Published Sunday, September 07, 2008

Atlanta Christian to visit Newnan, Peachtree

By Winston Skinner

The Times-Herald

The decision on whether Atlanta Christian College will choose Newnan or Peachtree City for its new location will probably not be settled until sometime next month.

Sarah Huxford, spokeswoman for the college, said the ACC relocation team and some administrators will spend the day Sept. 15 in Newnan and Peachtree City. Representatives from both cities will make presentations in their respective towns.

The visit will be "an all day thing," Huxford said, with ACC officials spending about three hours in both Peachtree City and Newnan.

Newnan officials have been courting ACC -- a private, Christian, liberal arts college -- since before the college officially announced its plans to relocate its main campus in October of last year. The school was founded there in 1937 and will retain a satellite campus, aimed at non-traditional students, in East Point.

Six Georgia cities submitted proposals to become the new home for Atlanta Christian. College officials announced in May that the search had been narrowed to Newnan and Peachtree City.

Peachtree City is offering a tract for a proposed campus, while Newnan offers buildings that could be immediately retrofitted for classrooms and dormitories.

Huxford said Dean Collins, acting ACC president, is looking at "a 4-8-week time frame" after the Sept. 15 meetings before a final decision is announced. The relocation committee will make a recommendation to the Atlanta Christian trustees, which will make the decision about where to relocate.

Huxford said the college wants to make a move that will last for a century or two. "We want to make sure we're making the right decision," she said.