Repeatedly ranked by U.S, News & World Report among the top 10 liberal-arts colleges in the West, the College of Santa Fe has a distinguished historical and academic legacy. With a new president inaugurated in 2000-the sixth ever and the first woman-the College continues on a path of dynamic growth and constant improvement.

The College of Santa Fe is an independent institution in the Lasallian Catholic tradition. Its roots are planted firmly in the days of the Wild West, but its facilities and programs are as modern as the 21st Century. The school's origins trace to famed Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy, a contemporary of Kit Carson, who brought four Christian Brothers from his native France to Santa Fe in 1859 to establish New Mexico's first school for boys.

In 1874 the school expanded to include college instruction, but that portion of the program was discontinued after World War I. Ironically, World War II brought the establishment of the current College, when the Christian Brothers-a teaching order-acquired the former Bruns Army Hospital on Santa Fe's south side. The first student body numbered 148, and the first graduating class, in 1950, numbered 23. Today the student body exceeds 2,000, and the student-faculty ratio of 14 to one is one of the lowest anywhere, providing close individual contact between teachers and learners.

Growing steadily over the years, the College gained full accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities in 1965. Helping it greatly to achieve that distinction was the generous financial support of movie actress Greer Garson and her husband Col. E. E. "Buddy" Fogelson, part-time residents of New Mexico. Garson's influence also led CSF to develop one of the finest performing-arts programs in any American college. Many graduates have distinguished themselves in film and theater.

In addition, CSF offers dozens of majors in 11 academic departments, including art, business administration, music, education, humanities, conservation studies, science, mathematics and social science, plus graduate degrees in education and business.

A vital part of one of America's most culturally rich cities, the College of Santa Fe provides a unique and personal education for its nationwide and foreign student body.

For full information, visit the College of Santa Fe Website at www.csf.edu.