Local campus about to graduate first MBA students

Thursday was a day to celebrate a dream in Peachtree City: one that keeps growing and growing.

Local elected officials attended a thank you reception in which the Fayette County Board of Commissioners was honored for supporting Clayton State University’s current Fayette County campus.

Even more celebrating is planned in coming months as the campus will graduate its first 23 graduates of its MBA program, all of whom attended the entirety of their classes at the campus in Peachtree City off Commerce Drive. The Fayette campus is also about to graduate its first student with a degree in airline administration.

The school is leasing a floor of an office complex on Commerce Drive, and the presentation was made in a classroom that featured a window view of a nearby stand of trees in a city greenbelt.

The university had humble beginnings several years ago when it began offering undergraduate courses in a converted classroom in the basement of the Peachtree City Tennis Center.

The hope is that Clayton State’s presence will continue to grow in Fayette, a sentiment shared by County Commission Chairman Jack Smith.

“I challenge you all that we are not done yet,” Smith said. “This is a temporary permanent facility.”

Many are wishing the university’s presence will grow into a full-fledged campus in coming years, and the success of the satellite campus seems to indicate such an effort would be fruitful.

College officials lauded the cooperation from the county ranging from the development authority to the county commission, which pledged up to $25,000 for furnishings for the campus. The final figure came in several thousand dollars less, Smith noted.

Interim Clayton State President Tim Hynes said the school is extremely grateful for the assistance from the county as it continues to enhance its presence here. Hynes said he envisions that relationship continuing to grow, and an honorary plaque was presented to Smith and fellow commissioner Eric Maxwell to recognize the county’s support.

The support from the county and many other friends of the college “has made it possible for us to get this far,” Hynes said.

“This far,” for those about to graduate with degrees from the Clayton State-Fayette campus, is a rather long way academically but with a rather short physical commute.

The university’s reach will extend even farther in coming years as the school was recently approved by the board of regents to offer a bachelor’s in business administration program that would compliment its MBA program.

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