Durango is home to Fort
Lewis College, an independent four-year public
liberal arts institution of approximately 4,500 students,
which offers 24 degree programs in the schools of
Arts & Sciences, Education and Business Administration.
In addition to its educational mission, Fort Lewis
College offers a wealth of service programs for the
region, from Continuing Education classes to business
consultation to support for the arts and other organizations.
Because of its commitment to the state and region,
the college has established itself as an integral,
vital part of the Durango community.
The Fort Lewis College campus is located on a mesa
overlooking Durango and the 13,000-foot peaks of the
La Plata Mountains. It has been called one of the
most beautiful campuses on the North American continent.
Today new buildings are taking shape in one of the
most extensive construction projects in the College's
history. Since 1999, the college has invested more
than $40 million in construction. Projects include
a new $9 million chemistry building, a $10 million
classroom building, a $7.5 million recreation building
for student life, and the $8 million Center of Southwest
Studies, a museum, archives, library and academic
center for the college's Anthropology and Southwest
Studies programs. In addition, the campus recently
completed a $2 million ADA accessibility project and
a central clock tower as a memorial to the college's
historical roots as a military fort at Hesperus, Colorado.
When construction is completed, the college will have
one of the most modern facilities in Colorado.
Enrollment
Fort Lewis College has grown from an enrollment of
720 students in 1962 to its current population of
4,500. Today, more than 69 percent of the students
come from Colorado, the rest hail from out-of-state.
New Mexico, Arizona, California, Texas and Illinois
send the greatest number of out-of-state students.
Fort Lewis College continues to grow because of
several factors which students consistently cite in
surveys conducted each fall: Location, quality of
the academic programs and faculty, size of the institution
and cost.
For more information about Fort
Lewis College, contact the Office of College Relations,
(970) 247-7400, Room 2400 Berndt Hall, Fort Lewis
College, Durango, CO 81301-3999
College
