From Staff Reports

MONTREAT — The proposed merger between Montreat College and Point University may be on hold.

In January, members of Montreat College, pressed with financial concerns, approached Dean Collins, president of Point University, to explore options for a merger. Montreat’s representatives would only consider a merger with an organization with similar Christian values.

 In July, representatives from both institutions went public with the announcement. The news met normal resistance from alumni, but now opponents believe they may have a legal basis to prevent the union.

Montreat College has long had ties to the Montreat Conference Center, which is overseen by the Montreat Retreat Association, an affiliate of the Presbyterian Church. Those ties were sealed in a contract in 1992 and updated in 2009.

In late November, Tanner Pickett, the conference center’s vice president for sales, marketing and communications, noted that the document states that the majority of board members for the college need not belong to the Presbyterian Church USA, but a majority may not be of a different denomination. 

Since Point University is not a Presbyterian college, Tanner said he sees potential for problems.

Montreat and Point had expected to merge, following the approval of the Southern Association of Colleges and School Commission on Colleges, as early as July 2014.

The new Point University would serve Christian students in North Carolina and Georgia, and provide distance learning opportunities as well.

Before seeking a merger, Montreat had laid off 29 full-time employees.