One of our main academic buildings, the Leonard J. Samia Academic Center features general classrooms, collaborative learning classrooms, and science labs.
Up until 1930, in the exact same spot as Suffolk's newest academic center, there once stood the Somerset School, the first public kindergarten in the United States.
20 Somerset Street, Boston, MA 02108
The University has renewed the site’s educational heritage and pays tribute to a champion of educational opportunity by naming the academic center for Leonard Samia, BSBA ’69, whose transformational philanthropic leadership has had an enduring impact on generations of Suffolk students, in April 2019.
In 2015, Suffolk University opened its newest campus building, then 20 Somerset Street. Here, students learn in team-based classrooms, conduct cutting-edge scientific experiments, create communications for the 21st century, and so much more.
The Samia Academic Center embodies Suffolk's future as a vital institution in the heart of Boston.
Its 10 floors (two of which are below street level) feature classrooms that encourage collaborative learning and use the latest in educational technology.
Also within its walls are a cafe and event space and light-filled student lounges.
A FOCUS ON COMMUNICATION
As the new home of our Communication & Journalism Department, 20 Somerset’s fourth floor has a lot to communicate.
Students learn how to become media gurus in state-of-the-art production and editing suites, as well as a brand-new social media lab.
Smaller, general classrooms provide the perfect setting for discussion-based classes.
The space layout and technology offered in collaborative learning classrooms encourage and support cooperative, team-based, and problem-based learning.
