FAU School of Architecture Receives $500,000 Gift for Student Fellowships

Florida Atlantic University’s School of Architecture in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters recently received a gift of $500,000 from Tabitha Ponte to create the Ponte Health Fellowship in Healthcare Building and Design Endowed Fund. The gift marks the largest to date for the School of Architecture. Starting in the summer of 2022, the fellowship will create an opportunity for an FAU student to receive first-hand experience as an intern with Ponte Health under the direction of Ponte, its CEO and founder and a 2008 graduate of the School. 

“Endowed fellowships are an incredible method of supporting our exceptional students,” said Jeffrey E. Huber, interim director of the FAU School of Architecture. “This gift will enhance student financial assistance and galvanize student interests in healthcare architecture at our school for generations to come. We are deeply grateful to Tabitha Ponte and Ponte Health for their generosity.”

FAU students will be included in development of the Ponte Health “vertical medical city” in Orlando. The building is, as its name describes, a high-rise complex. But it is also a place that connects healthcare with supports for the body and mind. The complex in Orlando includes residences, an urban farm and retail outlets, as well as a medical center and pharmacy. It is home to groundbreaking innovative technology which enriches life and legacy by setting a high standard for aging-in-place. Residences will have everything they need maintain an active and healthy lifestyle as they age. Ponte Health has similar complexes planned for Tampa and Miami. 

Ponte was inspired to develop the vertical medical city in Orlando by personal healthcare experiences that left her disillusioned with the general design, environment and functionality of the very places that are created to help people recuperate and heal. 

“Buildings should be dynamic, and through that, they become an integral part of the healthcare team for patients.” said Ponte.

 From natural lighting and exposure to the outside environment, to the design of the rooms and floors – and even the site location – Ponte has reinvented healthcare architecture, building and design.