Months after controversy erupted among City Council members over the purchase of the Florence Golf and Country Club property, UNA officials continue to look for locations to house a health science management program with a business partner from China.

UNA President William Cale said the university is in the process of working with Guizhou Shenqi Group, which manufactures and researches herbal medicines, to find land to establish an international college for graduate students to study integrative health science management. Apartment-style housing would also be a part of that vision.

Though Zhiting Zhang, chairman of the Chinese business, originally hoped to purchase the Florence Golf and Country Club property for $2.1 million in June, he is now looking to build the international college elsewhere in the Florence area, according to Cale.

Although the property location is not yet being released, Cale said it is near the UNA campus. He also said UNA officials anticipate an on-campus visit from Zhang in November, where discussions will take place with the owner of the potential property.

“Almost no one’s doing this (type of program),” Cale said. “It seems like a really fabulous niche that UNA can get into to serve students from UNA and individuals across the United States.”

The original proposal from Zhang to buy the golf and country club property fell apart this past summer when City Council members Sam Pendleton and James Barnhart expressed opposition to the partnership between UNA and the Chinese company. Soon thereafter, UNA officials advised Zhang to not buy the purchase of the golf and country club property, Cale said.

Cale said the potential purchase of the property crumbed because the City Council was divided about whether or not the partnership between Zhang and UNA would be beneficial to the local community.

“Once the comments were made, we recommended to him that he not pursue the purchase of the golf and country club,” Cale said. “We felt that the negative comments coming from the City Council did not bode well with a partnership with our Chinese partner.”

Last September, the UNA board of trustees voted to approve the purchase of approximately 60 acres of the country club property, which includes a golf course, tennis courts, swimming pool and clubhouse, for $1.2 million, Cale said.

Since last September, the university has collected a $1-per-credit hour fee from students to pay for the maintenance and facility costs of the country club property had UNA completed the purchase. SGA decided at their summer retreat to continue that fee this year.

Since UNA no longer plans to buy the property, students now have the opportunity to decide how the collected $125,000 will be spent at the university.

SGA President Ralph Akalonu said a student referendum was held during Homecoming elections in late September to determine how the money will be used. An outdoor swimming pool and extra MANE card machines were the highest voted options by students, said Akalonu.

“The (referendum) gave students a chance to say what they wanted on how that money needs to be spent,” he said. “(SGA) is trying to be as transparent as possible and is not using that money on anything other than what students want.”

Akalonu believes the addition of a health science management graduate program in Florence would positively impact the local community.

“I think it all boils down to the university as a whole taking the next step toward D-I,” he said. “With that program, there could be a whole lot of potential in that.”

Cale said the economic impact of an international college in the Shoals would be beneficial to the local economy. Dr. Keith Malone, associate professor of economics and finance, worked with his department in 2007 to determine the spending impact of a typical UNA student.

The estimates report that full-time UNA students each spend an average $4,077, and international students spend $2,620 each year. Full-time students have an economic impact of $6,079 in the Shoals each year, and international students an average $3,907, according to data.