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 […]
Westmont began spring semester as scheduled on January 8, while preparing campus for rain late that afternoon and the following day. The college was not in Santa Barbara County’s evacuation zone that included many areas below the Thomas Fire burn scar, but public safety officers kept a 24-hour watch for flooding. In the first chapel […]
Like most of the region, people at Westmont learned about the Thomas Fire following the massive power outage December 4 that thrust the entire campus and 1,200 students into darkness. The disruption continued into the morning hours as officials scrambled to fix infrastructure that crippled the college’s website and email servers. Smoke from the blaze […]
Your Westmont by Scott Craig (photography by Brad Elliott) Westmont trustee Walter Hansen and Bruce Herman, Lothlorien distinguished professor in fine arts at Gordon College, presented president Gayle D. Beebe and his wife, Pam, with a commissioned portrait of Saint Augustine on October 27 in Westmont chapel. The gift honors the couple’s 10 years of […]
Greg Spencer, Westmont professor of communication studies, is the Western States Communication Association (WSCA) Communication and Instruction Interest Group’s 2018 Master Teacher. Spencer will speak on the Master Teacher panel in Santa Clara on Saturday, February 16, from 1 to 2:30 pm. Each year, the Communication and Instruction Interest Group recognizes master teachers from around […]
Westmont hosts its 13th annual Christmas Festival, retelling the Christmas story by weaving narration with music from the Westmont Orchestra, College Choir, and Choral Union on Friday, December 1, at 7 pm; Saturday, December 2, at 2 pm and 7 pm; and Sunday, December 3, at 3 pm, all at First Presbyterian Church, 21 E. […]