Spotlight

June 22, 2000

Brooklyn College Library Cafe Named in Honor of Dell Executive

Alice Newcomb-Doyle (718) 951-5882

     Brooklyn, NY-Live classical music, helium balloons and chilled champagne set the tone earlier this month at Brooklyn College as a state-of-the-art computer site officially became the Morton and Angela Topfer Library Cafe.

     Christoph M. Kimmich, president of Brooklyn College, and Herbert E. Berman of the New York City Council, along with other elected officials, faculty, administrators, and students gathered to celebrate and thank the donors for their $1 million gift to the College, which helps support and maintain the facility. The event was webcast, enabling friends and members of the Topfer family in Texas to watch the festivities.

     "Thanks to Morton and Angela's magnanimous gift, and the generous funding from Councilman Herb Berman, the College has created a wonderful facility that serves as an inviting haven to our hardworking students," said President Kimmich.

     Morton Topfer, who graduated from Brooklyn College in 1959, became vice-chairman of Dell Computer Corporation in 1994 and is now counselor to the chief executive officer of the company. Several newspaper and magazine articles have been written commending his successful work ethic and entrepreneurial talent.

     "During a visit to the campus last year, I became intrigued with the Library Cafe and its many possibilities," said Mr. Topfer. "I am delighted that I can help make possible such an exciting technological resource for Brooklyn College students."

     The sleek electronic study center was initially funded with a $1.6 million capital grant from the Brooklyn delegation of the New York City Council, led by Herbert E. Berman, who chairs the Council's Finance Committee.

     "The New York City Council was proud to fund this cutting-edge facility for students," said Councilman Berman. "But now we have even more reason to feel good about the project and the synergy between public dollars and their power to inspire private funding."

     Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, students have access to 50 high-speed, networked computers and all the amenities that go with them, including e-mail. Also, a large selection of software packages that complement course work in many areas of study is available to students. The cafe features power plug-ins, network connections for laptops, and four group-study rooms.

     The cafe has support staff available during the day and evening. A snack bar serving beverages, sandwiches, and biscotti is located in thecafe.

     The Morton and Angela Topfer Library Cafe, an elegant combination of warm woods, brushed metals, transparent wiring tubes, and halogen lighting, was designed by the architectural firm of Thanhauser & Esterson.

LIGHT MOMENT
President Christoph M. Kimmich; Morton Topfer, '59; Bernard H. Garil, '62, a member of the Brooklyn College Foundation Board of Trustees; and Angela Topfer share a chuckle following the dedication of the Topfer Library Cafe on June 2.

     Brooklyn College, founded in 1930 and located on a twenty-six acre tree-lined campus in Flatbush, is one of the eleven senior colleges of the City University of New York. It enrolls 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students who are representative of the diverse population of Brooklyn and New York City. The school is nationally known for its core curriculum, which has been hailed as one of the "bright spots" in American higher education. www.brooklyn.cuny.edu


MAIN

Brooklyn College Web Site
Copyright © 1999, 1998 Brooklyn College.
All Rights Reserved.