William A. O’Neill Resources Building Honors Engineer

The state Legislature established the Institute of Marine Science at UAF in 1960. The five-story William A. O’Neill Resources Building opened in 1973 on the West Ridge to house the institute.

The 41,000-square-foot O’Neill Building was designed for offices and laboratories on three levels with mechanical services on the other two. A system of movable walls allows easy adaptation of the interior. O’Neill was dedicated on May 17, 1975.

In addition to the Institute of Marine Science, the building housed the Department of Land Resources and Agricultural Science, the Forest Soils Laboratory and the Mineral Industry Research Laboratory. It currently houses only the Institute of Marine Science, which is part of the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, and Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station offices.

Renovations and upgrades of the O’Neill Building began in June 2002. Work included lead and asbestos abatement, installation of new casework and fume hoods, improved lighting and installation of a computer lab.

William A. O’Neill moved to Cordova, Alaska, with his parents when he was just one year old. His father operated a mercantile business for the booming copper town. While a high school and college student, O’Neill worked for the mines near Kennecott. He graduated from the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines in 1934 with a degree in geology and mining, when he joined the Canadian operations of the McRae-Patty Mining Co.

O’Neill was a naval officer during World War II. He then worked as a consulting mining engineer and as an assistant project engineer in charge of maintenance and operations for 33 White Alice Communications sites in Alaska. He was building and construction engineer for the Anchorage Borough School District.

Among other accomplishments, he served on the University of Alaska Board of Regents for 25 years, serving as president from 1970 to 1974. The University of Alaska Alumni Association honored him as Alumnus of the Year in 1968.

O’Neill is credited with playing a major role in the development of the University of Alaska from a small, one-campus institution into the statewide system it is today and with making the University Alumni Association a stronger, larger organization. He died in October 1974 in a swimming accident in Liberia while on a geological expedition.

Sources: “William A. O’Neill (1907-1974)” Alaska Alumnus Fall, 1974; “William A. O’Neill Resources Building Dedication” program, Facilities Services Web page, 2002-03 Construction Overview

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