well as a former U.S. ambassador to China and was moderated by Levin. The last event before the formal dedication was an interview by television host Charlie Rose with Greenberg about his longtime relations with China.