Facade of the Health Sciences Building at Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts

In November 2020, Assumption completed construction of the 41,000-square-foot Richard J. and Sophia Catrambone Health Sciences Center, a three-story building with a number of state-of-the-art teaching resources to educate future health professionals.

In recognition of their commitment to the value of a strong, Catholic liberal education that emphasizes humanity and patient-centered care as the focus of its curriculum, Richard J. Catrambone, D.M.D., M.D. ’81, and his wife, Sophia, made a generous lead multi-million dollar gift in the naming of the University’s new health sciences building. Generous and steadfast supporters of Assumption, the Catrambones dedicate the Richard J. and Sophia Catrambone Health Sciences Center to the students who will grace Assumption with their desire to become competent and compassionate health care providers.

Dr. Catrambone credits Assumption for providing him with a comprehensive pre-medical and liberal arts education from which he was able to excel in dental and medical school and build a successful oral and maxillofacial surgery practice. He and his wife come from modest means. Dr. Catrambone was the first in his family to obtain a bachelor’s degree. Sophia emigrated with her family from Vietnam in 1980 and they were the beneficiaries of critical support from the Roman Catholic society Opus Dei when they arrived in the United States. Through hard work and the support of their families, the Catrambones succeeded and are now financially supporting those organizations and institutions that helped them thrive. “Sophia and I feel that we have received a tremendous amount from others and we are just doing our part to help Assumption, an institution that has given us so much,” said Dr. Catrambone. 

Catrambone Family Photo