WHO: David M. Dooley, University of Rhode Island president; Mim L. Runey, Johnson & Wales Providence Campus president and chief operating officer; Donald H. DeHayes, URI provost and vice president for Academic Affairs; George Bottomley, director of the Johnson & Wales Physician Assistant Studies program and 1973 URI graduate; Kathleen Maher, chair of URI’s Health Professions Advisory Committee; and Reilly Loomis, a current student in the Johnson & Wales program who earned his bachelor of science degree from URI in 2013.

WHAT: University of Rhode Island graduates who enroll in the Johnson & Wales University Physician Assistant Studies Program will soon have a direct path into one of the hottest careers in the nation. Officials from both universities will sign an agreement guaranteeing admission to up to six qualified URI graduates for each admission cycle in the master’s degree program at Johnson & Wales, the first of its kind in the state. The Bureau of Labor Statistics and a 2013 CNNMoney/PayScale project the need for physician assistants to grow by 30 percent during the next 10 years. U.S. News and World Report ranked the physician assistant career as one of the most in demand in the country.

According to the ranking summary, physician assistants had a median annual salary of $90,930 in 2012.

WHEN: Friday, Sept. 12, 10 a.m.

WHERE: URI Alumni Center, 73 Upper College Road, Kingston Campus

TO MAKE COVERAGE ARRANGEMENTS: Contact Dave Lavallee, URI Marketing & Communications, 401-874-5862.