UAlbany Renovates Husted Hall,
Other Grand Structures

They are the University’s grandest old buildings, featuring elegant architecture inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s design for the University of Virginia. The banisters of Husted, Draper and Hawley halls have been worn smooth over the decades by thousands of students. Today, these 92-year-old structures comprise the core of the complex known as the downtown campus, and the University is taking the first steps in their careful renovation.

Husted, Draper and Hawley hold a special place in the hearts of alumni like Howard Rosman, B.A.’51, M.A.’52, who graduated before the uptown campus was constructed in the mid-60s. Rosman, who was a chemistry major, recalls being recruited by Prof. William Spindel half a century ago to build an early version of a mass spectrometer — “in the attic of Husted Hall.” Rosman, who went on to a Ph.D. from Columbia University and a 45-year teaching career at Hofstra University, returned to UAlbany for Alumni Weekend last June. He purposely revisited some of his old undergraduate haunts, especially Husted Hall. “I couldn’t be sure if it was the exact same (attic) staircase I used (all those years ago), but I did find one old staircase, and I made a point of tramping up and down it several times,” he said.

Husted, originally the science building, and still the home of a basement cafeteria, is slated for the first major renovation of any structure on the downtown campus. The $13.4 million project could begin as early as the summer of 2002. When it is completed two years later, teaching spaces now found in Draper, Milne and Richardson halls will be consolidated in Husted. Husted will also have a new entrance mirroring the facade of Hawley Hall, the building Husted now faces on Western Avenue, and which now houses the Governor Dewey Graduate Library.

“This building is a campus treasure. We want to make it more useful and preserve it for the generations of students to come,” said Carlos Santiago, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

And it won’t end there. The University’s Master Plan identifies Draper Hall as the next building to be renovated on the downtown campus.

To help restore Husted Hall to its original beauty, the University is seeking the support of alumni to meet a $2 million shortfall. For more information on how you can help, please contact Vice President for Advancement Robert Ashton at 518-437-4770, or e-mail him at rashton@uamail.albany.edu.