AMHERST — For the first time, all six schools that are part of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences are under one roof, with classes and programming underway this semester in the $43 million hub at the corner of North Pleasant Street and Eastman Lane.
On Friday, with Dr. Robbie Goldstein, the state’s commissioner of the Department of Public Health on hand and students presenting their latest research work, UMass, state and local leaders cut a ribbon to ceremonially open the 26,800-square-foot building.
Inside the building that broke ground in May 2024 is a multistory commons with exposed wood construction and a staircase, creating a gathering space for study and schoolwide events.
The hub anchors a new plaza that opens toward the campus core and connects to the 1958 Ruth J. Totman Physical Education Building, where the Kinesiology department is located. The other five departments, which have been spread across seven campus locations, are Biostatistics & Epidemiology; Environmental Health Sciences; Health Promotion & Policy; Nutrition; and Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences.
“Today we celebrate an investment not only in a building, but in the future of public health,” Chancellor Javier A. Reyes said. “By bringing students, faculty, staff and partners together in a space designed for connection, collaboration and innovation, we are strengthening the ties between our campus and the communities we serve — and preparing the next generation of public health leaders to make a lasting impact.”
The hub incorporates what is known as a biophilic design approach, using wood finishes and extensive natural light to enhance learning environments. The building was designed to support contemporary approaches to team-based learning.
Inside, there are also flexible classrooms, hotel office space for faculty, offices for all student advising and career planning staff, the dean’s office, conferencing facilities and open areas for collaboration.
“This new space reflects how we learn, teach and work together as a public health community,” Dean Anna Maria Siega-Riz said. “By uniting our departments in one collaborative, light-filled environment, we are creating the conditions for innovation, interdisciplinary discovery and student success — while reinforcing our shared commitment to improving health and well-being for populations in Massachusetts and beyond.”
The school offers some of the university’s fastest-growing programs, addressing public health priorities, such as preventing opioid deaths and mitigating addictive behaviors, improving mental health and healthcare access for vulnerable populations and promoting healthy living across the lifespan.
Goldstein said the building is a statement and declaration that it will be there for the “long haul.”
“Public health is getting stronger, it’s building, it’s growing, it matters,” Goldstein said. “This is the place that will bring together, support and inspire the kind of people who have dared to choose this work. And there’s perhaps no work that is more important, or more rewarding.”
Close to 90% of the school’s graduates remain in Massachusetts, working in hospitals, laboratories, health departments and community health programs.
Designed by Boston-based Leers Weinzapfel Associates, the hub is built to the LEED Gold certification standard.
