MIT's Stata Center

Last week, I toured MIT's new Computer Science building, the Stata Center. It is a building by Frank Gehry and has become the most photographed building on the MIT campus. Before that, it quickly rose to fame for its large cost overruns - $300 million was spent on construction, instead of the planned $120 million.



Aside from the architecture, what left an impression was the fact that almost every part of the building had been named seperately. The Stata Center has two towers - the Gates and the Dreyfoos -, and even the cafe has been named after the Forbes Family. These naming grants covered a large part of the construction cost.

On the other side of the pond, universities in Europe rarely have buildings with naming grants. There seems to be a concensus that this practice is a sell-out to egocentric interests, and all buildings should be financed by the state.

I disagree.

When European universities erect new buildings, they are financed through taxes - the costs are a burden shared by all. Why not have rich people - of which there are plenty - give money? It would take a burden off the public's shoulders, and leaving more money on the table for doing excellent research.