School of Medicine renovates campus center, library in first phase of construction

    The Tufts School of Medicine completed the first phase of renovations on its campus center and library this week.
    A $15 million donation from the Jaharis Family Foundation last fall provided the main funding for the construction of the building, the Arthur M. Sackler Center for Health Communications, and of the Clinical Skills and Simulation Center, which opened in June.
    The gift, pledged by Steven Jaharis (M '87) and his father, Michael Jaharis, was the largest in the history of the medical school, which is located in downtown Boston.
    "We wanted to create more of a sense of community, to create spaces where students could meet," said Marsha Semuels, executive administrative dean of the School of Medicine and a member of the Sackler Renovation Project Steering Committee.
    In order to provide closer interaction with the administration, the officials' offices are situated in the middle of the building, according to Semeuls.
    The renovated Sackler Center features new learning communities on the third and fourth floors. These include smaller classrooms, a kitchen and lounges to encourage work in small groups.
    The renovation also added a fourth-floor café and study space, incorporated into the existing Hirsh Health Sciences Library.
    "[There] was a small café that had coffee and prepared food, but nothing hot. So we knocked out all of the walls and made it into a big open space," Semuels said. "We worked with faculty and students to create healthy options, and the existing library is merged into it."
    The second and third phases of construction will produce other amenities, including more offices, a gym and locker rooms.
    The School of Medicine designed a Web site called "The Big Move" to hear and ameliorate any worries or concerns that students and faculty might have about the center renovations.
    "Other than [concerns about] some unusual [construction] noises, we haven't had any complaints," said Stephanie Fitzgerald, administrative coordinator for the Hirsh Health Sciences Library.
    But some students voiced other worries in a questionnaire the medical school put out. Some referred to food choices in the new café and questions about the wireless Internet access that will now extend to the entire building.
    One student expressed concerns about handicap access during renovation. The administration assured all students that construction would not compromise accessibility and that the work would only be a minor inconvenience.
    The Clinical Skills and Simulation Center includes 12 exam rooms, three simulation rooms and a 50-person classroom, according to a School of Medicine press release.
    Students previously had to travel to Brown University in Rhode Island to access the equipment and training that the Clinical Skills and Simulation Center now provides.
    "I do think we are going to have truly wonderful facilities," Semuels said. "You can already see how excited prospective students are about the space, and it will certainly make the students who are here happier."