EDUCATION
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A rendering of what the new UWG campus will look like when it is completed.
Four-year college coming to Newnan through hospital redevelopment project
Newnan’s higher educational offerings continue to grow, with the new University of West Georgia Newnan Center campus set to open in January 2015. This new campus will be located at the site of the old Newnan Hospital on Jackson Street. “This is something we have waited for for a long time,” said Newnan Mayor Keith Brady. “A lot of people have put a lot of hard work into this project.” “This is so exciting to me,” said Cathy Wright, director of UWG Newnan. “I was born in that hospital. All my siblings were born there. I actually worked there as a young person, and I can’t be more thrilled.” The $15 million hospital redevelopment project will make four-year, higher-education programs available in Newnan and expand the UWG-Newnan campus currently located in Shenandoah Industrial Park. It is a partnership among the city of Newnan, the Newnan Hospital board, Coweta County,
UWG and the University System of Georgia Board of Regents. In the 2013-2014 school year, the Carrollton-based UWG had a record enrollment of almost 12,000 students. According to UWG President Dr. Kyle Marrero, the university is on target to have 1,200 students enrolled at the new Newnan satellite campus when classes start in January 2015. By January of 2018, his goal is to have 3,000 students enrolled at the campus. Another element of the new campus is expanded course offerings. Dr. J. Michael Crafton, provost and vice president of academic affairs at UWG, said the university wants to expand the course programs from what they are already offering in Newnan – core classes, nursing, and other undergraduate courses. They also plan to expand their dual enrollment capacity to give more high school students a full college experience. CL
Possible future programs at the new Newnan campus include:
Tours of the facility in progess were given to community members.
• Undergraduate degree in business or health care management • Undergraduate degree in criminology, sociology, psychology, biology or chemistry • Undergraduate degree in exercise and health science • MPA with an emphasis in
health care administration. • Master of Arts in Teaching and Master of Professional Community Counseling • Continuing Education programs in other health care support areas and Microsoft certification
WRITTEN BY CELIA SHORTT | PHOTOGRAPHED BY CELIA SHORTT
110 Coweta Living 2014-15