University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

New chairs fill the second-floor atrium of the newly opened Kapoor Hall. Faculty and staff from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have begun moving in. Photo: NANCY J. PARISI

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  Dean Wayne Anderson stands in his new office in Kapoor Hall with the silver shovel he used during the ceremonial groundbreaking for Kapoor Hall held in September 2009. Photo: NANCY J. PARISI

By LAUREN NEWKIRK MAYNARD

Published: May 10, 2012

Cushy, upholstered chairs in bold colors line the ground-floor hallway of John and Editha Kapoor Hall, the new South Campus home of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences located just behind Parker Hall along Winspear Avenue. Construction workers buzz about, trailing power-tool cables. Linda Stanton, an administrative assistant in the school’s Office of External Affairs, pushes a wheeled cart full of flattened moving boxes through the maze of people and equipment.

UB Pharmacy’s move, which began on May 1 and continues until late June, marks the first time in nearly 40 years that an entire school has relocated from one UB campus to another.

Although the four-year, $64 million renovation of the former Acheson Hall chemistry building has been in the works for 11 years and is going according to schedule, there isn’t exactly an instruction manual for moving 600 scientists, staff members and students, and all of their stuff.

Last week, the school’s administrative offices and support staff, as well as the pharmacy practice department and four laboratories, began moving out of Cooke and Hochstetter halls and into the bright, window-filled Kapoor Hall. In many ways, it’s like moving a mini-medical school, says Rebecca Brierley, the school’s assistant dean for external affairs. She, along with Candise Morris, assistant dean for resource management, and Michele Bewley, project manager for the move, must solve the logistical puzzle of relocating the school by the time students begin classes in the fall.

“It’s hectic, but so exciting to be here, to have our own front door for the first time,” Brierley says, thanking UB Facilities and the Office of Academic Planning and Budget for their assistance with the project.

On the second floor, Dean Wayne Anderson stands in shirt sleeves inside what he jokingly calls “the cage,” his future corner office. He’s currently working out of two temporary spaces elsewhere in the building and on the North Campus. The room features wall-to-wall windows and is completely empty, except for a silver shovel that Anderson used to help break ground on Kapoor back in 2009. He picks it up and notices the mover’s tape is still on it, labeled with its intended destination. “It’s always good to have a shovel around, for a variety of purposes,” he quips.

The dean’s suite is on the second floor, right off the stairs from the main entrance, as is the admissions office, where families and prospective students will first glimpse the building’s ultra-modern interior.

The upholstered chairs are being distributed around the building’s many open atrium spaces—soon to become study and social areas—that join lounges and computer labs for students and faculty. Sleek laboratories on the second floor stand mostly empty, awaiting equipment and staff later in June.

The biggest challenges lie ahead next month, Bewley says, when the research labs relocate. For instance, special instructions and processes had to be created to handle narcotics supplies and radiation equipment, and a specialized truck was used to move and monitor the temperature of the large specimen freezers, to protect the tissue samples inside. “Some of our faculty’s old computers probably haven’t been disconnected in years,” she adds.

By June 22, the goal is to have all faculty, research scientists and staff members settled into the 147,000-square-foot building. It’s about the same amount of room the school had in Cooke and Hochstetter, says Brierley, “only it’s no longer octagonal, so we can better utilize the space we have now.”

“It’s so nice to walk around outside,” adds Stanton referring to the E.B. Green-designed South Campus. Her office is a little smaller than the one on the North Campus she shared with a colleague, she says, “but it’s great to have my own space again, and it’s brand-new.”

Adalberto De La Rosa, director of the school’s IT services, was once a UB student living on Winspear. “The move is going well so far, but it is odd, being back here,” he says, remembering local pizza joints and bars he used to visit in the neighborhood. Acheson’s original columns were left standing during the renovation and are visible at the corners of the new facility.

For those who work directly with the school, Brierley has good news: Phone numbers and email addresses will not change (the 645 phone extensions followed their owners), but new fax numbers will be assigned. Visitors and employees can park across Hayes Road in the Parker lot.

Brierley admits that parking will be a challenge, echoing the concerns of many employees and students. The university is struggling to work through solutions to the parking problem, she says, although there are plans for 275 new parking spaces to be added near Clark Hall.

In addition to the challenging equipment needs during the move, Brierley mentions other obstacles that cropped up during the long-term project, including construction delays from a windstorm that ripped off the plastic protecting the building’s roof. “We’re the guinea pigs for this kind of project, and my hope is that the rest of the university—especially the medical school as it prepares to move downtown—can learn from us and benefit from our learning curve.”

On Sept. 27 and 28, the entire university is invited to join the school in celebrating its new digs at upcoming dedication and grand opening ceremonies. Additional information will be available in the coming months.

For more information about UB Pharmacy’s move or the upcoming dedication and opening, contact Brierley at 645-6965 or brierley@buffalo.edu.

The new mailing address for the dean’s office:
Office of the Dean
UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
285 Kapoor Hall
Buffalo, NY 14214-8033