The College of Santa Fe

THE COLLEGE OF SANTA FE The College of Santa Fc, formerly St. Michael's College, occupies the site of the now defunct Bruns General Hospital, a World War II Respiratory Rehabilitation Center sprawled over some one-hundred twenty acres in die City Different, the cultural center of the Southwest. Presently CSF still maintains forty of the barracks buildings as part of its growing complex of dormitory, classroom, administration, and fine arts buildings. Begun in 1947 as a liberal arts college for men, the College of Santa Fe has grown from an initial enrollment of 132 to a coeducational college of over 1200, with students almost equally divided between commuters and residents. The college is conducted by the Christian Brothers and includes a teaching staff of over 60, 50 percent of whom have Ph.D.'s. More Üian half of the teaching staff are laymen . The first permanent building was erected in 1959—a combination classroom-library complex. Since then three modem dormitories, an administration building, a Fine Arts Center and a Physical Education complex have sprung up. Plans for die immediate future include additional dormitories for women, and a spectacular library-learning center. The building impetus is fostered by CSF's dynamic and visionary president , Brother C. Luke Roney, a member of the staff since die school's inception . Brother Luke likes to look upon CSF as a shirt-sleeve college, one Liberal Arts Center, College of Santa Fe 124 The College of Santa fe125 in which faculty and students work hand in hand in tiie business of education . The president offers no apologies for CSF's stress on training for living, training for jobs—even in a liberal arts college. He feels that the basic general education program followed by concentration in subject areas is in close conformity with the true meaning of liberal education. Conversely, he demands of the faculty that they instill in the students a genuine love of study and an eager pursuit of scholarship. However, it is no surprise that the largest departments at the College of Santa Fe are the business and education departments which train students for the immediate prospect of earning livelihoods in the business and teaching fields. The education department works in close cooperation with the other departments. No degrees are granted in education as such, but only in subject-matter areas with the education department supervising general certification requirements and practice teaching. Degrees are granted in history, political science, and sociology tfirough the departments of social science and social work. The department of humanities includes the English and foreign language departments while the newly organized fine arts department includes speech, theatre, music, and art. The science department grants degrees in physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics. The physical education department operates under the auspices of the education department, and die newly constructed million dollar physical education complex is geared to general student participation rather than to intercollegiate athletics, although the school does sponsor a successful basketball team. The general education program at CSF is a departure from traditional course requirements. Freshmen follow a composite course entitled Introduction to the Sciences; sophomores, Introduction to the Humanities. The science program centers upon the scientific method and includes closely related lectures and demonstrations in philosophy, logic, matiiematics, biology, physics, and chemistry. The humanities program centers upon the history of civilization stressing selected periods of literature, drama, music, and art. The general education courses are supervised by a chairman-coordinator and a team of instructors conduct daily lectures, demonstrations, and laboratory sessions. If there is a unique feature of the College of Santa Fe, it is the close, friendly relationship between students and faculty. Despite its rapid growth, CSF has maintained a family spirit on its campus; and the small classes, the informal guidance program fostered by frequent student-faculty individual conferences, and the closeness of students who come from all parts of the country, all result in a smooth functioning, tightly knit southwestern campus. — From Brother Cyril M. Segura, F.S.C. ...