Five Questions With: Kyle McInnis

Kyle McInnis is the dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Providence College, which recently revealed renderings for a new structure it plans to build on campus. The new building includes five stories of classrooms, including a first-floor 100-seat auditorium-style classroom, along with study spaces, faculty offices, a chapel and dining facilities, the college said.

While the new School of Nursing and Health Sciences building will not be completed until early 2025, the building is set for construction this fall on the East campus near Eaton Street and students are already starting to enroll for the school’s inaugural class, according to Providence College. McInnis said the school has received more than 1,000 applications for 100 available spots.

PBN: What can you tell us about the size of this new School of Nursing and Health Sciences building? What’s the square footage, how many classrooms will there be and what’s going to be your capacity there?

MCINNIS: The new building that will serve as the main academic hub for the School of Nursing and Health Sciences is one of the largest construction projects in the history of Providence College. To serve the needs for our new academic programs and to allow for future growth, the building will likely be between 100,000 to 125,000 square feet.

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The state-of-the-art facility will feature high-tech teaching and learning environments, an entire floor dedicated to clinical nursing simulation, laboratory space for anatomy and physiology, and additional experiential learning in the sciences. There will also be dedicated study and student collaboration areas, maker space and research labs, a chapel, dining facilities, and a student advising and career center to support academic and career success.

PBN: Who are the contractors and designers for this project, and how much will it cost Providence College to build?

MCINNIS: Design concepts were developed in partnership with SLAM Collaborative from Glastonbury, Conn., the same architectural firm that designed the award-winning Science Complex and the Ruane Center for the Humanities on the PC campus. Given their deep understanding of the college’s mission, the preliminary designs showcase PC’s commitment to the pursuit of veritas inside and outside of the classroom.

The college has not chosen a general contractor but will undergo an extensive, highly competitive selection process in the spring. At this stage in the process, we do not have a projected project cost.

PBN: Can you tell us about the construction timeline for this project, and any approvals required by city boards?

MCINNIS: The plan for the new building will be presented for review by and approval of Providence’s City Plan Commission sometime in the next few months. We anticipate site work will begin this summer, with the goal of the building being completed in January 2025 when our inaugural class of nursing and health sciences students are in their sophomore year of studies.

When these students start their program in fall 2023, courses will be held in a dedicated space in our Feinstein Academic Center, which is currently undergoing an intensive retrofit. This academic space is anticipated to be completed in early spring 2023 and will be open for tours.

PBN: How do you think this project will change the face of the PC campus? What do you think?

MCINNIS: It is really less about change and more about positive impact and momentum. In the short time since establishing the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, it has already made a tremendous impact on the entire PC community. Our Office of Admission is seeing unprecedented applicant volume, faculty searches are yielding impressive pools of candidates, the health care industry is engaged and eager for our students to strengthen the local workforce – the impact is palpable.

The physical transformation to campus will further accelerate this momentum. By the end of a four-year cycle, approximately 800 students will be enrolled in the nursing and health sciences programs, which will organically create vitality in the east part of campus along Eaton Street.

More tangibly, the building is being designed to be a resource and destination for the entire Providence College community and the community at large. We are committed to using our spaces as a hub for innovation and collaboration to tackle health disparities, address workforce shortages, advocacy, and more.

Whether it is convening stakeholders or hosting health-related education programs for the local nursing and medical community, the expansion of our academic programs and the addition of inspiring new facilities will make a profound impact on health care in the Providence area and beyond.

PBN: What’s next for expansion of the PC campus? Are there any other construction projects, or renovations of existing buildings, that may be on the horizon that you can tell us about?

MCINNIS: In April 2022, Providence College broke ground on Shanley Hall, a new residence hall that will carry the name of the college’s 12th president, Rev. Brian J. Shanley. Currently under construction, that building is located along Eaton Street at Huxley Avenue and will be available to sophomores beginning in fall 2023.  It will accommodate about 360 students.

Marc Larocque is a PBN contributing writer.