School of Health Sciences Demonstrates Resilience Amid Unprecedented Disruption

Springfield, MA – On Thursday, July 27, 2023, American International College experienced an unprecedented disruption to campus life as a lightning strike caused a major structural fire in Courniotes Hall and the adjacent Lissa Building. While thankfully no one was harmed in the course of this event, the College lost an invaluable learning space on campus with only weeks to prepare for the fall semester.

Having been the home for AIC’s health science programs for nearly three decades, the loss of Courniotes Hall was felt deeply by all parts of the College community—especially the students, faculty, and alumni who once called this space home. Built in 1996 under the administration of future namesake President Harry J. Courniotes, the 36,000-square-foot building became home to the College’s then-new Physical Therapy (1993) and Occupational Therapy (1995) programs, as well as its already established Nursing program (1977).

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, and in advance of the 2023 fall semester, the College launched a comprehensive response plan to meet the most pressing needs of students, including identifying temporary alternative classroom and lab spaces to minimize the disruption of students’ educational experiences.

“The night of the fire, we had students come to watch it, and they were concerned and sad,” recalled Dean of Health Sciences Karen Rousseau in an interview with BusinessWest. “But we said, ‘we’re going to make sure it’s business as usual. We don’t know what it is right now, but we will make sure it’s OK for you.’ That’s what we keep telling students.”

Through the remaining weeks of August, several locations in Amaron Hall and other spaces on campus were quickly modified to accommodate the unique needs of AIC’s health science programs. Traditional classrooms were equipped with modern lab technology, and numerous faculty and staff offices were relocated throughout campus.

To provide an uninterrupted experience for AIC’s nursing students, an agreement was signed with the University of Massachusetts Amherst to utilize the UMass Amherst Center at Springfield, providing AIC students with access to the University’s advanced simulation labs, conveniently located in downtown Springfield. A similar suite of replica hospital spaces was lost in the Courniotes fire—essential to the College’s nursing program, and not easily replicated in the short time before the fall semester. In AIC’s time of need, this partnership was timely and invaluable.

“We recognized the urgency of not only helping AIC nursing students continue their studies but also addressing the need for primary caregivers amid the ongoing nursing shortage,” said UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier Reyes. “This is about neighbor helping neighbor in a time of need—and meeting the workforce needs of our region, especially in an area as critical to the Commonwealth as nursing.”

The 2023-2024 academic year was a busy one amid ongoing recovery efforts. While Courniotes Hall was still in the early stages of redevelopment and reconstruction, the adjacent Lissa Building and nearby 1067 State Street facility offered an opportunity to restore some of the College’s lost learning spaces to meet the needs of AIC’s Divisions of Nursing and Occupational Therapy.

The Lissa Building (named in honor of Sylvia Sokolowski Lissa ’29, Hon ’93) was functionally the east wing of Courniotes Hall and housed, among other features, an 1,800 square-foot human anatomical laboratory. Long a mainstay of the nursing program, the Lissa Building was a natural fit for rebuilding the College’s lost nursing lab spaces, with construction and renovation scheduled to finish by the end of the spring 2024 semester.

The building known as 1067 State Street was originally built in the 1980s as a gas station before eventually being acquired by the College and converted into an auxiliary academic programming space. Over its history, the building filled a variety of functions including housing AIC’s extended campus programs and, most recently, tutoring and learning services. While not directly impacted by the fire, 1067 State required a significant amount of attention to be transformed into a modernized occupational therapy learning space. Through the expedient, hard work of faculty, administration, and campus partners, new OT labs and classrooms were developed within the 1067 facility in advance of the 2024-25 academic year.

The fall 2024 semester will see most of the labs and functions lost in the Courniotes Hall fire restored—if temporarily in different physical locations around campus. The timely response of dedicated faculty, staff, administration, and community partners has ensured students at AIC’s School of Health Sciences can continue to pursue their education without delay and with minimal disruption. This creates a unique opportunity for the future of Courniotes Hall, and what it has the potential to become.

Just as AIC’s motto—post tenebras lux—means “after darkness, light,” from this tragedy arises an opportunity to better fulfill the aspirations and needs of current and future students. A comprehensive fundraising campaign is currently in development, to begin once building plans are finalized. As the College embarks on this new vision, members from all parts of the AIC community will be invited to help light the way to a brighter future.