Named in honor of the late President Stephen J. Kopp, a modern new facility will anchor the university’s health sciences campus.
It is not surprising that the Marshall University School of Pharmacy has declared this a “year of gratitude,” a time for faculty, staff and students to reflect on all that has been accomplished in the school’s short history. High on their list of reasons to be grateful is the newly constructed Stephen J. Kopp Hall, the school’s new home in the middle of Marshall’s growing health sciences campus, along Hal Greer Boulevard in Huntington’s Fairfield community.
The decision to name the building after Marshall’s late president is fitting because he was the driving force behind establishing the School of Pharmacy. He also had the vision for developing a health sciences campus that would bring Marshall’s School of Pharmacy, the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and Cabell Huntington Hospital into closer proximity. He hoped this would encourage interaction and collaboration between faculty and students from the different health sciences. In addition to opportunities for increased professional collaboration, Marshall’s pharmacy students now benefit from being closer to Marshall’s Huntington campus and to the shopping, entertainment and dining options available in downtown Huntington.
At the modern structure’s grand opening on Sept. 13, Marshall President Jerry Gilbert noted, “The legacy of Steve Kopp will live on for generations of Marshall University students here at the School of Pharmacy and in numerous other programs like engineering and visual arts. He was a visionary leader whose influence continues to touch many lives.”
Kopp Hall was designed with collaboration in mind. All of the classrooms in the 49,560-square-foot building are studio style, providing space for students to work together in small groups and to participate in the team-based, hands-on learning that is the foundation of the School of Pharmacy’s curriculum. The classrooms are equipped with technology like video screens and whiteboards that allow students to connect to one another and their professors. Faculty offices and research labs are consolidated on two floors, allowing students easy access to their instructors. Skills alcoves and spaces that simulate pharmacy facilities allow students to practice skills like providing patient counseling and working on interprofessional teams. They can also be used as study spaces when not being used for instruction. Quiet spaces for individuals and groups to study and work are scattered throughout the building, including an outdoor patio with a beautiful view of bustling Hal Greer Boulevard. Kopp Hall, with its state-of-the-art research facilities and improved opportunities for collaboration with other health sciences faculty, will allow the School of Pharmacy to expand its research activity as well.
“This beautiful new facility is an important cornerstone for Marshall’s health sciences campus,” said Dr. Gayle Brazeau, dean of the school of pharmacy. “Interprofessional teams providing patient-centered care is the way health care is delivered in today’s world. The building is adjacent to our school of medicine and will allow for better collaboration and cross-training for our students, both medical and pharmacy, as well as cross-school faculty research teams. It gives our students the opportunity to feel like they have a home. Kopp Hall is their pharmacy home. We are the fortunate recipients of the many years of planning that went into this facility.”
The design and construction of Kopp Hall was a team effort, requiring input from dozens of people, from faculty to contractors. Phoebe Randolph, AIA, LEED AP BD+C and principal with Edward Tucker Architects of Huntington, coordinated the project and was architect of record, working in collaboration with architects from Perkins + Will of Atlanta.
“It was a huge honor for us to be selected to lead the team doing the project,” said Randolph. “We have worked hard as a local firm to show that people do not have to go out of town or out of state to get the services we provide. We all live in the Huntington area. We do a lot of community volunteering and investment here. I think it is great that the university can work with local firms on projects like this.”
Randolph said one of the aspects of the project she is most excited about is how Kopp Hall will have a positive impact on the surrounding Fairfield community.
“I have been involved with a lot of the work that has been done to revitalize the Fairfield neighborhood and it is exciting to see this investment and development in the area. We hope it will stimulate more investment and growth, not just because Hal Greer Boulevard is a corridor to downtown and the university, but because Fairfield itself has an incredibly rich history that we want to continue.”
Brazeau says involvement with the community is an important part of the school’s mission. The new facility allows them to better serve that mission. For example, the flexible design of the classrooms allows the school to host a variety of events for the community.
“I’m excited we are located in Fairfield and that we can help to make contributions to this community. Our location provides opportunity for our students to increase their interactions with the community,” says Brazeau. “We want to be good neighbors. My vision for this school and this building is that we can host the community here. We can get people from the community excited about the health professions. I hope having more people use this facility will continue to increase vibrancy we are seeing in the community.”
Gilbert is equally committed to seeing the university’s health sciences campus help transform the neighborhood.
“We are reimagining what Hal Greer Boulevard can be,” he announced. “We are also hopeful we can bring a grocery store to the community. We would also like to see retail shopping and restaurants on the Northcott site right across the street.”
With a new facility, dedicated faculty, staff and students, and a location that allows them to optimize engagement among colleagues and with the surrounding community, the future of the School of Pharmacy, which graduated its fourth class of Doctor of Pharmacy students in May 2019, looks brighter than ever.
“We will continue to be entrepreneurial in our teaching, research and scholarship,” says Brazeau. “We will continue to grow a first-rate institution with strong research and strong service to each other and to community. We feel gratitude each day for the opportunities we have here. I am excited about where the school is going.”
Molly McClennen is a freelance writer who lives in Huntington, West Virginia.
Photos (from second from top):
Marshall President Jerome Gilbert addresses an overflow crowd that includes family, friends, faculty, students, administration and members of the community, all who have come to pay tribute to Kopp.
Jane Kopp touches the plaque honoring her late husband, Marshall University President Stephen J. Kopp.
Flanked by U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, Jane Kopp holds the memorial flag given to her as a keepsake of the dedication of the building named in honor of her late husband, President Stephen J. Kopp.
Dr. Gayle Brazeau, dean of the School of Pharmacy, says the Stephen J. Kopp Hall will be an important cornerstone for Marshall’s ever expanding health sciences campus.