Building to Be Named After President Emeritus Henry Koffler

Scott Fiddelke
April 5, 2000


The Chemistry-Biology Building is about to have a new name: the Henry Koffler Building, in honor of University of Arizona President Emeritus Henry Koffler who led the University from 1982-1991.

The dedication ceremony will be held on April 25, at 4 p.m. in front of the Chemistry Biology building on the Mall across from the Student Union. The public is invited.

Koffler was highly involved in the concept for the Chemistry-Biology Teaching Laboratory and Classroom Building, which first opened its doors for classes in the fall of 1992. It is unique in that it combines the studies of chemistry and biology in a single building, and is 100 percent undergraduate education, according to Thomas J. Lindell, an
associate professor of molecular and cellular biology at the UA. Lindell helped plan the academic aspect of the building.

President Peter Likins said, "Henry Koffler led the University through an extraordinary period of expansion. This is only one of 24 new buildings that changed the landscape of the University while he was president, but the changes to the curriculum and to undergraduate education that began during his tenure were even more significant."

Construction began on the 127,000 square foot building in 1989. It includes 22 chemistry labs, 17 biology labs and has three lecture halls. Originally, both the chemistry and biology departments had planned new buildings, but they decided they could meet needs better if they consolidated the two projects into one.

The building project was challenging, because it had to blend in with the old chemistry building, built in 1936, and the newer library building, built in the 1970s. In addition, it was designed to be conducive to learning, with gathering places incorporated into the building. The building, designed by Anderson Debartolo Pan, won an award for architectural design from the Southern Arizona Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

During the Koffler administration, enrollment increased by 16 percent, the faculty grew by 30 percent, building space expanded by 58 percent, state funding increased by 80 percent, and external research funds by 218 percent.

Henry Koffler is an alumnus of the University of Arizona and the first alumnus to become president. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in agricultural chemistry in 1943. He went on to study microbiology and biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin for his doctorate. At age 24, he joined the faculty at Purdue University. After promotion to full professor at age 29, he built one of the nation's leading schools in the biological sciences. Given this background, naming the Chemistry-Biology building in his honor was an appropriate choice.

In a related celebration, The University of Arizona Center for The Study of Higher Education and The Arizona Senior Academy invite the community to A Convocation on The Future of American Universities in the New Millennium honoring Koffler. The convocation will be held Tuesday, April 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the UA Memorial Student Union Arizona Ballroom. Lunch from 12:30 to 2:30 will precede the building dedication.

For reservations and complete information on all the activities, call 621-9658.
Information on the building dedication and a summary of Koffler's accomplishments during his 1982-91presidency can be read in LQP OnLine

Accomplishments of President Emeritus Henry Koffler, 1982-91

Major Improvements in Undergraduate Education
• First major revision of the General Education Program for 20 years.
• Comprehensive improvement of the Honors Program (now the Honors College).
• Reorganization and major expansion of Student Services and Campus Life.
• Introduced required pedagogic training, together with English language proficiency training, for graduate teaching assistants.

Major Advances in Research and Graduate Education Programs
• External research funding tripled from $60 million to $192 million.
• Established 34 new research laboratories/centers/divisions: including the Center for Computing and Information Technology (1985),the Division of Neurobiology in the Arizona Research Laboratories (1985), the Eller center for the Study of the Private Market Economy (1983) and the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy (1987).
•Initiated the long and arduous formal process to establish the Mount Graham International Observatory, and also established the associated Mirror Casting and Polishing Facility.
•The University was elected to membership in the Association of American Universities in 1985.

Significant Overall Growth in Enrollment and Funding
• Student enrollment (head count) increased by 16 percent.
• State funding (excluding University Medical Center and University Hospital) increased by 78 percent.
• Total external funding increased by 214 percent. Over 700 faculty members and professional staff members were added, with the size of the faculty increasing by 30
percent.

Major Expansion and Quality Improvement in Physical Facilities
• An aggressive program of construction and renovation, much of it funded by gifts and bonds, increased gross building space by 58 percent, to 7.0 million square feet. This program included 24 new buildings, eight significant additions, eight major renovation projects, and infrastructure improvements.

• Major new buildings included the Gould-Simpson Building (1986),
the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building (1986),
the Arizona Cancer Center (1986),
the Schaefer Center for Creative Photography (1988),
the University Foundation and Alumni Building
(1988),
Life Sciences South (1988),
Student Recreation Center (1988),
Life Sciences North (1989),
College of Business and Public
Administration Building (1990),
Chemistry-Biological Sciences Building(1990)
and Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Building (completed
1996).

Major Advances in the Minority-Affirmative Action Areas
• Minority student enrollment increased by 123 percent to a total of 6,019 by 1991, almost eight times as fast as total enrollment.
• Full-time minority employees increased 67 percent to a total of 1,966 by 1992. (Comparison here is complicated by the transfer of University Hospital in 1985.)
• The number of full-time women faculty members increased by 118 percent and the number of minority faculty members by 94 percent, whereas the faculty as a whole expanded by 30 percent.

Major Improvements at Arizona Health Sciences Center
• The radical innovation of transferring management of University Hospital (now University Medical Center) to a private, not-for-profit corporation placed the Arizona Health Sciences center of a firmer financial footing.
• The creation of University Physicians Incorporated as the successor organization to the Medical Services Plan placed the Center's clinical activities on a firmer footing.
• Major improvements in physical facilities included the completion of the new College of Pharmacy Building (initiated earlier by President John Schaefer) and the construction of the Arizona Cancer Center Building, the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Facility, Life Sciences North, the Steele Memorial Children's Center, and a major addition to the Health Sciences Library.

Improvements in Outreach Services
• Established the Office of Community and Public Affairs to better link Arizona communities with the University and to more effectively assist in economic development.
• Established the Office of Federal Relations to provide liaison between the University, the Arizona Congressional delegation and Executive Departments.
• Planned and conducted the Century II Capital Campaign, the University's first such major fund-raising activity, with a goal of $100 million. The campaign yielded $198 million and greatly enhanced the University's ability to raise funds.
• Enhanced the capacity of the Office of News and Public Information to make the state and national communities better aware of the University's achievements and services.

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