Helping Franz

From the Bruin: The University of California system received $2.65 billion from a California state sale of revenue bonds which will help finance projects across UC campuses. Revenue bonds are a type of municipal bond, which function like loans and are sold to fund projects. Revenue from the project is used to repay the investors who bought the bonds.

California State Treasurer Fiona Ma sold revenue bonds to third-party investors to help the UC fund or refinance different projects, according to a press release from the California Treasury. About $1.15 billion will be spent on campus projects and another $1.5 billion will be used for “working capital,” according to the press release. Working capital includes funding for the UC regents’ financial assets and capital needs like equipment, according to a UC Office of the President financial policy document.

The UC will use the money from these bonds to fund more than 50 construction projects at all 10 UC campuses and the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Extension Center, which include maintenance and seismic upgrades for new buildings, UC spokesperson Sarah McBride said in an emailed statement. Some money from the bond designated for construction projects will go toward earthquake safety improvements for Franz Hall, McBride added. The UC rated Franz Hall as a Level V risk, according to a 2016 document from the UC regents, meaning it posed a “serious” risk to life in the event of an earthquake...*

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2020/08/10/university-of-california-receives-2-65b-from-state-treasury-sale-of-bonds
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*Franz Hall was named for the pioneering psychologist, Shepherd Ivory Franz (1874-1933), the first Chair of the Psychology Department at UCLA, and a member of the faculty between 1924 and his death in 1933. Franz received his B.A. (1894) and his Ph.D. (1899) in psychology from Columbia University. As noted in his Calisphere record, he had taught psychology and/or physiology at the Harvard Medical School (1899-1901), Dartmouth Medical School (1901-1904), George Washington University Medical School (1906-1921), and Saint Elizabeth's Hospital, Washington, DC, (1907-1924), among other institutions. Franz passed away due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). (See Colotla, V.A., Bach-y-Rita, P., "Shepherd Ivory Franz: His Contributions to Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation," Cognitive Affective Behavioral Neuroscience, vol 2, no. 2, 06/2002, p. 141-148.)

Source: http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/10658/

The same source mentions that the 1960s addition to Franz Hall was designed by pioneering African American architect Paul R. Williams:

Paul Revere Williams, FAIA (1894-1980)

By any measure, the accomplishments of trailblazing architect Paul Williams are astounding. In a career spanning almost six decades, Williams designed more than 3,000 structures and mastered a range of architectural styles. 

He broke racial barriers, becoming the first African American member (and later, Fellow) of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), as well as a civic leader.

Born in Los Angeles in 1894, Williams was orphaned at the age of four. Exceptionally gifted, he landed internships and jobs at prominent, local architecture firms immediately after high school in 1912, despite prevailing racial prejudice. Discouraged by his elders yet undeterred, Williams took classes at the Los Angeles Beaux-Arts School, ultimately attending USC’s School of Engineering. 

In 1920, he was appointed to the first Los Angeles City Planning Commission. The following year, he became a certified architect and began working for the great John C. Austin. Williams opened his own practice in 1923, later serving as an architect for the Navy during World War II. 

He designed almost 2,000 homes in Los Angeles alone, many for wealthy businessmen and Hollywood stars. Yet he also designed affordable homes, public housing, and a host of civic, commercial, and institutional buildings. Regardless of style or use, his work shared the common threads of elegant composition and perfect proportion.

Williams was part of the LAX planning and design team. His mid-twentieth-century designs include the Los Angeles County Courthouse, the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building, Hillside Memorial Park, Westwood Medical Center, and First AME Church. He renovated the iconic Ambassador Hotel (now demolished) and transformed a supermarket on Wilshire Boulevard into the chic restaurant Perino’s (also demolished).

Highly astute, Williams masterfully navigated the business and social circles of the day. He even learned to draw upside down in order to sketch for clients from across the table—for the benefit of any white clients who might have been uneasy sitting next to an African American.

He received numerous accolades, including the AIA Award of Merit, the NAACP Spingarn Medal, and USC’s Distinguished Alumni Award. In 1957, he became first African American to become an AIA Fellow. Williams was posthumously awarded the AIA's 2017 Gold Medal, America's highest honor for an architect. Williams is the first African American to receive the AIA Gold Medal.

Williams retired in 1973, fifty years after opening his practice. He passed away in 1980 at the age of 85. Despite his legendary status and prolific output, examples of Williams’ work face increasing threats of demolition or excessive alteration. 

Source: https://www.laconservancy.org/architects/paul-r-williams