Largest Alumni Gift Results in First-Ever Building Naming

By Carol Olechowski

A married couple who met at Albany as undergraduates more than 60 years ago has presented the University with its largest alumni gift to date — one that will name the first building at the East Campus.

With their $1 million contribution, Class of 1938 alumni Edward S. and Frances Gildea George have bestowed their names on the 102,000-square-foot office building occupied since last November by the University’s School of Public Health. Other tenants include Health Research Incorporated (HRI) and a Medicaid project funded by the New York State Attorney General’s Office.

Acknowledging the Georges’ generosity on behalf of the University, President Hitchcock pointed out that the naming marks the first time in Albany’s 153-year history that a University building has been named for donors.

“We are all so very grateful for this gift,” said the President. “The naming of the Edward S. and Frances Gildea George Education Center is a most fitting tribute to two wonderful alumni who have supported Albany so generously for so many years.”

The two-story structure is a focal point of the East Campus, which is located in Rensselaer County at the site of the former Sterling Winthrop pharmaceuticals complex. It houses seven classrooms, four computer rooms, a library, a video conferencing room, faculty offices, an auditorium, and workspaces for staff and students. All told, the Edward S. and Frances Gildea George Education Center contains 60,000 square feet of office space, 12,000 square feet of conference facilities, and 15,000 feet of dry storage space.

Edward George, who also earned a doctorate at Columbia University, explained that he and his wife decided to name the center “partly for sentimental reasons — because we met at Albany — and partly because of our interests in science, health, and public service.” Now retired from the U.S. Postal Service, George previously taught high school mathematics and science.

Added Frances George, a New York State Department of Social Services retiree: “We enjoy the relationship we have with Albany, and we appreciate the education we received there. My husband and I felt our gift would tangibly express both our gratitude and our support for the University.” She earned a master’s degree from Albany as well, in 1942.

The University recognized the Georges in 1992 with the naming of the Edward S. and Frances Gildea George Lecture Center (LC 18), a 500-seat amphitheater-style learning facility located on the uptown campus.

Formal announcement of the Georges’ most recent gift will be made at a press conference scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6, at the East Campus. A formal ceremony to dedicate the Edward S. and Frances Gildea George Education Center will be held next spring.

By Vinny Reda

A $100 million long-term facilities plan that will result in one million square feet of new construction and renovation of the campus — aimed at meeting the changing needs of an expanding University at Albany — has passed from the consultant and campus community-input stage to the SUNY Construction Fund, which will present a final version to President Hitchcock by the end of next month.

“As you may recall, the Master Plan was started last Fall under the direction of Executive Vice President Carl Carlucci to provide a long-term facilities plan that will support the growing needs of our community,” said Stephen Schafer, Assistant Director for Financial Management and Budget, and campus coordinator for the Master Plan.

“The Master Planning Committees have spent the last year collecting data, determining needs and considering options — and this resulting data have been shared with our community through our website and numerous campus presentations and forums. We have generated a lot of valuable discussion through this process, and now the consultants, The Hillier Group of New York City and a local architectural firm, have presented their reports.”

The Master Plan would provide recommendations for the short-term (3 years), mid-term (5 years) and long-range (10 years) needs of University facilities. The short-term, or three year plan, will address construction projects, such as the new Library (under construction) or proposed chemistry building. The mid-term and long-term plans would identify those projects requiring funding in future Capital budgets.

“What we are looking for,” said Ken Gifford, director of planning and budgeting for the Construction Fund, “is a strategic plan that allows us to move step by step in an organized fashion.”

The Master Plan divides the campus into three zones (as indicated by the map): Zone 1, “The Center Zone,” involves the Academic Podium; Zone 2, “The Middle Zone,” is defined as between 400 to 800 feet outside of Zone 1, including the current dormitory quadrangles and service buildings; Zone 3, “The Perimeter Zone,” extends to several natural and open areas as well as the physical education facilities and fields, the Center for Environmental Sciences and Technology Management (CESTM) and Freedom Quad.

Zone 1 will remain the academic and research core of the Uptown Campus and may include several new building sites which would complement the existing podium structure. A proposed 75,000 square-foot chemistry building addition, approved in concept this spring by the Legislature, could expand to a larger life science complex in the final Master Plan. Reallocations of space might be required to ease compression in all departments.

“In addition to new buildings, several existing Podium facilities would probably be rehabilitated to better provide for the current and future academic and research needs,” said Schafer.

The Center Zone would be offset by a 400-foot “green belt” of foliage, lawns and walkways. “To enhance the campus experience for pedestrians, the Plan also calls for auto traffic and parking in the Center Zone to be limited to handicapped and visitor parking, passenger drop off areas and service vehicle traffic,” said Schafer.

“One particular recommendation, in keeping with the principle of improving internal circulation and passageways on the Uptown Podium, calls for an underground pedestrian path to be developed from the top of Collins Circle, connecting to each building on the Podium, including the Campus Center Extension and the new library.”

Enhanced parking and transportation facilities will also occur in Zone 2, as designed by the plan. “The varying needs of pedestrians, joggers, bicyclists, and drivers would be better served through this re-design,” said Schafer.

Included also in the Zone might be a new public safety/service building complex, also identified by the University last spring as a worthwhile project requiring funding from the Legislature. In addition, Vice President Carlucci told the Capital District Business Review, in an Oct. 20 article, that an admissions/visitors facility is under consideration that would fill a need for a single “front door” location for the University.

Proposed changes in Zone 3 would aim at providing physical transitions and buffers with neighboring communities, including appropriate facilities for vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

In addition, the Downtown Campus would be subject to rehabilitation as well as new or expanded facilities. “On the Downtown Camps the Master Plan pays particular attention to the needs of high-quality instructional space, the Dewey Library, and off-street parking,” said Schafer. “The intention, with respect to new construction or rehabilitation, is to respect the existing architecture and environment which exist on the Downtown Campus.”

Gifford of the Construction Fund said that final approval of the Plan would show the utmost concern for keeping academic programs uninterrupted. Schafer terms the Plan a “living document” in that it allows for fluidity in the planning and building stages to adjust to new campus academic needs and priorities.

Carlucci said the first phase of the plan could cost about $30 million, with the vast majority devoted to planning, and a lesser but significant amount to redirecting the University’s road system in order to prepare for the construction/renovation phases.