Wharton’s Dinan Hall restoration celebrated

Celebrating the restoration of the new Dinan Hall, friends and family gathered in the heart of the Wharton School on a warm spring afternoon for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting.

The renovated building is “one of the anchor locations for many of the key programs at the Wharton School,” providing services from admissions visits to career development, said President J. Larry Jameson. It is also home to Wharton’s Business Economics and Public Policy and Real Estate departments, as well as the McNulty Leadership Program, MBA Admissions, and Career Management, among other programs and centers.

The building received a substantial renovation thanks to a leadership gift by Penn Trustee Jamie Dinan, a Wharton School alumnus and member of the School’s Board of Advisors. An investor and philanthropist, he founded York Capital Management in 1991 and is currently chairman.

Dinan said that as an undergraduate finance and computer science major—then called “decision science”—he spent considerable time in the building, which then housed a computer spanning half the floor. “I actually lived in this building a lot writing code,” he said. He also took as many graduate MBA classes as he could during his junior and senior years. “Those memories, they stay with you,” he said.

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“Little did I know what a transformative, amazing four years laid ahead of me,” said Dinan, who entered Penn in 1977. “I not only learned about business and finance, but more importantly I gained the confidence in my judgment and abilities that was the foundation of my career and my life successes.”

Dinan was joined by friends and family, including his wife, Elizabeth Miller, and siblings, in-laws, children, and nieces, several of whom are counted among Penn’s alumni.

In acknowledging Dinan’s gift, Jameson said, “Jamie, on behalf of a grateful University, thank you for your leadership in advancing Penn’s highest priorities. You walk the walk of our values: Open-minded and curious, inventive and practical, and focused on enhancing social good. It’s right that this historic Penn building here in the heart of campus now bears your name.”

After the ceremonial ribbon-cutting, during which Dinan wielded the scissors, Wharton School Dean Erika H. James presented him with a watercolor image of the new building bearing his name.

“We are eternally grateful for the ways in which you have committed yourself and your generosity to the University of Pennsylvania and particularly the Wharton School,” James said. “You bring deep knowledge and fondness for this University to every conversation, every meeting, every exchange.”

Built in 1972, the 102,000-square-foot building was formerly known as Vance Hall, named after the late Wharton graduate and Trustee Henry T. Vance after his death. It runs along Spruce Street with the main entrance on the Tannenbaum Quad to the north. The renovations reshaped the building, with restored spaces; new designs, layouts, and lighting; wall and floor treatments; open workspaces, huddle rooms, and student lounges; and updated, state-of-the art technology.

Jameson noted the building was originally designed in the Brutalist style by the Philadelphia architectural firm Bower & Fradley, whose principals John Bower and Fred Fradley trained under leading architect and Penn faculty member Louis Kahn, also a Penn alumnus.

“As we come out of the COVID period, as we see AI beginning to become manifest, the Wharton faculty—with the insight from the boards—are thinking very hard about how to adapt to the current environment and the future, and we see that happening every day,” Jameson said.

The building, James said, stands as a versatile destination for Wharton students. “The Dinan name is a true pride point on campus today and forever in our University’s history.”