College of Minds

College of Minds is a private university in Oranjestad, south of Aboite neighborhood. The school was founded in 1923 on a twenty-five acre site donated by Oranjestad. Starting in the 1970s, it grew into a multi-purpose institution, adding programs in business, communications, and engineering. The college is owned and operated by international conglomerate Slyy Industries and operates independently of Oranjestad.

History

In the early part of the 20th century, there was a shortage of properly trained teachers in the Shire. It was decided to build a two-year school in central Oldeshire to counter the trend. Among the candidate towns, Oranjestad became the location due in no small part to its easy access to passenger rail as well as its offer to donate 25 acres of land for the purpose of building the school. The 1917 purchase price of the land was raised by the residents of the town and used to purchase a tract that belonged to the Whitney family, who owned the local glassworks during the 19th century.

In 1923 the school opened with a class of 236 female students. With the evolution of teacher training the school became a four-year program in 1934; in 1937 it became co-educational.

The college was one of the first in the country to begin programs for teachers for reading disabilities and physical therapy in 1935 and 1944, respectively. College of Minds began to develop a reputation as a leader in special education and after several years the college was able to expand its enrollment from a low of 175 in 1949 to nearly 5,000 students today.