Scholar and Writer to Speak at Commencement

G. Walter Hansen, a Westmont Trustee since 2002 and professor emeritus of New Testament at Fuller Seminary, speaks at Westmont Commencement on Saturday, May 4, from 9:30-11:30 am on Russell Carr Field at Westmont. President Gayle D. Beebe presents Westmont Medals to Rev. Dr. Katherine Wiebe and Lindsay and Laurie Parton.

About 291 students will participate in Commencement, and 99 will graduate with honors. The graduating class includes four veterans who served in the military before attending Westmont: David Hall, Justin Milsaps, Nathan Rudeen, and Dylan Wasdahl. Westmont’s first three Augustinian Scholars graduate this year: Louise Naumann, Sarah Verdegan, and Kaylee Yoon. Roslyn Smith, a mother, grandmother, and beloved student, graduates after earning a bachelor’s degree in English.

Hansen, who earned a Master of Divinity and a doctorate, has written several books, including, The Letter to the Philippians and Galatians. Hansen is also interested in the relationship between visual arts and theology, serving on the Westmont Art Council and the advisory board of the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum. He co-authored a book, Through Your Eyes: Dialogues on the Paintings of Bruce Herman. He is a former Langham USA board member and a past trustee of OMF International (formerly Overseas Missionary Fellowship). He was pastor of The Chapel in Ohio for eight years and taught in Singapore for six years.

Hansen and his wife, Darlene, have two sons who attended Westmont: Nathaniel ’94 and Jonathan ’96.

Wiebe, a Christian pastoral psychotherapist, founded and directs the Santa Barbara-based Institute for Collective Trauma and Growth, providing leaders with restorative strategies for personal and group growth after collective loss. Following recent local tragedies, she has guided the community through her work as a disaster response specialist and group care consultant. She is skilled in assessing complex relational dynamics, facilitating individual and group healing after trauma, and conducting practical re-solving with individuals, families and organizations. 

Lindsay Parton ’75, a Westmont alumnus, is principal of DJM, directing Southern California property acquisitions and overseeing all development and construction activities for the company. With more than 30 years in construction development, he was founder and chairman of Parton & Edwards Construction, a Santa Barbara company that has developed a broad range of residential, commercial, institutional and public works projects. He chairs the board of Apolis, a global apparel brand operated by his family that is creating social change through the simple idea that people can live better lives when they are given equal access to the global marketplace. An active volunteer in Santa Barbara, Laurie Parton has also been involved with Young Life and various Christian organizations. The Partons have three children and five grandchildren, with another on the way.

The Westmont Medal honors those whose lives embody the very principles associated with the character of the college. Past recipients include Larry Crandell, Chad and Ginni Dreier, Christine and Robert Emmons, David and Anna Grotenhuis, Leslie Ridley-Tree and Michael Towbes, to name a few.

Commencement is free and open to the public, but no parking is available on campus. Guests must park their cars at Santa Barbara City College and use Westmont’s free shuttle service to campus, arriving at SBCC no later than 8 am.