UB open again for campus tours

One of the first clear signs that life at UB has returned to some sort of normalcy has been the return of campus tours.

On hiatus for nearly a year amid the pandemic, in-person tours resumed at UB in April, much to the delight of incoming freshmen, like Sean Dennehy, who made his way through the college decision-making process without stepping foot on campus.

But Dennehy finally got his chance on a recent Wednesday when he and his parents, Alison and Don, drove eight hours from Rhode Island to the North Campus for a tour of what will be his new home come fall.

“I’m interested in seeing the general layout of the campus,” Dennehy said, as the tour began.

Long a staple in the college decision-making process, in-person tours ceased when COVID-19 shut down the campus in March of 2020 and prospective students relied on “virtual” campus tours, instead. As COVID rates fell and the campus started to open back up, UB resumed in-person tours on April 9.

“The Office of Admissions has been very busy,” said Jessica Warner, an admissions counselor in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, who oversees the campus tours. “We knew many students and parents would be eager to visit. From April through June, we temporarily offered upwards of three tours per day, seven days a week.”

The tours in April and May were largely incoming freshmen, like Dennehy, who had not had a chance to visit campus, but still committed to UB. Dennehy was attracted to UB by its School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Finish in 4 pledge, among other reasons.

In more recent weeks, the tours have been filled with prospective students — high school seniors like Angelina DeBlasio of Pittsburgh, who is beginning a more traditional college search compared to the one Dennehy encountered.

“It’s nice,” DeBlasio said of the campus, as she passed Lake LaSalle. “It’s big.”

Campus tours still aren’t quite the same as they were before the pandemic. COVID protocols have prevented tours from getting inside the buildings to see classrooms, labs and residence halls, Warner said. But, she added, students and parents are still able to get a feel for the campus as they are guided around the grounds.

Dennehy and DeBlasio were among two dozen students and parents touring the campus on a recent Wednesday. They set off at noon outside Capen Hall, where student tour guide David Vollweiler looped them around the Mathematics Building, steered them down the academic spine, escorted them over to Alumni Arena and directed them around the Student Union — all the while answering their questions and reeling off facts about UB.

The tour took about 45 minutes.

“I enjoyed the tour,” Dennehy said when it was over. “I’d like to see the inside.”

Through July and August, UB will continue to host in-person campus tours at 10 a.m. and noon Monday through Friday, and at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays.

Students can register for a tour here.