Mesa approves deal with Westminster College

MESA, Ariz. (AP) - The City Council in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa is going forward with a deal to bring a campus of Missouri-based Westminster College to the city.

The Council voted unanimously Thursday to negotiate a five-year lease for space in its old courts building with the 161-year-old liberal arts school based in Fulton

Westminster plans to begin holding classes in 2013, offering majors in international business, environmental studies and transnational studies. Minors in pre-law and pre-med would also be offered.

Mesa officials say the old Mesa City Courts building will be transformed into a shared academic-space building. The city is working with one or two additional colleges to move to the site.

Winston Churchill gave his famous 1946 speech warning of an "Iron Curtain" descending across post-war Europe at Westminster.