From Staff Reports

While Montreat College would give up its name in a merger planned with another Christian school, Point University, some of the college’s alumni are questioning the proposal.

Willie Mangum, president of MC’s Alumni Board, told local news media outlets that he is under the impression that an April 26 vote by the MC Board of Trustees showed it agreed to “empower the executive committee to put together a structure for a possible merger.”

Others stressed that the board has not voted on any specific merger argeement. Point University’s board of trustees reportedly voted to pursue a merger on May 21. The plan would be to go for a formal merger agreement and accreditation approval.

The matter arose July 29, when Montreat officials announced they are pursuing a merger with the West Point, Ga., university.

The schools would maintain separate campuses, but the new entity would be called Point Unviersity, according to a joint release from the two institutions.

“The new, combined entity will be called Point University, but ‘Montreat’ will continue to be part of the name of the campus in Montreat,” according to information from a website about the merger.

Montreat has struggled in recent years with finances and low enrollment, leading to program cuts.

In January 2012, Montreat laid of 29 full-time employees and discontinued some programs. Earlier this year, college officials announced that Dan Struble, who served as president of Montreat since 2004, was leaving the school.

“This merger will ultimately provide new opportunities to both Point University and Montreat College students, as Montreat expands its reach outside of North Carolina into new markets, beginning with offering graduate programs in Georgia,” a statement on the website explaining the merger said.

Point University “will bring some new undergraduate programs to Montreat through onsite teaching and distance learning,” according to the website.

“Students enrolled at Montreat for the coming year will have an “unterrupted” experience, the website stated.

The next regular meeting of the MC board is in October.