BOSTON — Since David J. Sargent became president in 1989, Suffolk University has been through tremendous growth, changing from a small commuter-based institution into a flourishing and urban university serving students across the country and around the world.Under President Sargent’s administration, there have been a number of major additions to the Suffolk community. One of these additions is the campuses in Madrid, Spain and Dakar, Senegal, as well as three satellite campuses in Massachusetts. Students are able to take advantage of these locations, as many Suffolk students choose to study abroad.

Trish Ayer, a freshman at Suffolk University, intends to study at the Madrid campus next year. “I am thrilled about studying in Madrid next semester,” Ayer said. “The campus there offers Suffolk students such an easy way to study abroad, while keeping on track with their credits and university hours.”

President Sargent also oversaw the merging of Suffolk with the New England School of Art and Design. NESAD adds a wonderful art program to Suffolk’s collection. The school is currently located on Arlington Street, but plans are in the making for the Art School to be relocated closer to Suffolk’s main campus. This should make commutes much easier for students, especially since art students have general education requirements to fulfill in classrooms that are in the main Suffolk area.

Riana Blinn, a student at NESAD, is excited about the move. “Moving NESAD nearer to everything else at Suffolk will really be much more convenient,” she said. “There’ll be no more of this back and forth business.”

Other projects administered by President Sargent include founding the Center for Teaching Excellence, and opening the Mildred F. Sawyer Library at the newer Suffolk building, located at 73 Tremont Street.

President Sargent says his major focus right now is the refurbishment of the currently closed motion picture theater on Washington Street, adjacent to the 10 West dormitories. The theater, which is the site of the showing of the first talking motion picture, once had an “incredibly impressive and ornate façade,” according to President Sargent.

The historical 185 seat theater is going to be replicated to look like it once was, and used for the Suffolk Theater and Performing Arts programs. Above the theater will be 10 stories of Suffolk dormitories that will connect to the dorms at 10 West by a hallway. The refurbished building will be a great addition to the theater department, as well as adding approximately 192 beds to Suffolk’s on-campus housing program.

President Sargent graduated from Suffolk Law School magna cum laude in 1954, ranking number one, and serving as president of his class. He returned to Suffolk as a professor in 1956. From 1972-1989, he served as the Dean of the Law School. He became the University President in 1989. What kept President Sargent coming back to Suffolk? “I really never left,” he said. “It’s the best decision I’ve ever made. Teaching was my great love. I still consider it to be the noblest thing a person can do.”

In the autumn of 1999, President Sargent had a great honor bestowed upon him: the new facilities of the Suffolk University Law School were named after him. David J. Sargent Hall opened across from the Park Street Church.

According to A Site History of David J. Sargeant Hall by Joseph P. McEttrick, “The history of the Sargent Hall site exemplifies how people, institutions, buildings, and the land inevitable change over time in response to physical, social, political and economic environments. Those who adapt well to changing times prosper.” It seems that the name of the Law School is fitting with the history of it. President Sargent certainly helped the school to prosper as he urged it to change with the times.

On November 16, 2006, the Suffolk University Law School alumni association honored President Sargent with a special “Lifetime Achievement” award. He has the rare distinction of serving his alma mater as a professor, scholar, law school dean, and president. As President Sargent continues to serve Suffolk, there is no doubt that the university will continue to prosper, and see new and exciting horizons.