Earlier this March, Saint Anselm College announced that the location of a new building to house the new School of Nursing and Health Sciences will be built where Poisson Hall currently stands. Poisson Hall, dedicated in 1983, will be demolished during its fortieth anniversary year. The announcement has brought up the opportunity to share the many memories attached to this little classroom and computer building, as well as some emotions about the demolition. 

Cynthia Desmond, Director of Instructional Technology and Design and a 2008 computer science graduate of Saint Anselm College, said it’s “kind of bittersweet” that Poisson will be demolished.  

“It’s been my home for sixteen years basically,” Desmond said.  “It’s home.  It’s going to be sad to see it go.”

Students who regularly spend time in Poisson Hall also felt sad to lose the building.

Matt O’Hara ‘24, computer science and criminology double major and the vice president of Saint Anselm Gaming Association, which meets in Poisson Hall, said he will also miss the building he spends so much time in. 

“I’ve met a lot of people, been through a lot of experiences, learned a lot of new things,” O’Hara recalled.  “It’s hard to see something like that going away and having to be moved to a new building.”

“I’m definitely sad about it,” computer science major Anthony Grieco ‘24 said.  “I’ve been here for three years.  [I have] a lot of memories. This building has meant a lot to me.”

Some students suggest that a different building should be replaced instead.

“I would just say that it is a travesty that Dominic Hall still stands, but they’re demolishing this building,” freshman Michael Knop asserted.

Many people over the years have recognized Poisson Hall has problems, ranging from its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning to its appearance.   

“Anyone who spends any amount of time in here will tell you the HVAC in here is pretty terrible,” Desmond said.  “It’s overly hot in the winter and overly cold in the summer, and you don’t really have any control over it.

Devyn Pratt ‘24 recalls a “massive leak” that lasted months in one of the bottom floor classrooms last semester:“There was just a massive puddle in the middle of the classroom,” said Pratt, “We had to move the desks around, and we would just see it dripping water the whole time.”

An anonymous “Grumpy Gus” in a December 7, 2009 issue of The Hilltop called Poisson a “dubious structure” and wished to do “whatever it takes to remove the error of Poisson and replace it with a beautiful, complementary sister building to Geisel Library.”

“It’s kind of an outlier on campus,” Desmond commented.  “It doesn’t really look like the rest of the buildings, so I think it will be nice to have something that fits in a little better.”

Poisson Hall’s history predates the current building.  A classroom building connected to the library was originally designed in the 1950s, but as the plans became too expensive, this classroom building was never built.  According to Inman’s compilation, it was not until large computers and Computer Science came to Saint Anselm in the early 1980s that there was urgency for the building’s construction.  

Patrick Marcoux ‘23 stated that Poisson “has been a very much renovated building, and it’s a bit concerning to see one of the more modern buildings on campus being torn down. The school doesn’t have a lot of options when dealing with large class sizes, and having the classroom space it does in Poisson was definitely a plus.  I don’t know how they’re going to compensate for losing that when they tear the building down.”

Those who spent time there have many fun memories of the building.  Desmond recalled enjoying studying with fellow students in her college days and being with her coworkers in Poisson Hall.

“There’s been a lot of fun times in this building,” Desmond said.  “When we used to have our admin assistant, she would throw us birthday parties every month.  It’s a lot of really nice time with our colleagues just sitting around and catching up, just taking a break, a breath, sharing stories. “

As faculty, staff, and students look to the future, there are a lot of unknowns, but the college community still has time to enjoy Poisson Hall while it keeps serving the college’s needs for a little longer.  Named for Albert D. Poisson, who was a financial leader in Manchester and for a time served as President of Notre Dame Hospital’s Board of Directors, and worked on its 1974 merger into Catholic Medical Center, it is perhaps somewhat fitting that Poisson Hall be replaced by a nursing building.