Breaking New Ground
Nearly 500 members of the CMU community gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking for the David A. Tepper Quadrangle, marking a new chapter in the university's history.
"Of the many projects announced in recent years, the Tepper Quad stands out. It's not just about building a building. It's about building a new part of the campus in a new direction, both physically and metaphorically," said CMU President Subra Suresh. "The Tepper Quad will embody a distinctive academic vision of Carnegie Mellon … different disciplines coming together in new and unique ways."
Alumnus and investor David Tepper (TPR 1982), whose charitable foundation provided a lead gift of $67 million, said that the project is about the next generation of education.
"That vision of education on the college and graduate school level is to bring all the schools together and have them interact," Tepper said. "This is Carnegie Mellon not just talking the talk — we're going to walk the walk."
The Tepper Quad's first major building will have 305,000 square feet housing the Tepper School of Business; the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship; technology-enhanced learning initiatives, including The Simon Initiative; state-of-the-art classrooms; and a new university welcome center.
The facility also will offer many quality-of-life enhancements for the campus community, including meeting and collaboration spaces, a 600-seat auditorium, fitness center and dining facilities.
Kera Bartlett, a second-year MBA student and president of the Graduate Business Association, also spoke during the event. She said that as prospective students look at the future of the Tepper School of Business, this innovative model of collaborative, interdisciplinary education is compelling.
"We're sharing our excitement," she said. "We're sharing our passion about this long-term opportunity for the university as well as the immediate benefits that they will experience. It's such an incredible step forward."
The national financial network CNBC set up an anchor desk on campus and aired live interviews and taped segments from CMU throughout the day, including clips of the groundbreaking event. Interviews featured Tepper and CMU Board of Trustees Chairman James Rohr on "Squawk Box." Tepper School of Business Dean Robert Dammon appeared on "Power Lunch." Ray Lane, President Suresh and School of Computer Science Dean Andrew Moore appeared on "Closing Bell."
And CMU robots "HERB" and "CoBot" also made appearances with anchor Kelly Evans.
Related CNBC Videos:
- Tepper Quadrangle 'not just a business school': David Tepper
- Lessons from Pittsburgh: James Rohr
- Tepper Quadrangle preps MBA students for 21st Century: Robert Dammon
- Transportation will become safer: Ray Lane
- The Spark: Carnegie Mellon and robotic reptiles!
- The Spark: This isn't just any, old drone...
Related:
