Buildings restyled with new names
By Anna Andreyeva
June 13, 2004 9:00 p.m.
The familiar names of several old buildings on campus have been
changed over the last few years, and other campus entities, such as
the UCLA Medical School, got new ones as well.
Some buildings have had name changes due to reconstruction after
the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
Another name change was motivated by a $200 million check.
The medical school became the Geffen School of Medicine after a
$200 million donation from David Geffen, a co-founder of DreamWorks
Pictures, the largest donation in the history of the University of
California system.
The process of naming and renaming a building at UCLA involves a
few steps.
First, the requester has to send a proposal to the chancellor.
It is then reviewed by the Chancellor’s Executive Committee. If the
proposal is approved by the committee, the decision is either made
by the chancellor or is forwarded to UC President Robert Dynes,
depending on the situation.
Kinsey Hall is the last of the four original buildings at UCLA
to be renovated after the Northridge earthquake. The renovations
will begin in July 2004, and will also come with a name change.
Originally called the Physics-Biology Building, Kinsey was named
in 1964 in honor of Edgar Lee Kinsey, professor of physics and
one-time chair of the department, said John Sandbrook, special
assistant to the executive dean.
But over the years, the physics department slowly moved out of
Kinsey to Knudsen Hall.
Now, with new buildings being constructed for the physics
department, there will no longer be any physics functions in
Kinsey, Sandbrook said. Upon request from the physics department,
the name Kinsey will be attached to the three new lecture halls
that are being constructed on the south side of Knudsen Hall.
The current Kinsey Hall will be renamed as the Humanitites
Building, or possibly a different name in 2006 when a seismic
upgrade will be completed, Sandbrook said.
The Men’s Gym, which opened in 1932, was significantly
damaged from the 1994 earthquake.
"After the Northridge earthquake there were negotiations on
repairs of the building and a concurrent interest in what can be
done with it,” said Michael Deluca, director of the Wooden
Center.
Located in the heart of campus, the Men’s Gym Building was
identified as a possible location for a center for student
services, Deluca said.
In order to support renovation and future maintenance of the
Men’s Gym, an initiative was approved by the student body in
May 2000.
Under the “Student Programs, Activities and Resource
Complex” proposal, the building was to be renamed the Student
Activities Center and the $28 per-quarter fee ““ $18 for the
former Men’s Gym and $10 for the expansion of the Wooden
Center ““ was to go into effect for students once construction
of each respective building is completed.
In 2002 the chancellor approved the proposed name change, but it
may be changed if a donor contributes to the repayment of the bond
that was used to pay for the reconstruction.
The Women’s Gym, on the other side of Wilson Plaza, was
renamed in 1999 after Glorya Kaufman made a donation of $18
million. The building houses the Department of World Arts and
Cultures which is part of the School of Arts and Architecture.
Kaufman’s donation served to enhance an already planned
seismic renovation, adding new technology to the building’s
theater. At the time of the donation, it was the largest gift made
to a dance program in the United States.
“Mrs. Kaufman has been coming to performances at UCLA for
decades,” said Laura Parker, executive director of
development for the School of Arts and Architecture.
