The Colorado School of Mines Cecil H. & Ida Green Graduate and Professional Center is representative of the blending of technology and humanity. The facility is designed as both a place for the study of science and technology, and a place for meetings, the arts, and social occasions.
Located in Golden in the serene setting of the Colorado School of Mines campus, the Center's facilities can accommodate programs in the Arts, as well as national and regional conventions, seminars and colloquia, lecture series, and a variety of receptions and banquets.
The Green Center is perhaps one of the most unique buildings on the CSM campus. Home to the Department of Geophysics and 7 general purpose classrooms, it also houses some 85,000 square feet of "public areas" comprised of two lecture halls, (Metals and Petroleum), a reception hall (Friedhoff), and a 1300 seat theater (Bunker Auditorium). Thus, the Green Center serves the CSM community as both an academic facility and a general purpose "community center."
Although the purpose of the academic areas of the Green Center is apparent, the role of the "public areas" is not. The following excerpt from the Green Center's dedication booklet gives some insight to role these areas would play:
The phrase "Professional Center" in the title of this new building indicates one important function that the planners envisioned. The building was designed to provide facilities for scientific, engineering, and cultural activities to supplement and complement the academic program of the School....
The academic areas are funded out of the school's general operating budget with each department responsible for their own office space and meeting rooms. The public areas are managed by the Office of Events which is operated as an auxiliary operation much as the Student Activities Office. This means that the operating funds for the Office of Events must generated and are not supported by allocation from the School's general operating budget. Additionally, no "per student" fee is assessed for its operation. Operating revenues come primarily from the rental of space by non CSM groups and various professional conferences and courses.