College of Santa Fe’s Mission Continues in Style

By Natalie Storey, The Santa Fe New Mexican

Feb. 6–A new $1.3 million, 8,600-square-foot student service building should open its doors at the College of Santa Fe later this spring, the college’s president said Monday.

President Mark Lombardi said the college is in the process of applying for permits for the building with the city. The one-story building is being built in Albuquerque. It will be transported to Santa Fe in sections and sit near the campus mall and Benildus Hall.

“The goal of all of this is to provide much better, higher quality service to our students,” Lombardi said. “That’s what drove all this.”

The College of Santa Fe was founded in 1859 and built by the Lasallian Christian Brothers, a Catholic teaching order. Thenew building will be named for Brother Donald Mouton, who has taught at the college since 1971. He was also president of the college from 1982 to 1987. His religion studies classes are still among the most popular at the college.

Brother Mouton said he found out in August that the building would be named after him, at a welcoming convocation for students, faculty and staff. He said when Lombardi announced it would be named after him, his face turned red and his jaw

dropped.

“My surprise was as great as the honor,” Brother Mouton said. “Because it really is an honor to have a building dedicated to the students in such a special way named after me.”

Service offices that were previously scattered across campus will be housed in the new building. Students will be able to get help with registration, financial aid and student housing from the offices in the Ushaped building. The building will help faculty and staff fulfill the mission of the college.

“The college was started to serve students, and this is certainly a very concrete way of enhancing that,” Mouton said.

“I’m very pleased, proud and happy that the staff took this upon themselves as a major project and did a wonderful job.”

The new building will be financed with money the college received after refinancing and reissuing bonds that dated back 10 to 12 years, said Lombardi, who took over in 2005.

The college refinanced its bonds when interest rates were low, saving about $2 million in interest payments, he said.

Another $1.7 million from that effort was used to upgrade all of the technology on campus. And Lombardi said the college is making plans to build a new dormitory on campus, which will house 120 students and will be a green building.

The Mouton Student Service Center will also be an environmentallyfriendly building, possibly saving the college 30 percent in energy costs, Lombardi said.

The private college serves about 1,900 students. Tuition is about $11,700 a year.

Contact Natalie Storey at 986-3026 or nstorey@sfnewmexican.com.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Santa Fe New Mexican

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