Southwestern College is pursuing accreditation for a physician assistant – physician associate program and has secured a lease on property in Winfield toward that effort. A director for the program has been hired.
A class of up to 40 students would be part of the program’s first class in Jan. 2027, should progress continue as scheduled, school officials said in an announcement made Thursday.
Southwestern has entered a formal agreement with the McNeish family to lease a portion of the space at 800 Main Place. Per terms of the agreement, the college will begin occupying the leased space in early summer of this year.
Winfield-based Agora Architecture – also based in the 800 Main Building – will work with SC on plans to renovate the space in preparation for the arrival of PA faculty and students.
“Our family built 800 Main Place in 1988 as an investment in the future of Winfield and in support of the vitality of our downtown,” said Tom McNeish. “Our partnership and support of Southwestern as they begin the PA program represents a continuation of that investment and our belief in what is possible for Winfield.”
Some of the first steps toward achieving provisional accreditation status require that the college hire an experienced program director, prepare a program location, and begin hiring faculty.
“We are grateful to the McNeish family, who have long been incredible supporters of Southwestern College, for their willingness to partner with us as we work the launch of the PA program,” said Southwestern President, Dr. Liz Frombgen. “800 Main is a beautiful space offering downtown amenities for our PA students as well as visibility and it will serve as an extension of our Main Campus for these specialized learners.”
The college has also announced the hiring of Chandra Lynch to serve as the program’s first director. Lynch comes to Winfield after having been with Ohio’s Baldwin Walace University’s PA program since 2012, the last two years as director.
Lynch has already relocated to Winfield as working on establishing the PA program, school officials said. In addition to a career in academia, she has continued to see patients as a medical professional and is a licensed PA.
Southwestern College alumnus, Dr. Bryan Dennett, who is a local family-practice physician is serving as the medical director of the program. Continue story below ad.
ACCREDITATION
Southwestern has applied for Accreditation-Provisional from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education with the intent of achieving “Accreditation – Provisional” status at the June 2026 ARC-PA Commission meeting.
Accreditation – Provisional, the school said in a statement announcing the new program, is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding accreditation-provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students.
Additionally, the College has applied for approval of the Master of Physician Assistant Studies by the Higher Learning Commission and is pending approval.
“We have made great progress toward launching a PA program at Southwestern College, but one of the most challenging tasks when opening a new PA program is finding a highly qualified and experienced program director,” said Dr. Frombgen. “We are thrilled to have found Chandra during a national search process. Her approach to educating and preparing PAs and her network will serve our college and students well in the coming years.”
Currently, there are 308 accredited master’s degree level programs in the U.S. Gaining acceptance to PA programs is highly competitive, it is reported that approximately 20% of all program applicants across the nation gain acceptance to a PA program in any admissions cycle and the demand for PAs in the workforce is growing steadily growing according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. PA programs generally take 24-27 months to complete and PA candidates must engage in 2,000 hours of clinical rotations and pass a certification exam.
