among them were French teachers Al Gaggini and Helene Spratford, science teacher Gus Daviet, history teacher Frank Sperduto, and athletic director Dick O'Connell. In 1953, Dr. David M. Heinlein became Headmaster. One of his priorities was to increase the economic, ethnic, and gender diversity of the school's students and faculty. In 1956, as Rutgers University became the State University of New Jersey, the university's Board of Trustees decided to divest itself of the preparatory school. The school created its own Board of Trustees and Parents Association, and began looking for a new campus outside of New Brunswick. In early 1958, Rutgers Prep purchased the Wells Estate (also known as Elm Farm) in nearby Somerset. The Wells family was eager to sell the property to the school partly because Elm Farm had originally been the home of Abraham Beach, one of Queens College Grammar School's co-founders in the 1760s. By the end of 1958, Rutgers University and Rutgers Preparatory School had officially separated from one another. Rutgers Prep's Lower School began operating at Elm Farm that fall. The Upper School remained in its old quarters in New Brunswick until 1963, when a new upper school building, constructed with the assistance of the Colgate-Palmolive Company, opened at Elm Farm. Since 1963, all divisions of the school have been located on the same campus. The school expanded rapidly in its new setting. A field house was built in 1968, and, shortly afterward, a center for early childhood education. During the 1960s, the school's curriculum, athletic program, and extracurricular offerings all expanded dramatically. Despite the economic downturn of the mid-1970s, Rutgers Prep continued to grow. It added a Middle School and a larger library in 1974. Athletic Director O'Connell introduced and vigorously promoted an athletic program for the school's female population. By the end of the 1970s, the school was much larger and more diverse than it had been a generation earlier. In November 1983, an electrical fire destroyed a large part of the Upper School building. Classes were held in trailers while a new, larger, and more modern Upper School was built. The new building, which is still in use, opened in 1985. During the 1980s, Rutgers Preparatory School also aggressively supported the application of technology to education, creating a computer science department and encouraging computer literacy in all grades. In 1992, Dr. Steven Loy became headmaster and embarked on a series of