“As President Griswold predicted in 1962, Yale did indeed open many doors for me and gave me the opportunity to honor my parents, who supported and encouraged me at every stage of my life. Yale also gave me the opportunity to ‘give back’ and to recognize Yale for its role in shaping me into the man that I have become. In gratitude for all that my parents and Yale have done for me, I am proud to honor my parents and to celebrate Yale with the Berg Family Foyer.”

With the renovation, the impressive foyer of the L&B Room—formerly a utilitarian space housing a bibliographic press and related printing equipment—has been cleared and opened up to allow natural light to flood into the space. Newly named the Berg Family Foyer, it is lined with shelves filled with books about the history of Yale and of New Haven.

The colorful rug is woven with designs that mirror the decorative patterns that repeat along the room’s plaster ceilings. Four significant dates are woven into the design—1753 and 1768 (the founding years, respectively, of the Linonian Society and the Brothers of Unity, the two undergraduate literary and debate societies whose donated books formed the basis for original L&B collection), 1931 (the year of Sterling Memorial Library’s dedication), and 2024 (the year of the L&B renovation).

Meghan McMahon helped name one of the alcoves flanking the great room in memory of her husband, David Swensen, ’80 Ph.D., HON ’14 .

Swensen had been Yale University’s chief investment officer from 1985 until his death in 2021. Acclaimed internationally for his financial acumen, Swensen also taught at Yale College and Yale School of Management. He was a fellow of Berkeley College and an incorporator of the Elizabethan Club of Yale University.

Each of the six alcoves in the L&B Room is framed with an arched entryway, with long leaded-glass windows admitting natural light. Each private nook is lined with bookshelves of contemporary works of fiction and nonfiction. All are outfitted with lamps, carpets, work surfaces, and comfortable chairs for reading.

Five of the room’s six alcoves display plaques with the names of the donors. The sixth alcove is yet to be named.

A large plaque mounted in the Berg Family Foyer recognizes the alumni and friends who generously contributed to the renovation of the L&B Room: Anonymous; Mordechai M. Beizer ’78; J. Frederick Berg Jr. ’66; Margot Tweedy Egan ’77; Friends of David Swensen ’80 Ph.D., HON ’14; Anne B. Green; Evan H. LePatner ’03 and Wesley Mittman LePatner ’03; John R. Raben Jr. ’67; Robert M. Rosa ’66, ’70 M.D.; Cornelia Cogswell Rossi Foundation; Stephen A. Stack Jr. ’67; Laurie A. Warren; and Lisa Evanson Washburn ’89.