Princeton University on Wednesday announced a major gift from Dr. Thomas Frist Jr. that will name the University’s new health center.
Dr. Thomas Frist Jr. gifted the school’s Venture Forward campaign which will be more than twice as large as the McCosh Health Center, the current home of University Health Services (UHS) and will incorporate a renovated Eno Hall with a significant new addition to the south.
Scheduled to open in 2025, the Frist Health Center will help the University advance a culture of health and well-being on the Princeton campus.
“This extraordinary gift from Tommy Frist has enabled us to reimagine the University health facility as a place of welcome that offers a comprehensive approach to student health and well-being,” President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 said. “I am delighted that the Frist family’s legacy in health care innovation will now be reflected in the spectacular Frist Health Center. The University is deeply grateful to Tommy and the Frist family for their visionary partnership on this project and, when considered along with the Frist Campus Center, for their incalculable and enduring impact on our campus community.”
The facility has been designed to be healing in character, with serene spaces, adjustable lighting and temperatures, and access to nature — including a winter garden — that provide an attractive setting for a mix of academic, programmatic and social activities.
The construction of the Frist Health Center will also advance the University’s commitment to sustainability by reducing greenhouse gas emissions with a geothermal heating and cooling system. Other features of the building that support Princeton’s sustainability plan are mass-timber framing, green roofs, native plantings for storm water retention and a dedicated outdoor air system.
In June, the Board of Trustees announced that prioritizing well-being had been added as a major pillar of the University’s strategic framework, and the Frist Health Center will be a centerpiece of that commitment. The new facility will also support a growing undergraduate population; Princeton added two new residential colleges in 2022, and enrollment is in the midst of an expansion that will increase the undergraduate student body by 500 students over four years. The McCosh Health Center dates back to 1925 and has been the home of Princeton’s health services since that time. Through its crossroads campus location at the intersection of Goheen Walk and Guyot Lane, the new Frist Health Center will serve as focal point of campus activity and provide more dynamic health and wellness programs that serve the entire Princeton community.
