1859: Bishop John Baptist Lamy brings the first Christian Brothers to New Mexico to start a school for boys, St. Michael's College. The brothers teach in an adobe hut on what is now Old Santa Fe Trail. For a long time, it is the sole source of education for boys in the territory.



1874: When the territory grants a charter to the "College of the Christian Brothers of New Mexico," St. Michael's expands to include a program of higher education. Although the college program ends after World War I, St. Michael's continues to flourish as a preparatory school.



1947: The brothers, who have long dreamed of reinstating the collegiate program, buy the land the college now sits on, a defunct army hospital, for $1. The college opens in 51 converted barrack buildings, with 15 Christian Brothers faculty members and 148 students. That same year, the school for boys takes on a new name, St. Michael's High School.



1958: Brother Cyprian Luke Roney takes over as president of the college. The college begins to pay salaries to the brothers, which they donate back to the college to pay for their lodging and meals.



1962: The college outgrows old Army barracks; its first new building is constructed.



1965: The college achieves accreditation as a private, not-for-profit college. Greer Garson Theatre is built, named for actress Greer Garson, who, over a period of decades, is a major benefactor of the college along with her husband, Texas oilman E.E. "Buddy" Fogelson.



1966: The name of the school is changed to the College of Santa Fe. The school begins enrolling women.



1960s and '70s: Thirty brothers and 80 student brothers work together to keep the college afloat while still charging meager fees for tuition. In the mid-1970s, the school raises money by selling about 15 acres along Cerrillos Road for what is now College Plaza shopping center.



1980: The college begins offering degree programs to local working adults in the evenings and on weekends.



1981: The school sells another 5.5 acres along Cerrillos Road, just south of College Plaza, to the Skaggs drugstore chain.



1985: The college's first graduate program, the Master of Business Administration, receives accreditation from the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education.



1986: The college expands into Albuquerque following the closing of the University of Albuquerque. The college announces that years of budget deficits and enrollment struggles led to a decision to disband its 39-year-old athletic department, including basketball and volleyball programs.



1987: Trustees appoint James Fries as president, the first who isn't a member of the Christian Brothers.



1990s: Garson Communications Center and Studios opens in 1990 for use as a film school and production studio. It is part of unprecedented growth during the late '80s and throughout the '90s as the college raises more than $26 million for new facilities, including the Driscoll Fitness Center, student apartments and the Visual Arts Center. Programmatic initiatives include a master's degree in education and new majors in environmental science, conservation, contemporary music and creative writing. Many of the Christian Brothers, including most of the founding members, begin retiring from the College of Santa Fe.



2000: Linda N. Hanson becomes the sixth president. She helps create a long-range strategic plan titled "Roots and Wings: New Directions of CSF."



2003: The college establishes an undergraduate major in documentary studies. During Hanson's tenure, Rosemarie Shellaberger Tennis Center and the Gladys Heldman Championship Stadium are constructed, and the campus sees renovation of Benildus Hall as the Center for Contemporary Music and Creative Writing. The college creates a men's tennis team through a $1 million endowment from the Shellaberger estate.



2005: Mark Lombardi, who has been provost since 2001, is appointed as CSF's seventh president.



2006: Lombardi announces "CREATE: 2012," a new five-year strategic plan for 2007-2012, will be developed with the help of a steering committee. The tennis team is disbanded.



2007: Stuart C. Kirk, a trustee since 2005, becomes the eighth president. The college agrees to sell a piece of its campus fronting St. Michael's Drive to a local bank to raise revenue. In September, the College of Santa Fe announces it will resume intercollegiate athletics beginning in the 2008-09 school year, with plans to compete in men's and women's soccer, golf and tennis as well as baseball and softball. Officials said financial pressures have forced plans to shift the school's focus from liberal arts to creative arts, with faculty and program cuts.



2008: The college enters into partnership talks with Savannah College of Art and Design. Those talks fall through in the spring. Officials then undertake talks with Laureate Education Inc., a for-profit institution, about a partnership. Those discussions fall through in November. The college turns to the state for help, while needing help from donors to survive the school year. New Mexico Highlands University proposes a takeover of the college. The deal needs approval from the Legislature, as well the Higher Learning Commission, which accredits both institutions.