Laureate Education's takeover of the College of Santa Fe means the "demise" of the Christian Brothers' mission there, say leaders of the Roman Catholic order.

But, they say, the order's tradition is continuing at the Albuquerque campus of Lewis University, a Christian Brothers institution based in Romeoville, Ill.

"We had anticipated that there would be a different outcome for the Christian Brothers and that we would be able to continue with our mission in some adapted way" at the College of Santa Fe, said Timothy Coldwell, provincial of the Christian Brothers' New Orleans-Santa Fe Province based in Lafayette, La.

"We're disappointed that that could not be the case," he said. "What we're excited about is that we're able to continue our mission in Albuquerque on the campus of Lewis University."

Brothers Coldwell and David Sinitiere, auxiliary provincial, were in Santa Fe last week to meet with alumni and Santa Fe's 16 Christian Brothers, most of whom live in the group home on the campus of St. Michael's High School, where several teach and serve on the board.

Only two Christian Brothers continue to live and work at the College of Santa Fe — Roy Bartusiak, who works in the physical plant and in maintenance, and Jim Brown, who works in the mail room and does other jobs. Both of them live in the World War II barracks buildings on campus.

Brother Brian Dybowski, a former professor at the College of Santa Fe, has begun commuting to Albuquerque to teach religion at Lewis University's new liberal-arts program at Kirtland Air Force Base. On Jan. 25, Lewis University formally opens a new building at 2440 Louisiana Blvd. in Albuquerque.

Coldwell, who graduated from the College of Santa Fe in 1978, recently sent out letters to college alumni, noting his "profound sense of loss for the demise of our educational mission at CSF." Under its new management as a for-profit institution, the school is neither "consistent with the values, vision and vitality offered by the Christian Brothers nor does it reflect our Catholic and Lasallian mission," he wrote.

From now on, Coldwell wrote, College of Santa Fe alumni may access their academic records from the Albuquerque campus of Lewis University.

In an interview Tuesday at the Christian Brothers' group home, a building with rooms for about 20 men, Coldwell and Sinitiere were careful not to criticize Laureate Education Inc. of Baltimore, which took over operations of the college earlier this year.

They said they had hoped Laureate's lease agreement with the city of Santa Fe would result in "financial remuneration" to the aging Christian Brothers for their lifetime of commitment to education. The average age of the 64 Christian Brothers in the three-state province is 74.

Laureate Education's final offer in September included no money for the Christian Brothers and only seven "symbolic" items aimed at using the brothers as a "marketing tool for student recruitment," Coldwell wrote. He declined to explain those items, saying they were discussed privately by the Christian Brothers and Laureate officers, and were never put into a formal document.

Now that the Christian Brothers no longer are associated with the College of Santa Fe, the only other U.S. institutions of higher learning dedicated to the principles of the order's founder, St. John Baptist de la Salle (1651-1719), are St. Mary's College of California in Moraga, Calif.; St. Mary's University in Winona, Minn.; Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn.; Manhattan College in the Bronx, New York City; La Salle University in Philadelphia; and Lewis University in the Chicago suburb of Romeoville.

Coldwell and Sinitiere said they wouldn't mind if Laureate changed the name of the College of Santa Fe. Although they do not claim a proprietary interest in the name used since 1966 — the school was founded in 1859 as St. Michael's College — many people believe "that a name belongs to the group that originated it," Coldwell said. "We just want the wider public to be aware that this is a new beginning for the College of Santa Fe and our presence in the educational religious mission of the school is no longer there."

Early on, Laureate officials talked about changing the name of the school. But in July, when the City Council voted to borrow $30 million to buy the campus from the financially strapped board of trustees, the councilors added a provision requiring Laureate to keep the name, but giving it the flexibility to add words to the title. A Laureate spokeswoman said last week that there are no plans to change the name.

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.