Brenau celebrates expansion of North Atlanta/Norcross campus tonight

GAINESVILLE - Brenau University Galleries and Brenau University at North Atlanta/Norcross present a night of art and entertainment celebrating the expansion of the campus tonight from 5:30-8:00.

The reception, which is free and open to the public, includes an art exhibition as well as a musical performance by the Atlanta folk duo Out of the Rain, featuring Ron Hipp and Carol Statella.

The Brenau North Atlanta/Norcross campus, located at 3139 Campus Drive, Suite 300, is one of five Georgia campuses operated by 135-year-old Gainesville-based Brenau University. It has recently undergone renovations and expansion of its size by about 33 percent to accommodate growth in Brenau's nationally-ranked occupational therapy program, which is now offering weekday classes on the campus.

The North Atlanta/Norcross offers undergraduates and graduate programs in business, nursing, occupational therapy, education, interior design and other disciplines. The university's hybrid on-ground/online clinical doctorate in nursing is also based on the North Atlanta/Norcross campus as is the master of Fine Arts in Interior Design, another terminal degree program.

Fall enrollment on the campus to date totals close to 600 students enrolled in both the weekday and evening and weekend programs.

In addition to Brenau officials, dignitaries who plan to attend include Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson, Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Hixson and members of the city council; State Sen. Curt Thompson; State Reps. Pedro Marin and Tom Rice; Chief of Police Warren Summers; Peachtree Corners City Council member Lorrie Christopher and other officials.

In addition to the musical performance, the opening includes two art exhibitions produced by the highly regarded Brenau Galleries, which is part of the academic partnership the university enjoys with the High museum of Art in Atlanta. One of the collections, "Local Color," features photographs from area artists and dovetails with the region-wide Atlanta Celebrates Photography program. The other exhibition, "The Mutable Sea," comprises photography-based works by Cumming, Ga., artist Lee Anne White, who is a Brenau Women's College graduate. At 6 p.m., White will also talk about her work and sign her book," The Mutable Sea: Reflections on Change."