On Nov. 13, 2007, Dr. Paul Mittman , President/CEO, unveiled the SCNM Doctoré Development Center in honor and remembrance of Dr. Thomas Richards. Richards' wife, Sharon, attended the unveiling and was presented with a dedication plaque by Dr. David Hagen which read, “He grew in our hearts as he cultivated our minds with knowledge and wisdom.”

Dr. Richards lost his battle with lung cancer in Aug. 2007. His positive charismatic demeanor, professionalism and lust for life still holds strong at SCNM. When it became apparent that there was a strong need for a formal, organized-tutoring lab where students could gain additional one-on-one guidance, it was only appropriate to honor Richards' energy and passion for teaching through the Doctoré Development Center . In his three years at SCNM, Richards never referred to students as “students”, but rather as “young doctorés”.

The Dr. Thomas Richards Doctoré Development Center (DDC) will be facilitated by Stephanie Mehrtens, Dean of Students. With the help of the teaching assistant (TA) coordinators, Mehrten's will be responsible for identifying and hiring qualified tutors for the DDC and scheduling. The DDC will serve as an additional resource for students at SCNM and will further support a high-quality, student-oriented medical education.

Students and faculty will directly benefit from the new Development Center . Students who are in need of additional, more focused, one-on-one guidance will have a place to go for help. Performance should improve on tests, quizzes and projects and student confidence levels will rise due to the reduced frustration in the classroom. The tutors, in turn, will benefit from improved learning of the material by teaching others. Faculty will now have a place to refer students who are struggling in class as well as have the opportunity to spend time helping students in the Development Center during office hours.

The Development Center will be located in the green lab on the SCNM main campus. As SCNM moves forward with the master campus plan renovation, the Center will receive a separate space.