Bryant University Board of Trustees announces appointment of Economist and CCSNH Chancellor Dr. Ross Gittell as Bryant’s Ninth President

SMITHFIELD, RI – The Bryant University Board of Trustees has announced that after an extensive national search it has appointed distinguished economist and economic development expert Dr. Ross Gittell, Chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) since 2012, as the university’s next president. Earning unanimous support from Bryant Trustees, Gittell will succeed Ronald K. Machtley, who has served as Bryant’s eighth president since 1996.

“We are thrilled to find a leader like Ross Gittell, who embodies the character and future vision for Bryant University,” said William J. Conaty ’67, Chair of the Bryant University Board of Trustees. “Dr. Gittell’s outstanding academic credentials and experience as the CEO of seven community colleges within a complex organizational setting make him a perfect fit to succeed the legendary Ron Machtley as Bryant’s next president.”…Read More

The transformative power of Bryant’s IDEA program

SMITHFIELD, RI – Last week, about 800 Bryant first-year students emerged exhausted but invigorated by their Bryant IDEA experience with new ways of looking at the world. The Bryant IDEA (Innovation and Design experience for all) is a three-day, high-energy, immersive design thinking boot camp that strips away students’ preconceived ways of learning. This innovative program challenges students to shift their intellectual focus from getting the “right” answer or “earning an A” to developing characteristics such as curiosity, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, perseverance and grit. It sets a foundation that prepares future leaders for success no matter what the AI and data-driven future brings.

IDEA challenges students to shift their intellectual focus from getting the “right” answer or “earning an A” to developing characteristics such as curiosity, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, perseverance and grit.

Students get through this rigorous and immersive experience with the support and guidance of almost 200 faculty, staff, student, and alumni mentors, as well as more than 100 alumni and regional business leaders who serve as judges. For three days Bryant’s entire campus becomes a Silicon Valley start-up environment as students dig deep to come up with solutions for one of 35 participating regional businesses…Read More

Bryant Physician Assistant Program is first in RI to earn full accreditation

SMITHFIELD, RI – Bryant University’s Master of Science in Physician Assistant (PA) Studies program has been granted full accreditation by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA),earning Accreditation-Continued status.

This rigorous full accreditation is a distinction that has proven especially challenging for the state’s PA programs to achieve, and Bryant’s program is the first PA program in R.I. to receive it.

Bryant’s PA program was launched in January 2014 as the first program of the University’s School of Health Sciences. During the conditional accreditation period, the program has met or exceeded the required standards to be granted Accreditation-Continued status. The next review of the program will be June 2028 and will include periodic compliance reporting and a visit by members of the ARC-PA…Click to Read More

Students walk down Wall Street, network with Wall Street Council and finance alumni

It’s become one of Bryant’s best-known annual student-alumni events, combining a student learning day on Wall Street with a networking event organized by Bryant’s Wall Street Council.

A full bus of students made the trek to New York City Oct. 25, where they heard from a variety of speakers and networked with alumni, parents, and friends in the finance industry. Popular with students from finance majors and members of the Smart Women in Finance group and the Archway Investment Fund, the Walk Down Wall Street is organized by the Amica Center for Career Education and sponsored by the Finance Association.

The first event of the day was a panel discussion hosted at US Trust and led by Joseph C. “Joe” Capezza, Jr. ’08, Vice President and Portfolio Manager at US Trust. The panelists, including William Brian Gowen ’13, Financial Analyst and Bank Examiner at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Garrett Hayward ’16 MBA, Equity Research Analyst at Douglass Winthrop Advisors; and Samantha Merwin ’12, Vice President at BlackRock, shared stories, offered advice, and answered questions from the students…Click to Read More