Bryant University was founded in 1863 as a branch of a national school which originally taught bookkeeping and methods of business communication and was named after founders, John Collins Bryant and Henry Beadman Bryant. In 1916, the Rhode Island branch was sold and merged with the Rhode Island Commercial School. Classes for Bryant and Stratton College were originally held in the now demolished Butler Exchange building located in downtown Providence, at 111 Westminster Street on Kennedy Plaza. Bryant became non-profit in 1949 and offered its first master's program in 1969.