Meliora Hall

Plaque in Meliora Hall

Construction on a new Psychology Building began in early 1972.  The building was largely completed by February 1974, but noisy HVAC systems postponed acceptance of the building for several weeks.  The building was dedicated that fall.

The building was renamed Meliora Hall in the spring of 1985 and extensively renovated, including building offices under the patio-level overhang on the west half of the building..

References
1971 "New Psychology Building to Centralize Facilities," Campus Times, April 20, 1971, Page 1.

1971 "Bids for construction of the Psychology Building due October 5, 1971," Democrat and Chronicle, September 7, 1971, Page 5B.

1972 "UR Erects New Hall; to be utilized by 1974," Campus Times, February 16, 1974, Page 1. | Part 2 |
The top floor will overhang the middle level 17 feet on all sides.  The lack of windows is necessitated, according to UR Architectural Planner David Reber, by the need to eliminate jet noise in experimental areas.

1972 "Gala Groundbreaking," Rochester Review 34(3):30 (Spring 1972)
Kenneth E. Clark, dean of the College of Arts and Science, wields the shovel as members of the psychology faculty take part in recent groundbreaking ceremonies for the new $8.2 million psychology building.

1973 "River Campus Expansion Shows Progress," Campus Times, March 1, 1973, Page 2.
Protected completion date of the Psychology Building is April 1974.

1974 "Problems Beset Psychology Building," Campus Times, March 29, 1974, Page 1. | Part 2 |
As a result of noisy heating and ventilation,  the Psychology Department's move into its new building has been postponed. The problem was discovered shortly before February 7, the originally proposed date for the signing over of the building.
A new date for the transition will be set within a few days, after the University accoustical engineer rates the "inhabitability" of the building. Corrective measures for the heating, including installation of "sheaves," are presently being attempted. Turning down the fans' has cut the air noise level by approximately 20 per cent.
The first and second floors on the south side of the building are the noisiest. The bottom floor houses animal research, and "the animals are highly susceptible to noise," states Ruth Mallory, Assistant Chairman of the Psychology Department.
The upper floors are also hindered by some air sounds transported through the airducts above the ceiling.
Mallory describes the "difficult timing" as one of the greatest forseeable problems in making the transition to the new building.  The department is anxious to vacate Morey Hall as soon as possible, since offices presently located in Harkness are scheduled to move to the present psychology offices in Morey this summer. The Harkness offices must be empty at that time in order to allow for the installment of air-conditioning.
"The moment that they tell us that the building is okay, we'll start," says Mallory. "We're all looking forward to being under one roof." The new psychology building will allow the department to converge into three areas: the new building, the Community Studies Center on Mt. Hope Avenue, and the Shultz House on Mt. Hope Avenue. The Psychology Department is presently spread over ten locations, including Morey Hall, Morey Annex, the fifth floor of Rush Rhees, the basement of Hoyt Hall, the Elmwood Avenue side of the Hospital, and several rooms on the fourth floor of Dewey.
The new psychology building consists of four floors. The first two floors are below ground level.
The biology-psychology area and labs for other faculty members will be housed on the bottom floor.
The second floor will be largely occupied by the Center for Visual Science. It includes the Kresge demonstration room, a lecture conference facility.
The cognition and language area will also be located on the second floor, as well as the secretarial office for a new journal entitled "Brain and Language," edited by Dr. Harry Whitaker, Associate Professor of Psychology. Also on the second floor will be a lecture hall for 135 students and a tunnel entrance to the library.
The third floor (the plaza level) will be composed of psychology administration offices, seminar rooms, and a "very large reading and commons area for students."
The clinical, social, and developmental psychology areas will be on the fourth floor. Most of these-faculty offices will surround open courtyards. Fourth floor labs for babies will provide for Dr. Arnold J. Sameroff's research for the Rochester Development Study.

1974 "New Psych Bldg. - A Preview," University Record 14(4):5-6 (April 1974)

1974 "Freaked-out heat system on the couch," Democrat and Chronicle, April 4, 1974, Page 8B.

1974 "New Psych Building Poses Minor Problems to Department Chairman," Campus Times, September 19, 1974, Page 1.

1974 "U of R dedicates new psychology building," Democrat and Chronicle, October 12, 1974, Page 1C.

1974 "Psych Building Dedication Provides 'Nostalgic" Note," Campus Times, October 14, 1974, Page 1.

1974 "New Psychology Building Dedicated," Rochester Review 32(2):29 (Winter 1974)
The new  psychology Building on the River Campus was formally opened last fall with two days of public events, including talks by noted psychologists, tours of the building, and a special dedication program. The $8.2million structure, which houses the University's Department of Psychology and Center for Visual Science, is  one of  the major academic facilities included in the University's $38 million campaign undertaken in 1965.  The building brings together, for the first time, parts of the psychology department that have been scattered over at least nine locations.

1985 "Meliora Hall?," Rochester Review 48(1):19 (Fall 1985)
And second, in case you were wondering about it, to offer a word of explanation concerning Meliora Hall. Those of you who have been students here over the last ten years know it as "the psych building," the one that's two-thirds underground and stands between the library and Harkness Hall.  Formally renamed las spring in honor of the University's "Meliora" motto, the building is one of a number of River Campus structures that were undergoing expansion and renovation over the summer. The addition, which fills in the space beneath the building's former overhang, now gathers into a single, accessible location the offices of admissions, financial aid, and student employment. The psychology department continues as the building's principal tenant.

2022 "How an Academic Grudge Turned Into a #MeToo Panic," by Katie Herzog, Reason, March 14, 2022
Florian Jaeger

© 2021 Morris A. Pierce