She may have undergone some face-lifts in the past, but none compares to the renovations and expansion administrators have proposed for Scaife Hall. Existing areas of the medical school—the lobby, student lounge, and offices in particular—are being assessed for possible reconstructive surgery to give the building a fresher, more modern look. The biggest enhancements would come with the addition of a seven-story west wing and updated anatomy lab fit for 150 learners. If the full wish list comes to fruition, future med students will have more access to interactive learning while getting to see the literal light of day during their studies. Floor-to-ceiling windows are planned throughout most of the new spaces.
A University of Pittsburgh planning committee reviewed teaching facilities at peer institutions, including Stanford University, Duke University, the University of Virginia, and Johns Hopkins University, to see how the proposed Pitt construction would measure up. They’ve pulled in architects from the Boston firm Payette to balance upgrades while maintaining the architectural integrity and history of Scaife Hall, which was opened in 1955 (the same year Jonas Salk announced Pitt’s polio vaccine was deemed safe and effective).
The master plan includes a multiphased approach, with proposed construction starting this year and finishing around 2021. In total, more than 200,000 square feet are under review for renovation. Of course, these augmentations come at a cost. The bill for the project is estimated at $100 million. If you are interested in defraying a portion of the surgical costs, the school welcomes your support.
For more information on naming and giving opportunities, contact Jennifer Gabler: 412-647-3792 or jag188@pitt.edu.
Images ©Payette
LASTING IMPRESSIONS
Levys and leading minds
BY LORI FERGUSON
"Marshall was a genius,” says Stanley Levy (MD ’49) of his brother, Marshall (MD ’53). “He was first in his class in medical school and the first person to get a firstyear residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in internal medicine without having interned there or done a residency anywhere else. And while there, he was awarded a National Research Council Fellowship, which is not normally given in medicine.”
A renowned nephrologist and rheumatologist, Marshall Levy would become known for describing the pathology of the kidney in sickle cell disease, among other contributions.
Marshall earned his BS from Pitt in 1948 before continuing to the School of Medicine. He practiced and taught at Pitt-affiliated hospitals for 43 years, serving for a time as president of the staff at UPMC St. Margaret and at Montefiore. Stanley notes that he and his brother came of age as admission caps on Jews were ending at the medical school and that Marshall worked to increase understanding among people of different faiths. In addition to leading both Jewish and Catholic hospitals in his professional career, while an undergrad, Marshall served as president of the local YMCA, where he swam regularly.
When Marshall died in 1999, Stanley joined his brother’s widow, Lois, in establishing the Marshall S. Levy, MD, Memorial Lecture at the medical school. The endowment has grown in the intervening years through donations from family, friends, and alumni.
The fund supports an annual lecture by a leading clinician or researcher in rheumatology, selected by a committee headed by Larry Moreland, an MD, the Margaret Jane Miller Professor of Arthritis Research, Department of Medicine, and chief of the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology. The 2015 lecturer was Betty Diamond, an MD and head of the Center for Autoimmune and Musculoskeletal Diseases at the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine.
As rheumatologists home in on the immune system as central to many diseases under their care, the field’s scope has expanded. Says Moreland, “The Levy lectureship not only allows us to honor Marshall Levy’s legacy as both a clinician and educator but also to ensure that future generations of rheumatologists have the opportunity to learn from the leading minds in the field.”
Stanley, an internist, is effusive in praise of his brother, yet he too has had a commendable career, including a 20-year stint as the doctor of Jack Kevorkian. That’s not the only notable person who’s crossed his path. At one point during his naval officer training, Stanley shared a Passover seder with Albert Einstein; an autographed English translation of his theory of general relativity manuscript now rests in his library. (Stanley’s collection includes many other original writings by Einstein, as well as a first edition of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species.)
At 89, Stanley still sees patients twice a week and travels from his home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., to a low-income senior apartment complex in Detroit to deliver care.
To learn more about supporting the Levy Lecture, contact Gary Dubin: 412-647-9113 or dgary@pmhsf.org.