Nutt Mathematics, Engineering and Computer Science Center
The Roy Nutt Mathematics, Engineering and Computer Science Center, commonly referred to as MECC (and previously as MCEC), sits perpendicular to the Life Sciences Center and houses the departments of math, engineering, and computer science. The building also contains the Aetna Quantitative Center, classrooms, and laboratories.
A major initiative of the 1986-1989 $50 million Campaign for Trinity, the MECC was completed in spring 1991 as part of a goal to provide modern facilities for and an increase in the number of math and science majors at Trinity. César Pelli and his architectural firm designed the building, emulating the architectural styles and materials found on the Long Walk with sandstone and brick. The interior was purportedly intended to be simple and straightforward in its layout, with various spaces branching off a corridor that runs the length of the building.
At the time it opened in 1991, the building was known simply as the Mathematics, Computing, and Engineering Center (MCEC). The ground floor computers were originally part of the computing center and available for general use. They were used extensively by students to write papers. The computer science department had its own separate lab on an upper floor. The computer science department moved downstairs after the computing center was merged with the library and moved to the expanded Library and Information Technology Center (LITC) building in 2002.
Though it was originally dedicated in part to Roy Nutt '53, the MECC was officially rededicated on May 18, 2012 to him. Nutt had majored in mathematics and worked with computers closely during his career. Nutt and his wife Ruth both served as Trinity Trustees, and Roy was a 1988 recipient of Trinity’s Eigenbrodt Cup, the highest award to be presented to an alum. In the 1980s, Roy Nutt provided a leadership gift that propelled the MCEC building project forward, and his wife Ruth worked during the 1990s to support the expansion and renovation of the Raether Library and Information Technology Center, which allowed the information technology staff to move into the library. Some of the other donors included the Aetna Foundation, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, The Travelers Companies Foundation, the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, The United Technologies Corporation, and The Hartford Courant Foundation.
Sources
Trinity Reporter, Fall 2012.
Academic building rededicated Roy Nutt Mathematics, Engineering & Computer Science Center: Trinity Reporter, Fall 2012.
Trinity Reporter, Spring 1991.