The Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences at Dartmouth College

The death in 1979 of Nelson A. Rockefeller '30 prompted his family to consider a momument to his memory at Dartmouth College, to which Rockefeller, long a trustee, had contributed greatly. His son Rodman contacted then President John Kemeny, who proposed the creation of a multi-disciplinary center in the tradition of the College's Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts and Fairchild Science Center. Kemeny had in mind bringing together the social sciences, economics, government, psychology, the Public Affairs Center, and policy studies in order to create an interdisciplinary forum for the discussion of vital issues of public interest.

The Rockefeller family agreed that such a center would be a fitting memorial to a man whose own service as governor of New York and vice president of the United States was always informed by what he himself once described as "inquiry into ideas that move nations and the world ideas underlying the decisions that will determine the course of events affecting the lives of ongoing generations of Americans." Funding for a new building, for several new professorships, for the support of basic research in economics and government, and for the support of the multidisciplinary study of policy was generously seeded by members of the Rockefeller family under the leadership of Rodman and of Nelson's brothers Laurance and David. The Rockefellers made a commitment of $3,750,000 toward the Dartmouth trustees' minimum goal of $6,250,000. The Class of 1930, Rockefeller's own, was especially responsive to the College's appeal for the new center, which includes, as tribute to its efforts, a seminar room dedicated as the Class of 1930 room.

The building itself was designed by architect Lo Yi Chan '54 as a long-overdue extension of the existing Silsby Hall on the corner of North Main Street and Tuck Drive. Chan researched the history of Silsby Hall carefully before embarking on his own design. He discovered, he says, that Silsby was incomplete: "For nearly 50 years, Silsby Hall has sat facing North Main Street like an arm chair with one missing arm. Silsby's architect, Jens Fredrick Larsen, clearly intended Silsby to be completed as a symmetrical building fronting the street." Chan's design for the Rockefeller Center completed Silsby, and the center's North Main Street face is a replica of Georgian Silsby, complete with double-hung windows and false chimneys. Chan matched the red brick throughout, though the Rockefeller Hall extension along Tuck Drive displays more modern curves and angles, among them a handsome copper roof pediment. The pediment, whose function is to prevent winter avalanches on passers-by, is graced by a whimsical ornament of ironwork forged by Dimitris Gerakaris '69.

The new center was dedicated on September 24 at a ceremony that included speeches by Lady Bird Johnson, Rodman Rockefeller, and David McLaughlin. "You honor a productive and vibrant life in a way very much in character with the man," said the former first lady. "Nelson was a patriot to the core. He was born into a family where public obligation was legendary. He was a vital man, a bolt of energy, a bright comet across the sky. To be on his team was an exhilarating experience. He took ideas and persons and stretched them both."

Rodman Rockefeller declared, "The challenge of this center can be simply stated. Fill these physical spaces with intellectual excellence. Realize within these walls the excitement and stimulus of the life of Nelson A. Rockefeller." President McLaughlin spoke of "an essential dimension of this exciting project the interrelationship and reconciliation of issues on a cross-disciplinary basis to address the complicated challenges of our time.

The Rockefeller Center includes the new Rockefeller Hall, which extends south along Tuck Drive at right angles'to Silsby Hall.

The central room in the new Rockefeller Center is a skylighted atrium in warm browns, white, andrich reds. An oil painting 'of Nelson Rockefeller, given by his wife, graces the south wall.

The new Rockefeller Center includes the Classof 1930 Room, above right, designed to accom-modate a variety of academic events. Displaycases near its entrance house a fascinating collec-tion of 1930''s Dartmouth memorabilia. On itsback wall, above left (being studied by StephenRockefeller), gleams a handsome array of brassplaques metnorializing those Dartmouth alumni who have served as United States senators, representatives, and governors. As the photograph belowshows, the tiew building makes a striking addition to the nighttime campus. Architect Lo Yi Chan '54 has obviously met the challenge of designing amodern edifice to be attached to a 50-year-old neo-Georgian one. The D-shaped windows are quite intentional, confesses Chan.