The University's biggest lecture hall, host to such bright lights as Barack Obama and Martin Scorsese and home to a strange smiling sun, finally has a name.
Over the summer, an alum's donation led the University to rename the room in his honor, transforming the plain-sounding Salomon 101 into the De Ciccio Family Auditorium.
Despite the official change, which registered in listings on Banner and Mocha, few members of the community seem to have noticed.
"I feel like they didn't really tell people," said Neil Parikh '11. (There was, in fact, a small ceremony held in June when students were away.)
"(Salomon 101) is a tradition - it's what people know it as," said Daniela Rodriguez DaSilva '10, when told about the change. The new name, she suggested, "could be subtitled."
At the beginning of shopping period, some students who saw "Salomon DECI" appear on their schedules weren't sure where their classes were supposed to meet, said Mary Martino, assistant to the registrar. "There was some confusion as to whether or not it was Salomon 101," she said. "I think people have got it now though."
"We sacrifice a little bit of clarity and ease of finding a classroom," said Marcello Sachs '10. "On the other hand, it's a small sacrifice to make for extra money to the school."
Kevin Chen '11 said he did not think the change was particularly confusing. "Don't they have the name on top right there?" he asked.
Donald Richard De Ciccio '55, the donor, said in an interview that he chose the naming of Salomon 101 from among other opportunities. "Several projects were presented to me and I liked that particular auditorium - its location and venue, everything about it," he said. De Ciccio, a botany concentrator, also remembered that he "used to take a lot of classes in that building."
The Salomon Center for Teaching, built in 1862, was originally known as the Chemical Laboratory. It was renamed Rogers Hall in 1900, and was renamed again for former University Chancellor Richard Salomon '32 in 1989. While the room is still numbered 101, gold lettering with the auditorium's new name has been added above the doors on both sides.
De Ciccio called his years spent at Brown as "excellent," and said that when he graduated he signed a pact with his friends to meet up at the Brown-Harvard football game every year. "And we've been doing that," he said, adding that he has missed two games or so in the last 53 years. De Ciccio said he wanted to donate to Brown because of the scholarships and opportunities provided by the University.
"It's time for me to give back and show my appreciation for Brown having confidence in me, and providing the education it did, and the wonderful friendships I made," he said.
