Westmont alumnus Kenny Chism ’17, who oversees a variety of on-campus environmental projects, has become the first, fulltime sustainability coordinator at Westmont. In this pilot role, Chism will manage Westmont’s organic gardens and oversee Dining Commons-related sustainability projects (food waste, composting, local purchasing, etc.) through a partnership with Sodexo, which is contracted by Westmont’s dining […]
Katherine Hayhoe, a prominent atmospheric scientist, professor of political science, and director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University, speaks at Westmont Thursday, January 24, at 1:15 pm in the Westmont Global Leadership Center. The Pascal Society Lecture, “Mitigate, Adapt or Suffer: Connecting Global Change to Local Impacts,” is free and open to […]
Peggy Noonan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist at the Wall Street Journal and a renowned speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, will speak at the 14th annual Westmont President’s Breakfast on Friday, February 22, from 7 to 9 am in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Tickets cost $125 per person and go […]
The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art explores the increasingly fraught relationship between humankind and the environment with a number of events to coincide with the exhibition “Watershed: Contemporary Landscape Photography” through March 23 in the museum. “Throughout North America, we share these sustainability issues, and although each need is specific to its region, ‘Watershed’ is […]
Tremendous prayer support and outstanding work by firefighters have kept Westmont safe. The college remained on mandatory evacuation through Wednesday, December 20, as firefighters mopped up hot spots from the firestorm. On December 16, winds blew the Thomas Fire toward campus. Engines and firefighters actively worked to protect the campus and have put out a […]
More than 30 talented members of the Westmont Art Council will exhibit and sell their artwork at “Creative Hands: Highlights from the Westmont Art Council” Nov. 29- Dec. 22 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum. An opening reception and holiday art sale is Thursday, November 29, from 4-6 pm at the museum. “We are so grateful […]
Westmont will offer a Bachelor of Science in engineering with a concentration in mechanical engineering beginning in fall 2019, blending a mix of courses in engineering, physics, mathematics, and chemistry and grounding the program in the college’s liberal arts tradition. The new major continues Westmont’s tradition of cultivating innovation, collaboration, problem-solving, and moral discernment in […]
Westmont continues to innovate and respond to students’ interests by adding new programs and more choices that fit well with the liberal arts and prepare graduates for a variety of careers. Music students focused on performing can earn a Bachelor of Music once the National Association of Schools of Music approves the program. Beginning in […]
Westmont junior Michael Oldach defended his title and senior Blake Fonda finished second at the Golden State Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships on November 3 in Santa Clarita. Oldach of Colorado Springs completed the 8,000-meter race in a time of 25:26, and Fonda of Lodi finished in 25:39. They earned All-GSAC honors for their […]
Beth Horvath, Westmont associate professor of biology, examines the significant roles gorgonian corals (sea fans) play in the healthy biodiversity of deep-water habitats, such as the Santa Barbara Channel, in a lecture Thursday, November 8, at 5:30 pm at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara Street. The Westmont Downtown lecture, “Gorgonian Corals: Sentinels of Deep-Sea […]
Westmont is excited to begin its first women’s swimming team in fall 2019 with its newly hired head coach, Jill Jones Lin. “Jill has a strong pedigree in both swimming and Christian leadership,” says Dave Odell, Westmont athletic director. “Her energy and enthusiasm is palpable. She also has a strong understanding of athletics as part […]
Two Westmont professors seek to encourage dialogue on difficult issues in the local community. Deborah Dunn, professor of communication studies, and Rachel Winslow, director of the Westmont Center for Social Entrepreneurship and assistant professor of history, have created the Westmont Initiative for Public Dialogue and Deliberation (WIPDD) to encourage citizens to participate in our democracy […]
Jason Eldred, adjunct professor of history at Westmont and vice president of the family management company operating the Storage Place, has joined the Westmont Foundation Board of Directors, which helps build connections between Westmont and the greater Santa Barbara community. “Having the opportunity to serve the Christian community locally and globally through the college’s outreach […]
Westmont Theatre Arts brings a contemporary energy and sense of humor to its staging of Pride and Prejudice on Thursday, October 25, and Saturday, October 27, at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, October 28, at 2 pm, all in Westmont’s Porter Theatre. Tickets to the play, which is based on the novel by Jane Austen and […]
Westmont researchers are using a new high-tech tool to understand human neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease. As part of a summer research project, Yi-Fan Lu, Westmont assistant professor of biology, and senior Heidi Pullmann used the new microelectrode array, purchased through the Westmont Provost’s Office, to detect and record the response of neurons to […]
A philanthropic family from Tacoma, Washington, has given Westmont $575,000 as seed money to launch women’s swimming and men’s and women’s golf beginning in the 2019-2020 academic year. The Tom and Meg Names Family Foundation awarded a $500,000 grant to the swimming program, and the Names Family Foundation has donated $75,000 toward the creation of […]
Westmont’s new Center for American Democracy will help students understand the unique ideas, ideals, institutions, and practices of democracy in the United States. The center begins launching programs in fall 2018 thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous couple with new ties to the college. “We often read about fledgling democracies where entrenched tyrants […]
Westmont will offer women’s swimming and men’s and women’s golf beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year, bolstering an already successful collegiate athletic program. The college earned sixth place in the 2018 NAIA Learfield Directors Cup final standings, the best finish in its 80-year history. The cup measures overall success by awarding points to each sport […]
Two recent Westmont graduates have received prestigious Fulbright scholarships to teach overseas for nearly a year, and another young alumna has earned a foreign affairs fellowship. Hugh Grant-Chapman ’18, a political science graduate, will teach in Taiwan, while biology graduate Alexa Mogck ’18 will work in Malaysia. Both are part of programs that place grantees […]
Seventeen Westmont students are studying in Singapore for two months as part of Westmont’s new May term in Singapore. “It’s a remarkably fascinating time to be studying international trade and finance and going to Asia in the middle of a looming trade war,” says Paul Bradford, adjunct professor of economics and business, who will teach […]
Westmont has named alumnus Scott Lisea ’88 as the new campus pastor and assistant to the president for church and community relations. He has served as head of school for Providence Christian School in Santa Barbara since 2015. Lisea begins July 1, and replaces Ben Patterson, who has retired after more than 17 years of […]
About 328 students received diplomas at Westmont Commencement on May 5, but none with more courage than Connor McManigal, who was seriously injured but survived the January 9 mudslide in Montecito. “He was literally swept out of his home and swept more than a mile downstream and ended up on the 101,” president Gayle D. […]
The Westmont Orchestra performs its final concert of the academic year, celebrating the music of Ireland and Britain on Friday, April 27, at 7 pm at First Presbyterian Church. Tickets, which cost $10 for general admission (students are free), may be purchased at the door. For more information at the Spring Orchestra Concert, please contact […]
Westmont alumnus Kenny Chism ’17, sustainability/marketing coordinator for Westmont dining services by Sodexo, focuses on protecting the environmental health of Westmont and the planet. “It is of paramount importance for me,” he says. “I hope to reflect that in every aspect of my life, through how I eat, which stores and markets I support, how […]
Carmel Saad, Westmont associate professor of psychology, examines implicit bias, the unconscious prejudices that are absorbed in childhood and persist into adulthood, in a lecture Thursday, April 12, at 5:30 pm at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara Street. The Westmont Downtown lecture, “Hidden Prejudices: How Implicit Bias Affects Our Work and Relationships”, is free […]
Sandra Richter, who began teaching at Westmont in the fall, will be formally installed as the Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont on Monday, April 16, during a full-regalia ceremony at 10:30 am in Murchison Gym. Richter, who has taught Old Testament at Asbury Theological and Wesley Biblical seminaries as well as […]
The Westmont College Choir and Orchestra will host its Masterworks Concert tour performing Handel’s Messiah (parts 2 and 3) beginning in Santa Barbara on Friday, April 6, at 7 pm at First United Methodist Church, 305 E. Anapamu St. Admission is $10, students are free. For more information, contact the music department at (805) 565-6040. […]
Keynote speakers Doris Kearns Goodwin, David Brooks, Lynda Weinman, and president Gayle D. Beebe share insights on effective and purposeful leadership in government, non-profit and for-profit sectors at the 2018 Lead Where You Stand Conference, June 6-8, at Westmont’s new Global Leadership Center. The three-day event, “Transformational Leadership in the 21st Century: Pursuing the Greater […]
The Fletcher Jones Foundation has awarded a $750,000 grant to Westmont for the second phase of renovation of Whittier Science Building, including classroom, laboratory, and storage spaces. The next phase of work will take place during the summer, so Whittier will be completely renovated by fall 2018. In 2014, the Fletcher Jones Foundation awarded a […]
Fourteen graduating art majors will offer their capstone art projects, which span painting, drawing, printmaking, fiber sculpture, digital prints, welding, assemblage, and a charcoal animation from April 5 to May 5 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. A free, public opening reception for “Degrees of Separation: Westmont Graduate Exhibition” is Thursday, April 5 from […]
Greg Spencer, Westmont professor of communication studies, hopes that his new book, Reframing the Soul: How Words Transform Our Faith, will help members of the local community as they remember the challenging events of this past winter. On the night after the massive January 9 debris flow, Spencer said his last thought before going to […]
Violinist Bryan Kaleta, a senior at Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, earned top honors at the sixth annual Music Guild Competition on March 3, where seven high school seniors competed for Westmont music scholarships. He received the $10,000 Music Guild scholarship (up to $40,000 over four years), plus awards for private music instruction and […]
Westmont neighbors Fima and Jere Lifshitz, who have collected African art for 40 years, exhibit many of their pieces in “Africa through Its Sculpture: Highlights from the Lifshitz Collection” through Saturday, March 24, at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm and Saturdays […]
Chandra Mallampalli, Westmont professor of history, will be formally installed as the new Fletcher Jones Foundation professor in the social sciences on Monday, February 5, during a full-regalia ceremony at 10:30 am in Murchison Gym. “Chandra has become a significant scholar in the study of religion in India, and we are delighted to honor him […]
The Dallas Willard Center for Spiritual Formation honored James K.A. “Jamie” Smith, professor of philosophy at Calvin College, with its annual book award for You are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit during chapel January 26 in Murchison Gym. Smith, the Gary and Henrietta Byker professor in applied reformed theology and worldview, has […]
Paul Willis, professor of English at Westmont and former poet laureate of Santa Barbara, hosts the 12th annual community poetry reading to honor the life and work of William Stafford (1914-1993) on Saturday, January 27, at 2 pm at the First Crossing Day Use Area in Los Padres National Forest, across from the Los Prietos […]
Life on campus is returning to normal this week after Montecito Water District officials certified Westmont’s water supply as drinkable January 20. Of course, “normal” means something different after the devastation of the Montecito mudslides. When students returned January 16, the campus had water but remained under a mandatory boil-water order, so the college supplied […]
Westmont reopened its campus for students January 16 and resumed classes January 17 after the voluntary evacuation on January 9 following the Montecito mudslides. The Westmont campus sustained no damage from the storm, but students were voluntarily evacuated after college officials learned of water restrictions that would affect food preparation and sanitation. Crews delivered portable […]
Small works of art from several hundred artists from around the country will be auctioned during “5X5: Celebrating Westmont College’s 80th Anniversary” at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art on January 11-26. An opening reception Thursday, January 11, from 4 to 6 pm will start the online auction (westmontmuseum.org), which lasts until Friday, January 26, […]
General Michael Hayden, an expert on cybersecurity and a retired director of the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, will speak at the 12th annual Westmont President’s Breakfast on Friday, February 9, from 7 to 9 am in the Grand Ballroom of Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort. Tickets cost $125 per person and go on […]