College of Santa Fe
Encyclopedia
Santa Fe University of Art and Design is an institution of creative and performing arts based in Santa Fe
, New Mexico
. The university offers programs in creative writing
, theatre
, art
, graphic design
, moving image arts (film/video), music
, and photography
, based on a liberal arts core curriculum. The university is home to Garson Studios, a 27,000-square-foot soundstage facility where major motion pictures have been filmed, including No Country for Old Men
, City Slickers
, All the Pretty Horses
, North Country
, True Grit
, Paul
, and Cowboys and Aliens. Campus events include Artists for Positive Social Change, a year-long series of courses, lectures, and performances that explores the influence of a specific art genre on society. Santa Fe University of Art and Design is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
.
hut. The school was granted a charter for higher education in 1874 as the College of the Christian Brothers of New Mexico. In 1966, it became the College of Santa Fe. In July 2009, after a period of financial uncertainty, the College of Santa Fe’s future was secured through a public-private partnership including the City of Santa Fe, The New Mexico State Governor’s Office and Laureate Education. The College of Santa Fe was renamed Santa Fe University of Art and Design on August 30, 2010.
-style stage with a fly system
and orchestra pit. It includes the Weckesser Studio Theatre, a black-box performance
space that seats 90, a dance studio, the Claire Stewart Williamson Acting Lab, practice rooms, and scenery and costume shops. The O’Shaughnessy Performance Space (“The Garage”) is equipped for indoor and outdoor readings and concerts and seats 85. Multimedia presentations take place at The Forum, which seats 200. The Atrium Sound Space is a sound-art installation venue.
. Facilities include The Anne and John Marion Center for Photographic Arts; the Beaumont and Nancy Newhall Library, a special collections library on the history, aesthetics, and technology of photography; Thaw Art History Center; Visual Resources Center; Chase Art History Library; Tishman Hall, housing painting and drawing studios; Tipton Hall lecture facility; and Council 241 Student Gallery.
, Garson Studios is a 27,000-square-foot motion picture soundstage facility. Films made at Garson include No Country for Old Men
, The Missing
, City Slickers
, All the Pretty Horses
, North Country
, Employee of the Month
, Young Guns II
, The Sunset Limited
, Brothers, Legion, True Grit
, Paul
, and Cowboys and Aliens.
, The Missing
, City Slickers
, All the Pretty Horses
, North Country
, Employee of the Month
, Young Guns II
, The Sunset Limited
, Brothers, Legion, True Grit
, Paul
, and Cowboys and Aliens. Students from all programs are eligible to intern on films produced at Garson Studios.
.
commUNITY Focus Day is an annual event started in 2011 to connect students with local nonprofit organizations for a day of service.
Graphic design students can spend their junior year at Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA) in Milan, Italy, and earn a BFA in Graphic Design from Santa Fe University of Art and Design and a BA in Graphic Design from NABA.
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. The university offers programs in creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
, moving image arts (film/video), music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, based on a liberal arts core curriculum. The university is home to Garson Studios, a 27,000-square-foot soundstage facility where major motion pictures have been filmed, including No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men (film)
No Country for Old Men is a 2007 American crime thriller directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. The film was adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name...
, City Slickers
City Slickers
City Slickers is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Ron Underwood and starring Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, Helen Slater and Jack Palance. Palance won an Academy Award for his performance....
, All the Pretty Horses
All the Pretty Horses (film)
All the Pretty Horses is a 2000 American romance western film, directed by Billy Bob Thornton and based on the novel of the same title by author Cormac McCarthy. It stars Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz...
, North Country
North Country (film)
North Country is a 2005 American drama film directed by Niki Caro. The screenplay by Michael Seitzman was inspired by the 2002 book Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler, which chronicled the case of...
, True Grit
True Grit (2010 film)
True Grit is a 2010 American Western film written and directed by the Coen brothers. It is the second adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed in 1969 starring John Wayne. This version stars Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross and Jeff Bridges as U.S....
, Paul
Paul (film)
Paul is a 2011 science fiction comedy film directed by Greg Mottola, written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It stars Pegg, Frost, and the voice of Seth Rogen as the title character...
, and Cowboys and Aliens. Campus events include Artists for Positive Social Change, a year-long series of courses, lectures, and performances that explores the influence of a specific art genre on society. Santa Fe University of Art and Design is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools , also known as the North Central Association, is a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states, that is engaged in educational accreditation...
.
History
Santa Fe University of Art and Design was originally known as St. Michael’s College, the oldest chartered college in New Mexico, opened in 1859 and operated out of an adobeAdobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
hut. The school was granted a charter for higher education in 1874 as the College of the Christian Brothers of New Mexico. In 1966, it became the College of Santa Fe. In July 2009, after a period of financial uncertainty, the College of Santa Fe’s future was secured through a public-private partnership including the City of Santa Fe, The New Mexico State Governor’s Office and Laureate Education. The College of Santa Fe was renamed Santa Fe University of Art and Design on August 30, 2010.
Campus
The 60-acre Santa Fe University of Art and Design campus includes three art galleries, five performance spaces, four libraries, five residence halls, and studios/labs for design and music production. Other artistic and cultural facilities include the Visual Arts Center, Garson Studios, and The Anne and John Marion Center for Photographic Arts.Galleries
The Fine Arts Gallery presents exhibitions, lectures, and social gatherings, including the annual Santa Fe University of Art and Design juried student exhibition awards. Council 241 Student Gallery is a student-run exhibition space to showcase student work. The MOV-In Gallery is devoted to new media and time-based artworks such as animation, Web art, video art, sound art, robotic sculpture, and installation.Performance Spaces
Greer Garson Theatre Center, seating 514, consists of a prosceniumProscenium
A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
-style stage with a fly system
Fly system
A fly system, flying system or theatrical rigging system, is a system of lines , blocks , counterweights and related devices within a theatre that enable a stage crew to quickly, quietly and safely fly components such as curtains, lights, scenery, stage effects and, sometimes, people...
and orchestra pit. It includes the Weckesser Studio Theatre, a black-box performance
Black box theater
The black box theater is a relatively recent innovation, consisting of a simple, somewhat unadorned performance space, usually a large square room with black walls and a flat floor.-History:...
space that seats 90, a dance studio, the Claire Stewart Williamson Acting Lab, practice rooms, and scenery and costume shops. The O’Shaughnessy Performance Space (“The Garage”) is equipped for indoor and outdoor readings and concerts and seats 85. Multimedia presentations take place at The Forum, which seats 200. The Atrium Sound Space is a sound-art installation venue.
Libraries
Fogelson Library Center houses the university’s main academic library, The Forum lecture hall, the Fine Arts Gallery, and the Digital Center for music, film and Web production. The Beaumont and Nancy Newhall Library is devoted to the history, aesthetics, and technology of photography. The Chase Art History Library, located in the Thaw Art History Center, contains rare books on the art of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican and South American art, Andean art, Native American art, Spanish Colonial art and architecture, and modern Latin American art.The Visual Arts Center
Home to the art and photography departments, the Visual Arts Center is a series of interconnected buildings designed by Ricardo LegorretaRicardo Legorreta
Ricardo Legorreta Vilchis is a Mexican architect. He was born in Mexico City on May 7, 1931. He was awarded the prestigious UIA Gold Medal in 1999 and the Praemium Imperiale in 2011.He studied architecture at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México....
. Facilities include The Anne and John Marion Center for Photographic Arts; the Beaumont and Nancy Newhall Library, a special collections library on the history, aesthetics, and technology of photography; Thaw Art History Center; Visual Resources Center; Chase Art History Library; Tishman Hall, housing painting and drawing studios; Tipton Hall lecture facility; and Council 241 Student Gallery.
Garson Studios
Founded in 1989 by actress and university patron Greer GarsonGreer Garson
Greer Garson, CBE was a British-born actress who was very popular during World War II, being listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top ten box office draws in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946. As one of MGM's major stars of the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award...
, Garson Studios is a 27,000-square-foot motion picture soundstage facility. Films made at Garson include No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men (film)
No Country for Old Men is a 2007 American crime thriller directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. The film was adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name...
, The Missing
The Missing
The Missing is a 2003 Western thriller film directed by Ron Howard, based on Thomas Eidson's 1996 novel The Last Ride.This Western thriller set in 1885 New Mexico Territory is notable for the authentic use of the Apache language by various actors, some of whom spent long hours studying it...
, City Slickers
City Slickers
City Slickers is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Ron Underwood and starring Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, Helen Slater and Jack Palance. Palance won an Academy Award for his performance....
, All the Pretty Horses
All the Pretty Horses (film)
All the Pretty Horses is a 2000 American romance western film, directed by Billy Bob Thornton and based on the novel of the same title by author Cormac McCarthy. It stars Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz...
, North Country
North Country (film)
North Country is a 2005 American drama film directed by Niki Caro. The screenplay by Michael Seitzman was inspired by the 2002 book Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler, which chronicled the case of...
, Employee of the Month
Employee of the Month (2006 film)
Employee of the Month is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Greg Coolidge, written by Don Calame, Chris Conroy, and Coolidge, and starring Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson and Dax Shepard. The main plot revolves around two shop employees who compete for the affection of their newest co-worker...
, Young Guns II
Young Guns II
Young Guns II is a 1990 western film, and the sequel to Young Guns . It stars Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christian Slater, and features William Petersen as Pat Garrett. It was written and produced by John Fusco and directed by Geoff Murphy.It follows the life of...
, The Sunset Limited
The Sunset Limited (film)
The Sunset Limited is a 2011 television film based on the play written by Cormac McCarthy. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson....
, Brothers, Legion, True Grit
True Grit (2010 film)
True Grit is a 2010 American Western film written and directed by the Coen brothers. It is the second adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed in 1969 starring John Wayne. This version stars Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross and Jeff Bridges as U.S....
, Paul
Paul (film)
Paul is a 2011 science fiction comedy film directed by Greg Mottola, written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It stars Pegg, Frost, and the voice of Seth Rogen as the title character...
, and Cowboys and Aliens.
The Screen
The Screen, a 170-seat stadium-seating theatre with a high-definition curved screen, shows films from around the world to students and the general public.Benildus Hall
Benildus Hall houses the Creative Writing and Literature program and consists of teaching studios, practice rooms, and rehearsal halls for the Contemporary Music program. Facilities within Benildus include the Graphic Design Digital Lab, Recording Arts Studio, Composition Studio, Computer Music Lab, World Music Studio, and Class Piano Lab.Driscoll Fitness Center
The university’s fitness center includes an indoor track, climbing wall, weight room, squash and racquetball courts, and outdoor equipment rentals.Films Produced on Campus
Films produced at Garson Studios on the Santa Fe University of Art and Design campus include No Country for Old MenNo Country for Old Men (film)
No Country for Old Men is a 2007 American crime thriller directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. The film was adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name...
, The Missing
The Missing
The Missing is a 2003 Western thriller film directed by Ron Howard, based on Thomas Eidson's 1996 novel The Last Ride.This Western thriller set in 1885 New Mexico Territory is notable for the authentic use of the Apache language by various actors, some of whom spent long hours studying it...
, City Slickers
City Slickers
City Slickers is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Ron Underwood and starring Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, Helen Slater and Jack Palance. Palance won an Academy Award for his performance....
, All the Pretty Horses
All the Pretty Horses (film)
All the Pretty Horses is a 2000 American romance western film, directed by Billy Bob Thornton and based on the novel of the same title by author Cormac McCarthy. It stars Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz...
, North Country
North Country (film)
North Country is a 2005 American drama film directed by Niki Caro. The screenplay by Michael Seitzman was inspired by the 2002 book Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler, which chronicled the case of...
, Employee of the Month
Employee of the Month (2006 film)
Employee of the Month is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Greg Coolidge, written by Don Calame, Chris Conroy, and Coolidge, and starring Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson and Dax Shepard. The main plot revolves around two shop employees who compete for the affection of their newest co-worker...
, Young Guns II
Young Guns II
Young Guns II is a 1990 western film, and the sequel to Young Guns . It stars Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christian Slater, and features William Petersen as Pat Garrett. It was written and produced by John Fusco and directed by Geoff Murphy.It follows the life of...
, The Sunset Limited
The Sunset Limited (film)
The Sunset Limited is a 2011 television film based on the play written by Cormac McCarthy. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson....
, Brothers, Legion, True Grit
True Grit (2010 film)
True Grit is a 2010 American Western film written and directed by the Coen brothers. It is the second adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed in 1969 starring John Wayne. This version stars Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross and Jeff Bridges as U.S....
, Paul
Paul (film)
Paul is a 2011 science fiction comedy film directed by Greg Mottola, written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It stars Pegg, Frost, and the voice of Seth Rogen as the title character...
, and Cowboys and Aliens. Students from all programs are eligible to intern on films produced at Garson Studios.
Accreditation
Santa Fe University of Art and Design is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and SchoolsNorth Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools , also known as the North Central Association, is a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states, that is engaged in educational accreditation...
.
Art
The Art Department, housed within the Visual Arts Center, offers a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts in painting, mixed media, installation art, drawing, and sculpture.Contemporary Music
The Bachelor of Arts in Contemporary Music program includes performance; recording arts and technology; creating audio for film, multimedia, and Web content; music theory and history; career development; songwriting; composing, and arranging; and performing arts management and entrepreneurship.Creative Writing and Literature
The Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Literature is designed on a Master of Fine Arts model in which students specialize in two genres including creative nonfiction, poetry, fiction, and screenwriting.Film/Video
The Bachelor of Arts in Moving Image Arts (Film/Video) program consists of a studio-based curriculum built around the disciplines of production, screenwriting, and critical studies and film history.Graphic Design
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design program explores principles of 2D, 3D, and 4D design. Third-year students can pursue a new-media concentration in interactive design or motion graphics.Liberal Arts
The liberal arts core curriculum provides the foundation of a baccalaureate education, including developing skills in critical and creative thinking, communication, research, problem-solving, and the ability to see the world from multiple perspectives. The liberal arts core includes courses in composition, humanities, physical sciences, social sciences, cultural diversity, and ethical responsibility.Performing Arts
The Performing Arts Department offers a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Design, a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre. Specializations include: acting, design/technical, lighting design, costuming, stage managing and musical theatre.Photography
The Photography Department offers a Bachelor of Arts in Photography and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Photography.Campus Activities
Artists for Positive Social Change is a year-long series of courses, lectures and performances that explores the influence of the genres of poetry, theater and film on society.commUNITY Focus Day is an annual event started in 2011 to connect students with local nonprofit organizations for a day of service.
Notable Alumni
- Ray BuktenicaRay BuktenicaRay Buktenica is an American film and television character actor. He has played numerous roles, primarily on television since 1972. He is best known for playing the character Benny, the boyfriend and later fiance of Brenda on the hit-1970s sitcom Rhoda and Jerry Berkson, Patti Lupone's boss on...
, television actor - Suzanna Choffel, singer-songwriter/musician
- Paul Collins, bassist in Beirut
- Samantha Crain, singer-songwriter/musician
- Dominic D'Angelo, experimental filmmaker
- Danielle Deulen, poet and author
- Rockmond DunbarRockmond DunbarRockmond Dunbar is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Kenny Chadway on the Showtime television drama series Soul Food, and as Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin on the FOX television drama series Prison Break...
, actor - Conrad HiltonConrad HiltonConrad Nicholson Hilton was an American businessman and investor. He is well known for being the founder of the Hilton Hotels chain.-Early life:Hilton was born in San Antonio, New Mexico...
, hotelier - Tim HuelskampTim HuelskampTimothy Alan Huelskamp is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party . He represented the 38th District in the Kansas Senate from 1997 until entering Congress.-Early life, education, and career:...
- Lauren Kline, Broadway actress
- Brad Klopman, filmmaker
- Kent Kubena, producer
- Octaviano Ambrosio LarrazoloOctaviano Ambrosio LarrazoloOctavio Ambrosio Larrazolo served as the fourth Governor of New Mexico and a United States Senator. He was the first United States Senator of Mexican-American heritage....
, former Governor and U.S. SenatorUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
for New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. - Manuel Lujan Jr.Manuel Lujan Jr.Manuel Lujan, Jr. , is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of New Mexico who served as the United States Secretary of the Interior from 1989 to 1993 and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1969 to 1989. He was a colleague of George Herbert Walker Bush in the House from 1969 to 1971...
, former United States Secretary of the InteriorUnited States Secretary of the InteriorThe United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives - Joseph Matukewicz, senior vice president Relativity Media
- Alissa Moreno, singer-songwriterSinger-songwriterSinger-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
- Matt Page, filmmaker
- Nick Petree, musician
- Denise PoirierDenise PoirierDenise Poirier is an American voice actress best known for playing the character of Æon Flux in the MTV animated series of the same name.She also had prominent roles in Reign: The Conqueror, HBO's Spawn, and the English version of Golgo 13: Queen Bee, the Vampire Hunter D video game, as well as...
Voice actress for Aeon Flux - Chris Ray, producer, director and editor
- Graham RobertsonGraham RobertsonGraham Robertson is an American filmmaker and author. A native of Denver, Colorado, Robertson studied film at the College of Santa Fe in Santa Fe, New Mexico...
, filmmaker - William SalyersWilliam SalyersWilliam Lewis Salyers is an American actor and voice actor. He is known as the voice of Rigby on Regular Show and the voice of Reverend Putty and Mr. Little on Moral Orel. He has also had roles in the film Bedazzled and the television series Judging Amy...
, actor/voice actor - Jeremy Thomas, sculptor
- Oliver M. Thomas, Jr.Oliver ThomasFor the Texas businessman and World War II POW, see Oliver C. Thomas.Oliver M. Thomas, Jr. , is a Democratic politician from New Orleans. He served on the New Orleans City Council from 1994 to 2007...
, New Orleans DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
ic city council member who pleaded guilty to bribery in 2007 - Eric Tillinghast, artist/photographer
Notable Faculty
- Matt Donovan, Chair, Creative Writing and Literature: recipient of the 2011 Rome Prize, the 2010 Whiting Writers’ Award, the 2007 Bakeless Prize, a Pushcart Prize, an NEA Fellowship, a Levis Reading Prize, and a Lannan Foundation Writing Residency Fellowship. Donovan has published poems in AGNI, The American Poetry Review, Poetry, and The Threepenny Review.
- Dana Levin, Creative Writing and Literature: author of three books, including In the Surgical Theatre (awarded the 1999 American Poetry Review/Honickman First Book Prize). Levin’s writing has been published in The American Poetry Review, Poetry, and The Paris Review. Levin has received fellowships and awards from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, PEN, the Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry, the Library of Congress, the Rona Jaffe Foundation, and the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation.
- David Grey, Chair, Graphic Design: Leads an independent graphic design studio with clients that include Nike, Warner Bros. Records, Palette Recordings, and Kompact Records.
- Steven Paxton, Chair, Contemporary Music Department: Composer, conductor, recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Composers Fellowship; recipient of fellowships and commissions from the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, the American College Theater Festival, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the Lubbock Youth Symphony Orchestra, and 20th Century Unlimited of Santa Fe.
- David Scheinbaum, Chair, Photography: Recipient of the 2010 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts, New Mexico's highest artistic honor.
- Linda Swanson, Chair, Art: Swanson’s paintings are in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum and the Newark Museum.
- John Weckesser, Chair, Performing Arts: Recipient of several National Endowment for the Arts stipends and the 2001 City of Santa Fe Arts Commission Award for Excellence in the Performing Arts; former member of the New Mexico Arts Commission.
- Harry Mathias, Chair, Moving Image Arts: 2010 Fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE); Academy Award nominee; two-term board member of the International Cinema Technology Association; director of photography for 18 feature films, 21 network TV shows, and 276 commercials.
- Victor Talmadge, Faculty, Performing Arts Department: actor in David Mamet's November; played The King in the Broadway national tour of The King and I; played Scar in the Los Angeles production of The Lion King. Talmadge’s play The Gate of Heaven won The Nakashima Peace Prize and was produced at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, The Old Globe theater, Ford's Theatre, and the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
- Jon Jory, President's Chair, Performing Arts Department: Director of more than 125 plays and producer of more than 1,000 plays; member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame; recipient of the National Theatre Conference Award and the American Theatre Association's Distinguished Career Award.
- Marcia Dixcy Jory, Faculty and Costume Designer, Performing Arts Department: Designed costumes for the Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Intiman Theatre, and the Seattle Children’s Theatre, and more than 70 productions as resident costume designer for Actors Theatre of Louisville, including 30 premieres for the Humana Festival of New American Plays.
Study Abroad
Students can spend their fourth year in Auckland, New Zealand, at Media Design School, where they can study 3D animation graphic design, game programming, and creative advertising.Graphic design students can spend their junior year at Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA) in Milan, Italy, and earn a BFA in Graphic Design from Santa Fe University of Art and Design and a BA in Graphic Design from NABA.