In a rare combination of advanced technology and sophisticated hospitality, the university's new AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center shines as a residential learning environment. Bringing to life the university's academic mission to drive economic and social progress in Texas, the nation and the world, this new meeting facility has spurred an awakening of opportunities that further the mission within every school and college.
The AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, which opened in August, provides multiple functionalities and advanced technological features capable of fulfilling the most complex educational and conferencing needs.
Meeting spaces range from an amphitheatre with multimedia capabilities to an expansive ballroom to an array of tiered classrooms and rooms for small group interaction.
As the official communications partner, AT&T brings an unprecedented ability to "plug in" to technology throughout the facility, from guest rooms to lobbies to meeting spaces. This superior connectivity includes wiring all seven tiered classrooms with personal data ports and power connections for each seat, a feature unavailable at any academic-based site of its type in the nation.
In the tiered classrooms and amphitheatre, conference managers can easily create streaming video and audio, providing it from multiple rooms at the same time and taking advantage of the convenient staging and cabling already in place. Multiple presentation screens and cameras in all the tiered classrooms allow for more professional presentations, moving easily from presentation slides to video clips.
The presenter control panels offer simplified options, and the center's information technology and audio-visual staff use video monitoring of classrooms to aid continuous technical support.
"Across this campus, every school and college is recognizing the advantages of this state-of-the-art learning facility," said Pat Clubb, vice president for employee and campus services. "Now, we have a home for intellectual exchange that not only matches but raises the bar for the settings provided at our peer institutions."
Sophisticated hospitality delivered with platinum service standards enhances the conference or business/leisure travel experience. Dining pleasures include an upscale restaurant, a casual café, a coffee/wine/light fare bar and a lounge with video entertainment. Guests also enjoy the use of a business center, attached underground garage, fitness center and pool.
From the concrete that formed its structure to the soap at the wash basin, this facility has been constructed with an environmental sensibility. The conference center is built to the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification standards. Many sustainable features have been implemented into the design and construction, accommodations, dining and facility maintenance.
The only meeting center in downtown Austin fully approved by the International Association of Conference Centers, the facility is at the south gateway to the campus, at University Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard. The center offers a serene central courtyard and inspiring views of the Tower and the Texas State Capitol.
Convening and sleeping in the shadows of these two great symbols, conferees can feel the extension of promise and power in the university's slogan, "What starts here, changes the world."
"Opening the doors of a new conference center brings a whole new opportunity for anyone who visits there to experience the university in new ways," Clubb said. "We are showing the value of the university to the people of Texas."
To learn more about the center's features, visit www.meetattexas.com.
