The signs went up a little early, it seems. But no matter, the College of Santa Fe still becomes the Santa Fe University of Art and Design as of Monday, the first day of school.

Newly appointed President John S. Gordon and members of his staff gathered early Wednesday afternoon to commemorate the new entrance signs at what is now a for-profit institution — which went up on Tuesday.

"Frankly, we didn't want you to drive by and see the name change without hearing from us," Gordon said at an impromptu news conference.

He otherwise struck a serious tone as he explained that the name change is intended to help brand the college as a magnet university for visual and performing arts.

"Some people are disappointed that the College of Santa Fe no longer exists with that name," Gordon noted. "We know older alumni regret the name change. But the fact is, the old College of Santa Fe's strength was in the arts."

Gordon's comments were echoed by Lawrence A. Hinz, who served as the college's interim president last year, after the Laureate Education Inc. chain took over the financially beleaguered institution founded by the Christian Brothers in 1859.

"We're continuing down the path laid out by the predecessor staff," said Hinz, a senior vice president of Laureate. "This is an arts school."

While the once nonprofit college was long known for having a broad liberal-arts component, its new leaders are emphasizing design, visual arts, photography, theater, film and a renewed contemporary-music program.

It has added 16 new full-time faculty members, Gordon said, as well as a complement of contributing (adjunct) teachers. Those new hires will be announced Monday. The college employs about 75 people in all.

Student enrollment — which hovered between 200 and 250 over the last two semesters — is up to about 375, Gordon said. Between 60 and 80 of those students are coming in from various campuses in Mexico that are accredited by Laureate, including the Universidad del Valle de Mexico. At least three students are from Spain.

Earlier this year, the college announced it was reaching out to foreign exchange students to bolster its ranks. But Gordon estimates that 60 percent of this semester's students are returnees, with New Mexicans representing a little more than 30 percent.

Three members of the Christian Brothers order still teach at the college. One, Brother Ron Bartusiak, still lives on campus and remains in charge of locks and keys.

He said the name change makes no difference to him. "It's the same old business," he said. "We've got to keep it going."

In its final few years as the College of Santa Fe, the institution underwent one financial hardship after another. In July 2009, the city voted to take on $30 million in debt to purchase the property and its assets with the goal of leasing it to Laureate, which runs 45 accredited institutions of higher learning around the globe.

Gordon and Hinz both acknowledged that the name change is designed to draw attention to the focus on arts and help offset any negative publicity revolving around previous administrations.

They said Mayor David Coss and City Council members were notified of the name change and were all supportive of it. Said Gordon, "It was one of the names contemplated in the original lease agreement."

Laureate also has invested capital funds into the campus to renovate buildings, including all the dormitories. Laureate also hired a director of communications, Maria Alexandra Velez, who will be based in Santa Fe. Previously all press and marketing requests had to go through Laureate's Maryland branch.

Gordon said the university's challenge remains "getting word out to the broader community that we are here and getting our name known beyond the borders of New Mexico. We're trying hard to mend fences and reach out."

Also on Monday, the school's Web site will be updated. That will entail a renaming too, but college officials won't announce that until next week.

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.