Southwestern College was originally founded as "Quimby College", offering its first classes in 1979 at Alamogordo, New Mexico. As the story goes, Neva Dell Hunter was a resourceful spiritual teacher who gathered a group of devotees around her in the 1970's and formed "The Quimby Center" a Metaphysical study group. The group then in turn co-created the Quimby Metaphysical Library. Hunter offered "karmic readings" and was recognized as a "Channel" for Dr. Ralph Gordon, who was understood to be a future avatar of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby.
In one such channeling, Dr. Gordon/Hunter offered a vision (albeit obscure and difficult to understand), outlining a school of the future that would offer teachings within a new paradigm consistent with the coming Aquarian Age. Dr. Robert Waterman was a student and protege of Hunter, and studied "Aura Balancing" under her. 
He was present at the above-mentioned channeling and from the points Dr. Gordon outlined, Waterman formed a vision for a school that would teach Counseling, Aura Balancing and an overriding curriculum of Consciousness.
From here he developed an educational philosophy and went on to sharpen a vision that would grow into Quimby College, then Southwestern College. Early teachers included Ron and Mary Hulnick and Marya Foley, who later founded what would become Santa Monica University, an unaccredited, but very interesting school for Spiritual Psychology.
Katherine Ninos, a member of the first class of twelve students, became a co-creator of the burgeoning "educational impulse" and contributed to the Consciousness curriculum, teaching it to this day.
So where does New Thought fit in? Southwestern College is quintessentially "Open at the top", to use Ernest Holmes' phrase. It encourages a spiritual path among its students and requires faculty to be "reflective practitioners" with a spiritual path of their own. Unlike Naropa, which was founded in the Buddhist tradition, or CIIS, which has specifically Hindu roots, Southwestern, true to New Thought sensibilities, recognizes and celebrates Truth in all of its manifestations across spiritual lineages and cultures.
Unlike New Thought-based schools of Ministry, Southwestern/Quimby college takes the healing techniques developed in New Thought to the world of Higher Education and offers active and viable careers in Counseling and Art Therapy. Southwestern/Quimby is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and the American Art Therapy Association.
To be continued..................
