Hochstetter Hall

The 1970 campus plan called for the construction of 20 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.  Their extensive teaching and research facilities include small classrooms and large lecture halls, as well as laboratories and faculty research offices.

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; ; at the time it was the largest single gift the university had received. He was President of Cliff Petroleum Co. and director of Manufacturers and Traders Trust Co. A bachelor, he had planned to leave his estate to the University of Rochester, when Chancellor Furnas persuaded him to do otherwise. Hochstetter ended up splitting his bequest equally between the two institutions, with the monies to be used for research fellowships for the advancement of medical science. The UB fund benefits the medical school.