Dear SPH Students, Faculty, Staff, and Postdocs,

As we embark on the second phase of our School of Public Health space planning process, our operations team has been working closely with Brown’s Real Estate Office to identify opportunities for faculty and staff space. I’m writing to share some exciting news — we have signed a lease for office space at 66 Pavilion Avenue in Providence to serve as a community research space for our People, Place and Health Collective (PPHC).

The building at 66 Pavilion is located in Lower South Providence in a commercial area just off of the Thurbers Avenue / I-95 interchange. Situated on the second floor above the Providence Comprehensive Treatment Center, this SPH space will serve as the new home for the PPHC, a group of approximately 25 staff and researchers led by Professors of Epidemiology Brandon Marshall and Francesca Beaudoin. The space will allow PPHC to conduct community-based research on overdose prevention and substance use, grounded in a harm-reduction framework. After evaluating multiple options for leased office space in Providence, both close to campus and in other neighborhoods, this location was carefully chosen in consideration of the space, transportation, and facilities needs of those who will use the site, including those enrolled in substance use studies.

While participants in PPHC studies will still have the option to come to 121 South Main St., many organizations and teams have found off-site research spaces to be successful in furthering study recruitment and retention goals, as well as in developing deeper community ties. Spaces that are situated nearer to communities where participants live are often more convenient and foster an environment that is more welcoming. Given that overdose prevention initiatives have been expanding across the state in recent years, with important contributions from SPH, it is important that researchers remain engaged and accessible. This site further allows the PPHC to conduct programming, events, and initiatives that will be accessible and responsive to the needs of the public.

Leasing this office space aligns with the longer-term vision for space planning at the School of Public Health. As we consider surge space logistics, our operations team is working hard to match the needs of our students, faculty, and staff to their working space. The leased office space at 66 Pavilion suits the mission of the PPHC and will enable this team of researchers to advance the positive impact of the work well beyond College Hill, an important priority for so much of the work we do at SPH.

To prepare the space for use, it will be remodeled in the coming months with a specific focus on improving accessibility for individuals with disabilities. We aim to move the group into the office space by early 2023. The researchers, faculty, and staff who are moving to 66 Pavilion have already been informed, and our operations team is working to reallocate their former offices at 121 South Main St.

For questions about this process, please contact sph-operations@brown.edu.

Sincerely,

Ronald Aubert Ph.D.
Interim Dean, Brown University School of Public Health

Sara Walsh
Executive Dean of Finance & Administration
Brown University School of Public Health