MIT will name a new conference center in honor of Arthur Samberg '62 and Rebecca Samberg, who have made a generous gift to the Institute.
The Samberg Conference Center is part of a comprehensive renovation of the historic Morris and Sophie Chang Building, an Art Deco treasure located on Memorial Drive along the Charles River. The center encompasses the former MIT Faculty Club on the sixth floor and a 20,000-square-foot, glass-enclosed, rooftop addition.
The Chang Building is the original home of the MIT Sloan School of Management. In addition to the conference center, the newly renovated building will provide a fitting headquarters for MIT's preeminent Department of Economics and centralize MIT Sloan's student and administrative services in one place.
The center, which features panoramic views of the river and the Boston skyline, will help fulfill a significant need for larger gathering spaces on campus. It will be available to all members of the MIT community for meetings, events, and conferences.
“MIT is the ultimate meritocracy. I have a tremendous and personal appreciation for what this place can do,” said Art Samberg. “Becky and I are delighted to be active members of the MIT community and to support key priorities that help keep the Institute strong.”
“From their sustained support of the Samberg Scholars to their latest gift for the Samberg Conference Center, Art and Becky’s philanthropy embodies two fundamental truths about MIT: that we are a community of individuals continually refreshed by new talent from every background, and that we do some of our best work when we come together,” said MIT President L. Rafael Reif. “I am delighted that the Samberg Conference Center will give our community a beautiful new place to gather, engage with, and inspire one another — and to convene important conversations with peers and colleagues from around the world.”
During the past quarter century, Art Samberg has built a distinguished career in investment management. As the chairman, CEO, and managing director of Pequot Capital Management, he launched and led what was once the world's largest hedge fund. Prior to working in finance, Samberg was an aerospace engineer at Lockheed Martin, where he developed guidance and control technologies for missile systems. Samberg holds a bachelor's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT, a master's degree from Stanford University, and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
A life member of the MIT Corporation, Samberg has shared his considerable professional expertise with the Institute by chairing the MIT Investment Management Company Board for five years. He currently sits on the Corporation Executive Committee and the External Advisory Board of the MIT Energy Initiative, and is a current or past member of the visiting committees for the departments of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mathematics, and Nuclear Science and Engineering. The Sambergs have supported a number of areas at MIT, most notably undergraduate scholarships.
The Samberg Conference Center will be ready for use in early March.
