Saying goodbye is never easy.
But in the case of the UCSF School of Nursing, trading an aging building for a future home is a sentimental end for a new beginning.
“I’ve spent a lot of time here,” said Carol Dawson-Rose, PhD, RN, FAAN, UCSF School of Nursing dean and associate vice chancellor of nursing affairs. “I feel a little emotional about it. It’s bittersweet.”
Dawson-Rose recently joined members of the school community at a celebratory event on the mezzanine of the School of Nursing building, marking the start of a phased closure and eventual demolition of the current building on UC San Francisco’s Parnassus Heights campus.
The move out of the building is a transitional step, one that will ultimately place the School of Nursing back at Parnassus in a new, state-of-the-art building in just a few years.
Lasting memories
Activities at the farewell celebration included a crowdsourced timeline of the building’s legacy, reflection at the “Difference is Power” mural on the third floor, and a time to leave handwritten goodbye messages on the walls of a room on the seventh floor.
The building, which opened in 1972, was constructed on what was previously a parking lot. Since then, generations of learners, faculty and staff have passed through the Saunders Court entrance, some moving on to new places while others, like Dawson-Rose, still remain at UCSF.
“When I’ve been in some of the different classrooms recently, I’ve said, ‘Gosh, I’ve taught in this room,’” she said. “’We’ve had faculty meetings here. We’ve had retirement events in these rooms.’ I’ve also been in several different offices in this building.”
The UCSF School of Nursing community marks the transition from their 52-year-old Parnassus Heights building with signatures and shared memories, gearing up for a fresh start at Mission Bay. Photo by Susan Merrell
Griselda Thomas, FHCN education specialist at UCSF SON, leaves her mark with ‘Peace Out FHCN 2002 - 2024’ as the SON building at Parnassus Heights prepares for reconstruction. Photo by Susan Merrell
The SON building at UCSF is set for demolition and reconstruction, the faculty and staff commemorate the move by signing their names and memories against the backdrop of emptying desks. Photo by Susan Merrell
Elizabeth Gatewood, RN, NP, Phyllis Blackwell, and Michael Jaff prepare for relocation to Mission Bay as they remove their name plates from the wall in the UCSF School of Nursing building at Parnassus Heights. Photo by Susan Merrell
Faculty and staff are preparing for a temporary move to Mission Bay while celebrating the “Goodbye, SON Building” festivities, reminiscing on a timeline, and signing the building’s walls. Photo by Susan Merrell
Faculty and staff at UCSF School of Nursing lay out a vibrant timeline of clippings and colorful stories, celebrating their history at Parnassus Heights as they prepare for a new chapter at Mission Bay. Photo by Susan Merrell
The “Difference is Power” mural, honoring Emma Deboncoeur, created by Jessica Sabogal and Shanna Strauss, graces the wall outside the UCSF School of Nursing (SON) Dean’s Office. It will be temporarily stored during the rebuild of the SON building and later reinstated in the new Parnassus Research and Academic Building. Photo by Susan Merrell
Karen Duderstadt, RN, PhD, Angel Kuo, EdD, RN, PNP, and Naomi Schapiro, RN, PNP, gather at the celebration, as they prepare for their relocation to the UCSF Mission Bay campus. Photo by Susan Merrell
Elizabeth Gatewood, RN, NP, and Cynthia Chor, project manager, reminisce at the celebration, sharing memories of the 52-year-old UCSF School of Nursing building set to be rebuilt by 2028. Photo by Susan Merrell
Peter Weber, the Database Manager at the School of Nursing, writes a thank you note on a wall, reminiscing about fond memories. Photo by Eric Brooks
Dawson-Rose came to UCSF in 1990 as a student, later moving into a faculty and department chair role before she was named dean in March 2024. She is widely regarded as an early leader in international patient-centered HIV/AIDS prevention and care, having spent many formative professional years in the UCSF nursing building.
“This building has been part of our School of Nursing identity,” said Soo-Jeong Lee, PhD, RN, ANP, Department of Community Health Systems associate professor. “Having our own identity building was good. I think it will be a little different to move to a new place with a different setup. I have some mixed feelings but I’m excited about the future.”
Lee started at UCSF as an international nursing student from South Korea in 2002.
She returned as a faculty member in 2010, now having studied and worked in the building for the better part of 20 years. Though Lee has seen various renovations over the years, the closure of the building will be a big change.
“The feeling as a student was different from that of faculty in this building,” she said. “I was an international student for five years. The first time I came into the building, everything was new. It was a new environment and a new challenge. As faculty, it’s my job, my workplace. It's more of home.”
It’s the same feeling for Peter Weber, School of Nursing database manager.
Weber joined UCSF nine years ago and has worked in a variety of settings.
“There’s been a lot of happy memories here, wonderful experiences meeting people and a lot of friendships and relationships built here for me personally,” he said.
‘A chance to rebuild community’
With faculty, staff and learners officially vacating the 52-year-old Parnassus Heights facility over the next several months, the majority of the school’s operations will temporarily relocate to the UCSF Wayne and Gladys Valley Center for Vision on the University’s Mission Bay campus. They’ll stay there until a new, nine-floor research and academic building opens – an integral part of the comprehensive, 30-year plan at UCSF Parnassus Heights that also includes the UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital.
The new research and academic building will anchor the west end of the Parnassus campus. The new facility is being designed to support an innovative ecosystem of researchers, clinicians, learners and staff, enabling them to work together on solving the most intractable health challenges.
“I’m looking forward to going to the new building and forging a community there,” Weber said of the move to Mission Bay. “I don’t think it’s secret that since COVID things have changed and the work culture has changed. My hope is that when we move to Mission Bay that it gives us a chance to rebuild a community, not only in the building, but in sharing the space. I think that is what I’m looking forward to the most.”
For Dawson-Rose, Mission Bay represents both community building and a chance to collaborate with learners from UCSF’s professional schools and UCSF Health.
Plans for the future at Parnassus
“The new space at Mission Bay allows us the opportunity to interact with other people and not be siloed to just the School of Nursing,” she said. “That’s good for students, it’s good for our faculty and it’s good for our staff. We have so many opportunities with our partners. At UCSF, we invest time to educate health professional students in interprofessional practice. Being located in the research and academic building with multidisciplinary scientists and faculty will add to the opportunities for real collaboration.”
The research and academic building is expected to open at Parnassus Heights in 2028.
The Parnassus Central Campus Site Improvements program will provide extensive site improvements in the central core of the Parnassus Heights campus, where the School of Nursing building currently exists. The improvements include extending utilities to support existing and future buildings, providing opportunities for improved energy efficiency and furtherance of UCSF’s fossil-fuel-free initiatives.
There will also be an inviting pedestrian connection with landscaping and hardscaping between the new research and academic building promenade and Saunders Court, going right across the footprint of the existing School of Nursing building. Gaining access to the heart of campus will require decanting and demolishing the School of Nursing building, in compliance with the University of California Office of the President Seismic Policy.
Construction activities in and around the building will begin in late 2024.