South Campus
UB’s South Campus is a landmark in Western New York. It was UB’s first campus when the modern university was assembled in the 1920s. It was designed by one of America’s most respected architects – E.B. Green – and it has been an important part of the community for generations.
Neglected during the realization of the North Campus in Amherst, it has been showing its age in recent years. Today, however, UB is reinvesting heavily in the infrastructure of South Campus—to preserve our history and to make sure the campus is able to support a 21st-century educational program.
This plan suggests a new purpose and identity for the South Campus as a center of professional education. As the plan is implemented, the schools of Education, Law and Social Work and elements of the School of Management will join the School of Architecture and Planning on the campus.
Buildings that have become obsolete will be demolished, and the great historic structures will be renovated. “Temporary” buildings dating to the mid-1960s will be removed and some new structures will be added, building on the classic layout of quadrangles and pathways.
An improved “heart of the campus” will provide new places to dine and gather; an array of new study spaces and technology facilities will support the educational endeavor. Improved and expanded housing for graduate students will add to the campus experience.
The campus loop road—never really a complete loop—will be completed to improve circulation and way-finding. Structured parking will replace surface parking and the great Main Street lawn will be preserved and expanded—for the sake of beauty and to help manage storm water.
Already changes are being made with replacement of campus utilities, implementation of long-deferred critical maintenance, and total renovation of John Kapoor Hall to house the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Renovation of Clark Hall, improvements to athletic fields, and the makeover of Allen Hall as a university-community gateway will help reconnect UB to the neighborhood community. A new continuing education center on campus will provide another portal to the university.
UB’s historic South Campus was once great. As it takes on a new role in the life of the university, it will be great again.
