Cooke-Hochstetter Complex

The 1970 campus plan called for the construction of 24 identical, linked towers to house the health sciences on the new North Campus. After the decision to keep the health sciences at the original South Campus, only these two were built. Cooke and Hochstetter Halls primarily house the School of Pharmacy and the Biology Department. Their extensive teaching and research facilities include small classrooms and large lecture halls, as well as laboratories and faculty research offices.

Walter P. Cooke (1869-1931) was a Buffalo attorney active in university life. He was chair of the University Council from 1920 to 1931 and received the Chancellor's Medal in 1926. Cooke recognized the university as the community's most potentially important institution. An expert fundraiser, Cooke organized two endowment drives in the 1920's, earning millions of dollars from subscribers. Director of Depew Lake Em. Water Company, Western N.Y. Water Company, People's Bank of Buffalo, Buffalo General Electric Company, Buffalo Abstract and Title Company, Buffalo and Susquehanna Railway Company, and Frontier Telephone Company.

Ralph Hochstetter (1870-1955), a Buffalo native, was a successful banker and oil man. Among his many philanthropic activities was a large bequest to the university for medical sciences research fellowships.