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Central Methodist University and the City of Macon have reached an agreement calling for the university to establish a regional campus, CMU President Marianne E. Inman announced on Thursday.

Macon officials said that the city has a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to refurbish an existing building as part of a community-wide economic development project. Central Methodist University would use the approximately 4,000-squarefoot building for its regional campus, beginning in the fall of 2010. It would house three classrooms, including a lab area.

City officials said that the partnership agreement with CMU gives them a hub and stabilization to work with in seeking economic opportunities.

"We are absolutely delighted to enter into this partnership with the city of Macon and to be a part of the community's progressive efforts to become economically stronger and to bring expanded educational opportunities to area residents," Dr. Inman said.

Inman noted that Central Methodist has been a leader among Missouri's independent colleges and university in offering educational opportunities statewide. CMU and Mineral Area College in Park Hills recently celebrated a milestone in higher education in the state of Missouri. It was the first of its kind -- the establishment of a cooperative program between a private college and a public community college to offer expanded educational opportunities.

It began in the fall of 1989 when the two institutions joined into a 2 Plus 2 program enabling community college students to pursue a four-year degree through CMU on the MAC campus in Park Hills. Over the past two decades, Central Methodist University has established additional regional campuses in Union, Poplar Bluff, Sedalia, Clinton, Lake of the Ozarks and Columbia and a dual credit program with nearly 100 high schools throughout Missouri.

"These collaborations have benefitted thousands of graduates these past 20 years, allowing them to acquire and enhance their education closer to home. It's helped create a more qualified and educated workforce, which in these economic times has never been more crucial," Inman said.

Academic programs to be offered will include a number of undergraduate courses and four-year degree programs, including business and allied health study areas. The Macon campus also will accept students transferring from other two- and four-year colleges and universities.

Founded in 1854, Central Methodist is the only United Methodist Church-related university in Missouri, and welcomes qualified men and women of all faiths and from diverse backgrounds. Its wooded, historic campus hosts a faculty of teachers, mentors, and scholars dedicated to providing extraordinary attention to the individual learner. With offerings ranging from high-school dual credit to graduate studies and a total enrollment of more than 4,500, its liberal arts and pre-professional programs are centered on a character core that has twice brought Central Methodist national recognition for its leadership in character education.  In recent years the University has attracted significant challenge grants from the national Kresge and Mabee Foundations to help build a $15 million Student and Community Center on the academic  quadrangle and to fund $5 million in major upgrades to its athletic facilities.