Sandra Richter, Westmont’s Robert H. Gundry professor of biblical studies, examines the intersection between the Bible and archaeology in a lecture, “Digging Up the Bible: What Archaeology Can Tell Us About the Bible,” for the Friends of the Goleta Valley Library at youtu.be/4LpNinvUQc8. Richter says documentaries at Christmas, Passover, and Easter every year claim to […]
The Westmont College website, which has undergone a five-year overhaul, won the Web Marketing Association’s 2020 WebAward for Outstanding Achievement in Best Faith-Based Website. A select group of independent judges from around the world selected Westmont’s website for setting the standard of excellence in website development. In 2015, Westmont began crafting new brand guidelines, messaging, […]
In a time of challenge, conflict, and difficulty, the Westmont Theater Arts Department stages Small Enchantments, a fairy tale-inspired play of change and wonder on Tuesday, October 27, at 7 pm at westmont.edu/2020-2021-theatre-art-events and Friday, October 30, at 7 pm on Facebook Live (facebook.com/westmonttheatre). “I wanted to work on something with our students that enacted […]
The Westmont Orchestra, masked up, socially distant, and with bell covers over their instruments, will perform “An Orchestral Sampler” on Friday, October 23, at 7 pm. The event, which is being recorded live outdoors, will be available for free viewing at vimeo.com/showcase/westmontmusic. Michael Shasberger, Westmont Adam’s professor of music and worship, will conduct the orchestra […]
Very few Westmont students have tested positive for the coronavirus since returning to campus in mid-September, and faculty and staff are finding innovative ways for students to thrive while staying safe. More than 90 percent of students chose to return to campus rather than learning remotely in their homes. All students were tested for the […]
Soprano Megan (Silberstein) Billings will perform as part of the music department’s Alumni Spotlight on Friday, October 9 at 7 pm. Listen to the free concert at vimeo.com/showcase/westmontmusic. Billings, a 2014 Westmont graduate, will sing recognizable tunes from Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals as well as productions of Bridges of Madison County and Frozen. She earned […]
Four stellar new professors join the Westmont faculty this fall: Katherine Bryant (political science), alumnus Daniel Gee (music), Robert Haring-Kaye (physics), and Blake Victor Kent (sociology). Bryant, a visiting assistant professor for three years at Westmont, launched a study of the effectiveness of Christian aid organizations. Her research focuses on the efficacy of foreign aid […]
Westmont student-athletes flexed their academic strength as well as their athletic prowess with 52 Warriors earning NAIA Scholar Athlete status and a dozen athletic programs being named NAIA Scholar Teams. NAIA Scholar Athlete status is given to juniors and seniors who maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5. Team recognition is given to programs with at […]
Twenty-seven Westmont students adhered to strict safety protocols to work with their professors on research projects during the summer. Due to the pandemic, Westmont will skip the annual in-person October symposium, where students present their summer research findings. The work spanned a wide range of topics, including factors that affect the presence of western fence […]
The Westmont Music Department continues its popular Friday Concert Series with its first Alumni Spotlight recital, featuring alumna Sarah Shasberger Pfister ’12 and the Carnevale String Quartet from Bulgaria on Friday, September 25, at 7 pm. Listen to the free recital at vimeo.com/showcase/westmontmusic. The performance will include pieces by Bulgarian composer Marin Goleminov, Ennio Morricone, […]
Westmont students begin arriving on campus September 23-27 for the fall semester’s first outdoor courses on September 28. Current pandemic restrictions prohibit indoor classes, although state and county guidelines permit some indoor labs and studio courses that adhere to strict safety protocols. “We’ve spent extensive time and resources to get ready to welcome students back […]
Recent college and university rankings continue to affirm Westmont as one of the top Christian liberal arts colleges in the nation. According to Payscale’s 2020 Best Universities and Colleges by Salary Potential, mid-career Westmont alumni, including those with a graduate degree, earn a median income of $119,800 after more than 10 years in the workforce. […]
Westmont’s class of 2024 is the most academically talented in the college’s history. It’s also among the most diverse, with 39 percent of the 375 new and transfer students identifying as Hispanic, Asian American, African American, Hawaiian Pacific Islander, Native American, and/or multiracial. Twelve percent are the first in their family to attend college. The […]
Music brings people together across borders, religions, and even time. Paul Willis, professor of English at Westmont, explores this idea in his newly published young-adult novel, All in a Garden Green (Slant Books, 2020). His experience teaching at Hengrave Hall in England (the home of the Westmont-in-England semester for 20 years) inspired him to depart […]
Twelve Westmont art graduates, unable to exhibit their artwork at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum on campus in May due to COVID-19, are displaying their senior projects virtually. “Adjacent: Westmont Graduate Exhibition 2020” is available in person at the museum only to the artists and their families by prior appointment. The exhibition, including a virtual tour, […]
Westmont is working relentlessly to begin the fall semester in person with flexibility and safety concerns for students and faculty as a priority while observing all Santa Barbara County health and COVID-19 guidelines. A plan to repopulate its campus is on hold until further progress is made in slowing the spread of the coronavirus in […]
The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum, which remains closed to in-person visits due to COVID-19, offers an online exhibition, “Matter + Spirit: A Chinese/American Exhibition,” which reflects on the perennial tensions between the material and the spiritual in human life and in society, through August 15 at westmont.edu/museum/matter-spirit. The exhibition is a product of a gathering in […]
Jason Tavarez joined the Westmont community as director of institutional resilience in February 2020 and almost immediately began working to protect the college from the dangers of COVID-19. “My biggest concern has been keeping the coronavirus off our campus and doing everything we can, as a community, to keep our remaining students and employees safe […]
John Moore, the Warriors’ longest tenured and all-time winningest men’s basketball head coach, is ending his coaching career after 27 years at the helm of the storied program. Moore will continue to serve as an associate professor of kinesiology and associate athletic director. “It’s hard to imagine 27 years have passed since that first year […]
Westmont’s popular annual juried art exhibition, forced to go virtual during the pandemic, features 48 works by Tri-County artists through June 20 at westmont.edu/time-memory. Christopher Miles, professor at the School of Art at CSU Long Beach, juried the show, “Time and Memory,” which received 221 entries from 95 artists in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San […]
Westmont plans to reopen for the fall semester and bring students back to campus for classes, which begin August 31. The college will comply with every state, county and national health mandate regarding social distancing and other practices to keep everyone safe. Several task forces and 50 subcommittees are working to create protocols requiring appropriate […]
For the eighth year in a row, Westmont has won the Golden State Athletic Conference All-Sports Award, given annually to the school with the best overall athletic performance. Westmont Athletic Director Dave Odell says the award reflects consistent excellence across all sports. “Prior to the suspension of spring sports and the cancellation of the national […]
More than 500 people watched Emerson Hall win the 59th annual Spring Sing, “In Your Dreams,” live online April 25 for the first time in the event’s history. “Although it was challenging to come up with a format allowing students to participate while complying with social distancing guidelines, this Spring Sing showcased the creativity and […]
Westmont College had to postpone its Commencement ceremony which was scheduled for May 2, but it celebrated its graduating seniors with a virtual concert featuring two popular Christian recording artists, Phil Wickham and Grammy award-winner Lecrae. The virtual event honored the class of 2020, while also marking the end of a very challenging semester for […]
Many Americans have taken to baking while sheltering at home. Mary Pat Whitney, Director of Public and Advancement Events at Westmont, has raised the bar, baking brownie bars and a whopping 12,000 cookies for the Westmont and Santa Barbara communities. This effort started as a way to show gratitude to local first responders and essential […]
Montecito community members are joining with Westmont to serve the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, which has distributed 2.25 million pounds of food during the COVID-19 response. Residents can drop off food at the rear parking lot of Montecito Bank & Trust on Coast Village Road on Saturday, May 9, between 9 am and noon […]
The Westmont men’s and women’s golf teams hosted their first intercollegiate golf tournament, the Westmont Invitational, on February 23-24 at Sandpiper Golf Club in Goleta. Seniors Tanner Shean of Santa Ynez and Miles Witt of Mount Vernon, Washington, lead the men, and seniors Kat Bevill of Crystal Lake, Illinois, leads the all-first-year women’s team. The […]
Richard Pointer, Westmont professor of history, uncovers the peacemaking traditions of Native American communities in a lecture, “Peace-loving Indians? Recovering A Missing Piece of American History,” on Tuesday, March 3, at 7 pm in Hieronymus Lounge at Kerrwood Hall. The Paul C. Wilt Phi Kappa Phi Lecture is free and open to the public. “Given […]
The eighth annual Westmont Instrumentalist Guild Competition features eight musicians vying for Westmont music scholarships on Saturday, February 29, at 7 pm in Deane Chapel on the lower Westmont campus. Prospective Westmont student instrumentalists Sean Tran (piano), Daniel Macy (violin), Katie Peel (French horn) Natasha Loh (bassoon), Emma Wu (piano), and Evan Zhou (violin) will […]
Westmont music professors have brought back the popular Select House Concert Series, performing four chamber concerts on Saturdays, March 21, April 25, May 30 and June 20; all at 3 pm in homes to be announced once tickets have been purchased. Individual concert tickets, which go on sale beginning March 1 at westmont.edu/music, cost $50 […]
“Still Dreaming: Race, Ethnicity and Liberal Arts Education,” the 19th annual Gaede Institute Conversation on the Liberal Arts, gathers a national audience to explore how the liberal arts can promote more inclusive teaching, scholarship and institutional practices February 27-29 at Westmont. The plenary sessions are free and open to the public. See the schedule at […]
Westmont’s music and theater arts departments present two, one-act Italian operas offering performers and audience members a chance to enjoy two different stories with varying musical styles. Gioachino Rossini’s The Marriage Contract and Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi will be performed together February 28, March 1 and 3 at 7 pm at the New Vic Theater […]
The Westmont men’s and women’s basketball teams, who are both in first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference and ranked fourth nationally, host Arizona Christian University (ACU) on Thursday, January 30, and Ottawa University of Arizona (OUAZ) on Saturday, February 1. Men’s basketball (19-2, 8-1 GSAC) tips off against No. 23 ACU at 7:30 […]
The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art features the works of 60 different artists with a wide range of artistic styles from minimalism to realism, pop to op, narrative to symbolism in “Contemporary Masters: Works on Paper from the Collection of the Art Museum of South Texas” from January 30-March 21, 2020. A free, public opening […]
On January 4, Westmont swimmer Allison Gonzalez, the only senior on the Warrior’s inaugural team, earned the Chris Knorr Leadership Award, recognizing her commitment and leadership. The award and swim meet are named after a former California Lutheran swimmer who died of brain cancer in 2013 before he graduated. “Allison is a consistent ray of […]
Andrea Gurney, Westmont professor of psychology, explores how pastors, teachers, and parents can best support adolescents as they discover God’s place for them at the fourth annual Conversation on Youth and Vocation Friday, January 10, 8:30 am-1 pm in Westmont’s Global Leadership Center. The event, sponsored by Westmont’s Trailhead program, is free and open to […]
William (Bill) Boyd III, chief of campus safety at Westmont, served for more than 20 years with the Scott County (Iowa) Sheriff’s Department before arriving at Westmont in November of 2016. Boyd and his extensive law enforcement background played an instrumental role in the college’s response to the Thomas Fire (December 2017) and the Montecito […]
Hundreds of alumni and community members attended the 18th annual Westmont Pickle Tree Lighting on December 3 at Kerrwood Lawn. Santa Claus posed for pictures inside Kerrwood Hall as the Cold Spring School Choir and the Ahh-Men, Westmont’s talented a cappella group, kicked off the event singing Christmas carols. Students donned festive attire while enjoying […]
The Westmont Music Department added a Saturday matinee to its 15th annual Christmas Festival schedule after tickets to the first three performances sold out in about a week. Tickets are available for the concert on Saturday, December 14, at 2 pm in First Presbyterian Church at westmont.edu/christmasfestival. The festival, which retells the Christmas story by […]
Westmont volleyball made history during a remarkable run through the NAIA National Championship Tournament that ended with a heartbreaking loss in a nationally televised championship game from Sioux City, Iowa. The unranked Warriors fell to No. 11 Marian (IN) 25-20, 25-20, 25-21, becoming National Runner-Ups. First-year head coach Ruth McGolpin guided the team to the […]