New Medical Campus Fitness Center Gets Big Boost With $1M Alumni Gift
Thanks to a $1 million donation by Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Dean’s Advisory Board member Richard Catrambone, DMD, MD’92, and his wife Sophia Catrambone, a new Medical Campus fitness center is close to becoming a reality.
Dean’s Advisory Board member Richard Catrambone, DMD, MD’92, and his wife Sophia Catrambone recently donated $1M toward a new Medical Campus fitness center“Physical fitness is important to Sophia and me, and to both of our children. When this proposal came along, it really resonated with me,” said Catrambone, adding that starting a fitness program and healthy eating habits as a student can help a physician attain a better work/life balance, be more resilient and prevent burnout.
“When this proposal came before the advisory board, with so many students expressing the need for such a facility, I felt it was important for Sophia and me to support students in achieving that healthy balance as they navigate the stress of graduate and medical school.”
After graduating with honors from Assumption College and Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Richard Catrambone completed a four-year residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Tufts, followed by a one-year fellowship in anesthesiology at Boston City Hospital.
He went on to graduate with honors from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, after which he completed a PGY-2 year of general surgery training at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital.
Catrambone has served as president of the medical school’s alumni association and as a vice president on the association’s alumni board. He currently practices oral and maxillofacial surgery in Brockton, Massachusetts, with his daughter, Karina E. Catrambone, DMD, CAS 2012, and son-in-law Brandon J. Saxe, DMD. His son Christopher J. Catrambone, JD, is an estate law planner.
Proposed layout of new fitness center to be located on the ground level of the Instructional building includes 1,800 square feet of workout space and 640 square feet of men’s and women’s locker rooms with bathroom facilities and showers.
In preliminary drawings, the 2,450 square-foot Catrambone Fitness Center includes 1,800 square feet of workout space with various machines, treadmills, free weights and a yoga area, along with 640 square feet of men’s and women’s locker rooms with bathroom facilities and showers.
With a total cost estimated at $2 million, the center will be built in existing unused space on the ground floor of the Instructional (L) building across from Chequers.
Angela Jackson, MD“It’s so exciting. It will make a huge difference for students,” said Associate Dean of Student Affairs Angela Jackson, MD. “They have finite disposable time and money, and to spend any of it commuting to FitRec (the University’s fitness and recreation center on the Charles River Campus) or paying to join a private gym doesn’t work.”
A fitness center has consistently been a top student request—as communicated through informal discussions, the Student Committee on Medical School Affairs, and on campus wellness surveys. It was a long-term goal of Student Affairs and of former BUMC Provost and Medical School Dean Karen Antman, MD.
According to Jackson, key meetings with the Dean’s Advisory Board task force on student wellness helped promote the proposal.
“The dean had always been 100 percent on board. She had the plan of where it would be located, but funding was needed. We don’t have endless resources. We have to be thoughtful about what gets pushed forward, and the fitness center’s time has come,” she said.
A fundraising campaign has been initiated to raise the remaining $1 million. Richard and Sophia Catrambone encourage alumni, parents and friends to also donate generously to help realize the goal of making the Catrambone Fitness Center a reality for Medical Campus students.
To donate or for more information, please contact Suzanne Maselli, associate dean of development.