Timeline of UB History, 1944-1963
C.C. Furnas
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1946
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- The University celebrates its centennial with special convocation. During the opening ceremonies on October 4th, Chancellor Samuel Capen said: "The circumstances under which we assemble today are unique in the history of the University of Buffalo. We meet not only to welcome the new members of the University and to start another year of instruction and study. We celebrate also the completion of a century of honorable and useful service by this institution to the community, the state and the nation. We inaugurate officially a new century."
- At the Centennial Convocation, twelve honorary degrees are conferred including one to noted poet, William Carlos Williams. Chancellor Capen cited Williams as "Physician and man of letters; innovator in the oldest of the arts of expression; in recognition both of your poetic revelation of the essential quality of American life, and of your guiding influence on the work of your fellow craftsmen, the University of Buffalo confers upon you the degree of Doctor of Laws." Williams' collection of original manuscripts and first editions are in the University Libraries, Poetry Collection.
- School of Engineering is created on March 5th as the 13th division of the University. On October 3rd, the Engineering Building is dedicated. The building became Karr Parker Hall during the 1982-83 academic year when UB's engineering programs were moved to North Campus.
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1948
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- New York State Legislature votes to create the State University of New York on March 12th.
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1950
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- T. R. McConnell is inaugurated as the University's 8th Chancellor.
- First issue of the student publication, The Spectrum is published on November 17th.
- A. Bertram Lemon (Ph.G., 1913), Dean of the School of Pharmacy, receives the first Samuel P. Capen Award, the highest award given to a University of Buffalo Alumnus.
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1952
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- Air Force ROTC unit is activated on July 2nd.
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1953
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1954
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- Albright Art School becomes part of the University on February 1st.
- The University's fourth residence hall was dedicated: Michael Hall.
- Seymour H. Knox Jr., Chairman of the Council, is appointed Acting Chancellor for the period of July 1st - August 31st.
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1955
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- Clifford C. Furnas, the University of Buffalo's 9th Chancellor and the State University of New York at Buffalo's 1st president, is inaugurated.
- First Slee Beethoven cycle is performed by the renowned Budapest String Quartet.
- Fran Woidzick is drafted by the Los Angeles Rams. He is the first UB player to be drafted by an NFL team.
- Emily H. Webster becomes the first woman to receive the Samuel P. Capen Award, the highest award given to a University of Buffalo alumnus. She was an employee for 50 years filling the roles of Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs and Assistant Treasurer-Comptroller.
- Chancellor Furnas accepts materials from the Polish Arts Club, which later became the Libraries' Polish Collection.
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1956
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- Wende Hall, named for Grover W. Wende, a Buffalo alumnus and professor as well as a prominent area physician, is dedicated on September 29th.
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1957
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- Elizabeth Taylor and current husband, Mike Todd, visit campus on September 20th bringing a gift, Buster, the school's new mascot, "Buster" the Bull.
- Kimball Tower is dedicated on September 30th (formerly known as Tower Hall).
- Baird Hall, named for Frank Burkett Baird, is dedicated on October 12th (Paul Schweikher, architect). It was renamed Allen Hall, after Cornelia H. Allen, a professor in the School of Social Work, in 1982 after the name "Baird Hall" was transferred to a building on the North Campus.
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1958
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- Enrollment is 14,860
- University College is established.
- The dedication of Sherman Hall, named for Dr. Dewitt Halsey Sherman, a University at Buffalo graduate who developed the Pediatrics program at Buffalo and guided the expansion of the Children's Hospital, on October 18th.
- The University football team is presented the Lambert Cup on the Ed Sullivan Show on December 14th.
- Tangerine Bowl is held on December 27th in Orlando, Florida. The football team declined their invitation to play because local rules prohibited University of Buffalo's African-American athletes from participating.
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1959
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- WBFO, the University's National Public Radio affiliate, begins broadcasting on January 6th.
- Acheson Hall, named for Edward Goodrich Acheson, is completed in July and dedicated on Sept. 12, 1959 (Duane Lyman & Associates architects). An extension to the building was dedicated in November 1963.
- The former Federal Reserve building on Main and Swan Streets in downtown Buffalo is slated for destruction. Through the efforts of Cameron Baird and Major A. Burt Hamilton, the ionic columns from the facade are brought to the University. Originally intended to be used as a backdrop for a proposed open-air Greek amphitheater, they sat unused between Schollkopf Hall and Baird Music Hall (today Allen Hall) for almost 18 years. In 1978 the columns were cleaned and transported to Lake LaSalle on the North Campus where they were rededicated as Baird Point.
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1960
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- Schussmeisters Ski Club, one of the country's largest ski clubs, is founded.
- The Health Sciences Building is dedicated on September 10th (James, Meadows and Howard, architects). It was later renamed Cary Hall.
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1961
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1962
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- Opening of the new Norton Hall (rededicated as Daniel H. Squire Hall in September of 1986), as a student union. The "Old Norton Union" is renamed Harriman Hall. Also Diefendorf Hall opens.
- March 12th, the University Council approves agreement to merge with the State University of New York.
- On May 17th, Malcolm X speaks at the Norton Union on the Black Muslim Movement.
- The University at Buffalo Foundation is chartered on June 29th by the Regents of the State of New York as a non-profit educational corporation.
- The University of Buffalo merges with the State University of New York on September 1st. Full-time enrollment is slightly more than 7,000.
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1963
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- The first women's varsity athletic program, swimming and diving, are established.
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