While Most Science Professors Support Design, Some Question CU's Commitment to Sciences

For Columbia's science departments, a dream decades in the making is finally on its way to being realized.

Last month, University President Lee Bollinger announced the selection of Spanish architect Rafael Moneo to design a new science building above Dodge Gymnasium on the northwest corner of campus. Plans for a building in this spot have been under serious discussion since the administration of former University President George Rupp, who served from 1993 to 2002.

But even though the University has taken the concrete step of hiring an architect, some science faculty members continue to question the administration's commitment both to the specific project and to improving the physical conditions of the science departments in general.

"This frustration intensified in the last three years because of the always-imminent promise of the new building, coupled with feelings that, well, if we're going to spend all of our money on the new building, there's not going to money for renovating existing buildings," said astronomy department chair David Helfand. "Furthermore, the new building kept receding into the future, so nothing [was] happening on either front."

John Morgan, chair of the mathematics department, added that recent steps forward with the northwest corner building have not assuaged some people's concerns, especially since many facilities in the existing buildings are in need of renovation.

The building "is still five years down the road, so that's still unfortunate, frustrating, and somewhat discouraging, but that's reality," Morgan said. "I think people didn't 100-percent think it was going to happen until this fall."

Bollinger has said repeatedly that improving the physical conditions for the sciences is one of his top priorities, and many faculty members reiterated his assertion that the science departments cannot compete with those at other major universities because of their lack of space. In particular, the shortage of lab and office space, compared with that of schools like Stanford and the California Institute of Technology, is often cited as one of the major challenges to producing quality research and hiring new faculty members.

"I don't think there's anything we could do for the sciences right now more than improving the quantity and quality of physical space," said Ann McDermott, professor of biological sciences, chemical engineering, and chemistry.

Executive Vice President for Research David Hirsh and McDermott, both of whom have been extensively involved in committees to assess the needs of the sciences, stressed that the new building is intended for facilities that will involve collaboration between the science departments. Instead of a traditional layout where each department has its own floor, departments that would benefit from collaborative research will be grouped together, sharing classroom and lab space.
Additionally, all science libraries will be moved to the northwest corner building, thus opening up space in existing overcrowded buildings.

"There is this mantra that's being sung by almost every campus about interdisciplinary research, and I think one has to be a little bit careful," Hirsh said. But, he added, "I do think people of different scientific disciplines next to each other leads to fresh ideas."

With this in mind, Hirsh and McDermott praised the resourcefulness and innovation of the recently hired architect, saying that Moneo had been receptive to their ideas for the new building.
During a visit to campus early this month, Moneo acknowledged the engineering difficulties in this site but said that such challenges added to a sense of accomplishment in creating an appropriate design.

"Challenges have as [their] counterpart the reward of achievement," Moneo said. "The campus will benefit from contact with the northwest part that seems to be so segregated now."

Helfand and Morgan acknowledged that the appointment of an architect is a major step forward toward completion of the building but added that there has been lingering dissatisfaction about the project's timeline. Last December, Senior Executive Vice President Robert Kasdin said that an architect would be named "within weeks," but Moneo's hiring was not announced until nine months later.

"There is an architect that's being paid to design this building now, [and] usually you don't do that unless you plan to move forward," Helfand said. "The issue of the disposition of all the remaining space ... and the commitment of funds for renovating that, I think is still very unclear to us and is a matter of concern, because the majority of the science departments are not going to see any space in that new building."

Helfand described a decades-long process of "going up a hill and rolling back down." According to him, the chemistry department first commissioned an engineering survey of this site about 20 years ago.

In addition, about five years ago, former Provost Jonathan Cole and former Vice President for Arts and Sciences David Cohen oversaw a committee that issued a report on the conditions of the science departments. Morgan said that, at the time, some within the sciences saw the report as a sign of concrete action. When this action was not forthcoming, it increased the already significant discontent among faculty members.

"The report had some huge dollar figure associated with it, [about] $750 million, so nobody thought the president was going to turn over $750 million the next day," Morgan said. "On the other hand, it clearly did build expectations ... This looked like motion that this might be something possible."

He added that Moneo's appointment "seems like a very healthy step in the right direction."
Moneo pointed out that architectural delays are common, and both Bollinger and Hirsh said that the administrative issues were unavoidable.

"There were moments when people thought this wasn't going to happen, but I never felt like that," Hirsh said. "Lee Bollinger was committed to this, Alan Brinkley was committed to this, and here we are."

He added that, although many of the research questions are focused on graduate students, undergraduate schools will also benefit from attracting more students interested in the sciences.
"All the smart freshmen who show up here now will have wonderful advantages they didn't have before," he said. "This is our chance to bolster the opportunities for these kids."