I am delighted to announce an £11.1 million refurbishment of the Garrod Building which will take place over several months from February. The building will become the new home of Barts and The London Students Association and it will house the Institute of Health Sciences.
This is designed to bring the building to life as a major staff-student hub with a new Barts and The London Students Association space, a new computer learning suite and an upgrade of teaching rooms to meet needs of the new curricula.
The former Medical College Library will be provided with flexible and comfortable seating and workspaces as well as an option to provide a suitable space for theatre and music performances as well as event functions. Elements of the London Hospital Museum will be exhibited in Garrod showcasing our heritage.
We aim to bring a brand new “Barts and The London Lives exhibit” on the ground level of the building. This exhibition will celebrate our current and past students and staff and the contribution they have made to human progress and public good. To kick off Medicine and Dentistry's celebration of the 900th Anniversary of Barts Hospital in 2023 we will trigger a campaign to identify initial Barts and The London lives we should celebrate with candidates from Medicine, Dentistry, Science and our Hospitals. We hope you will take part in this initiative by suggesting suitable individuals.
I have received some ideas already - Martin Griffiths suggested Arthur Wint a Jamaican athlete, who fought in the RAF, and became a Barts Medical Student in 1947. Whilst at Medical School he won Olympic Gold twice for Jamaica and later went on to become the country's High Commissioner. We also want to ensure we celebrate our current staff such Professor Chloe Orkin who undertook world-leading work on the clinical features of Monkeypox (watch out for more from her next week). So get thinking please you will be shaping the Digital Lives and animating Medicine and Dentistry.
I want to thank Charlie Sellar, Rob Tucker, and our students from Barts and The London Students Association, Arundi Mahendran, Christine Sofianos and all the IHSE Staff, Rob Bennett, Chie Adachi, Beth Micakovic, Sharon Ellis, Karen Kroger, Stephanie Marshall, Sara Crema, Gareth Gilmur, Ian McManus for their tireless work and efforts to create this new staff-student hub in the Garrod Building. Thanks also to Colin Bailey, our President and Principal.
With best wishes,Mark
Prof Sir Mark Caulfield, Vice-Principal (Health)