Physician Assistant Learning Center was the start of a new School of Health Sciences.
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he Unistructure, Bryant’s flagship building, had an addition built in 2014 to house a new Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program. This marked the university’s strategic entry into health care education, the inaugural program of the new School of Health Sciences. Built adjacent to the Management Resource Complex (MRC) portion of the Unistructure, the 11,000-square foot addition included administrative offices, clinical studies rooms, and physical exam rooms. The new building was tied into the existing MRC building in the area of Undergraduate Advising and Room M43 on the upper level. Brian Britton, Bryant’s former Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, recalls that in the early stages of planning, university leaders considered the idea of a remote campus for the new school, perhaps in Providence. But after looking at a number of buildings, they decided there were many advantages to building an addition to the Unistructure instead. That way students could live on a nice campus, where parking was convenient and facilities could be shared. The Unistructure has grown over the years, from a building that started with around 277,000 square feet to the current 340,000 square feet — just from relatively small additions over time.
The Physician Assistant Learning Center (PALC) started classes in the former MRC Lecture Hall and Classroom M44: The two rooms became the Physician Assistant (PA) Lecture Hall and the PA Team Classroom. The classrooms were renovated, and state-of-the-art A/V equipment was installed.
Michael Carosotto managed the PALC building project. Lerner Ladds and Bartels was Project Architect, and the Construction Manager was Consigli Construction Corporation.
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