UWC-USA (legally named the Armand Hammer United World College of the American West) is a

United World College United World Colleges (UWC) is an international network of schools and educational programmes with the shared aim of "making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future." The organization was founde ...

founded in 1982 by industrialist and philanthropist

Armand Hammer Armand Hammer (May 21, 1898 – December 10, 1990) was an American business manager and owner, most closely associated with Occidental Petroleum, a company he ran from 1957 until his death. Called "Lenin's chosen capitalist" by the press, ...

. Located in

Montezuma, New Mexico Montezuma is an unincorporated community in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. It is located approximately five miles northwest of the city of Las Vegas. The town was best known for many years for its natural hot springs, and was in fa ...

, it is a two-year, independent, co-educational boarding school accredited by the

Independent Schools Association of the Southwest The Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) is a nonprofit association of 89 independent schools located in the U.S. states of Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. ISAS is a member of the National Associ ...

with about 230 students representing 90-100 countries at any time. Students are between 15 and 19 years old, and the majority receive full or partial scholarships. They are selected from 155 National Committees that represent the

s around the globe. In late 2007, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' identified UWC-USA as one of the world's top 20 schools for its success in preparing students to enter top American universities. In 2010, UWC-USA was ranked a “Top Ten Program” by U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy.

History

American mogul

's The Armand Hammer Foundation purchased the property to establish a United World College in the United States in 1981. Major renovations of existing buildings preceded the school's opening in the fall of 1982, an event that was attended by

HM King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

, then HRH Charles, Prince of Wales, and president of the United World Colleges movement at the time. The school's founding president was Theodore D. Lockwood, who served from 1982 until 1993. Philip O. Geier served as president from 1993 until 2005, when he passed the reins to Lisa A. H. Darling, whose presidency ended in 2013. The school's fourth president was Dr. Mukul Kumar '89, an alumnus and leader in international education, who left the school in 2016. The school is currently led b
Dr. Victoria Mora
born in Albuquerque, a mother as well as a former Dean of the Santa Fe campus of St. John's College. In 1998, the school's endowment was significantly increased through the generosity of investment manager

Shelby M.C. Davis Shelby Moore Cullom Davis (born 1937) is an American philanthropist and retired investor and money manager. Davis is the son of money manager Shelby Cullom Davis and Kathryn Wasserman Davis. He is a graduate of Princeton University and began ...

and his wife Gale. Their gift today secures the largest block of the school's student scholarships and provides $25,000 scholarships for all Americans who attend this school (or any other UWC) after being admitted by the U.S. national committee. Their initial gift of $45 million in 1998 was, at the time, the largest private donation ever made to international education.

Location

The school, in the foothills of the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains ) , country= United States , subdivision1_type= States , subdivision1= , parent= Rocky Mountains , geology= , orogeny= , area_mi2= 17193 , range_coordinates= , length_mi= 242 , length_orientation= north-south , width_mi= 120 , w ...

, is located at in the town of

, just northwest of the city of

Las Vegas, New Mexico Las Vegas is a city in and the county seat of San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities (one a city and the other a town), both were named Las Vegas—West Las Vegas ("Old Town") and East Las Vegas ("New Town" ...

, about from Santa Fe. The campus includes the historic Montezuma Castle.

Notable alumni

Sal Lavallo Sal Lavallo (born September 11, 1990 in Indiana, United States) is an American traveller. He is one of the youngest people to have visited every country. Lavallo was born in Indiana, United States. After graduating from university, Lavallo worke ...

, American traveller *

Lousewies van der Laan Louse Wies Sija Anne Lilly Berthe "Lousewies" van der Laan (born 18 February 1966) is a retired Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and jurist. Life before politics In her youth, Van der Laan lived in Belgium, Germany, and the Uni ...

, Dutch politician *

Michael Sugar Michael Sugar is an American film and television producer and principal at Sugar23, best known for producing ''Spotlight'', ''13 Reasons Why'', '' Maniac'' and ''The Knick''. Life and career Sugar attended the Armand Hammer United World Coll ...

, producer of ''Spotlight'', winner of Academy Award for Best Film, 2016 *

Philippe Wamba Philippe Wamba (June 3, 1971 – September 11, 2002) was an African-American editor and writer known for his fusion of African and African-American culture. Early life Wamba was born in California to Elaine Brown Wamba and Ernest Wamba dia Wamb ...

, American journalist *

Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece ( el, Παύλος; born 20 May 1967) is the eldest son and second child of Constantine II, the last King of Greece from 1964 to 1973 and his wife, Anne-Marie of Denmark. He was heir apparent to the throne of G ...

* Richard Rowley, film director * Giulio Regeni, Italian student abducted and tortured to death in Egypt. *

Iqbaal Ramadhan Iqbaal Dhiafakhri Ramadhan (born 28 December 1998) is an Indonesian actor and singer. He is best known as an ex-member of the Indonesian boy band CJR, and for his leading role in '' Dilan 1990'' (2018). In 2018, he won the ''Variety'' Asian Star ...

, Indonesian actor *

Emma Tucker Emma Jane Tucker (born 24 October 1966) is an English journalist. She is editor of ''The Sunday Times'', having succeeded Martin Ivens in January 2020. She is a former deputy editor of ''The Times''. In December 2022, she was named the new editor ...

, editor of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' * Pinar Karaca-Mandic, health economist * Paul Grimes, Senior Australian Public Servant * Gina Neff, American sociologist and author * David Rueda, professor of politics and economics at Oxford University

References

Sources

* "Dreams & Promises: The Story of the Armand Hammer United World College : A Critical Analysis", Theodore D. Lockwood, 1997

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Armand Hammer United World College Of The American West United World Colleges Independent Schools Association of the Southwest Schools in San Miguel County, New Mexico International Baccalaureate schools in New Mexico Educational institutions established in 1982 1982 establishments in New Mexico