Exciting News: PA Program

An email message sent to the campus community on October 18 2024:

Dear Assumption Community,

I am thrilled to share the news that our master’s level Physician Assistant (PA) program has been awarded provisional accreditation by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). This is theaccreditation status granted when a developing PA program successfully applies for accreditation. Our first PA students will matriculate in January 2025.

This achievement represents years of hard work and persistence from many in our community. I am especially grateful to Dr. Marc Guerra, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, for the skill and dedication with which he has stewarded our application over the last year. Christopher Ferreira, PA-C, has led an exceptional team that has worked day and night to get us to where we are today. He and his team deserve the community’s gratitude as well: 

  • Wendy Buja, PA-C, Director of Didactic Education, PA Studies
  • Kayla Cetrone, Ph.D., Director of Admissions, Assessment, & Academic Success, PA Studies
  • Robert Ferguson, M.D., Medical Director, PA Studies
  • Jeffery Giarnese, PA-C, Director of Clinical Education, PA Studies

This program is possible because the University showed the same determination and persistence we prize in our students. I appreciate the many members of the community who have helped develop and advocate for this program as well as the many others who have understood its importance. 

The PA program will be housed in the Richard J. and Sophia Catrambone Health Sciences Center, a state-of-the-art facility that will enable cutting-edge PA education. But what will most set our graduates apart is the care for the human person that is the foundation of Catholic health care and of Catholic liberal education. 

I’m grateful for what this program represents—for Assumption and for the impact our graduates will have as compassionate and thoughtful healthcare providers. 

Please join me in congratulating and thanking all those who made this achievement possible. I look forward to seeing theprofound difference this program will make in the lives of its students and the communities they will serve.

Sincerely,

Greg Weiner, Ph.D.
President