Tag archives: college

In response to the novel coronavirus, schools around the world rushed to integrate their curriculum into online learning platforms. Concessions were made by students, teachers, and administrators alike to accommodate a novel learning experience that was, to many, the bane of a semester reaching its conclusion. I have heard many accounts of slow Wi-Fi and […]

Managing this column, I’ve been put back in contact with quite a few individuals I used to look up to back in my elementary school days. This week we’re hearing from Montecito Union alum and New York University grad, Julia Kupiec. Second grade Stella had myriad compelling reasons to hold Julia in high regard; she […]

It’s not every day you open your email to find that the young woman who used to sell your family Girl Scout Cookies is now a grown adult in charge of building the new Air Force One Hangar. Enter Meredith Urschel, daughter of Carissa Smith and Ted Urschel, a Cornell alum and concrete enthusiast. Before […]

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 […]

This week’s letter comes from a person who recently made their professional debut doing the 3D VFX work for the 2019 blockbuster Little Women. Animation student Beatrice Tolan is a rising senior at Northeastern University in Boston where she is pursuing her BA with a minor in theatre. This, of course, is no surprise to […]

We grew up in and around Montecito. We were given so many opportunities to learn and explore and grow. This community invests so much in us, and we want to keep in touch to let you know how and what we’re doing. Mine is the first letter in a series of letters from Montecito Kids […]

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 […]

Despite gray skies and a light drizzle, thousands of family members and friends celebrated and cheered the 291 Westmont graduates, who received their diplomas at Commencement May 4.  President Gayle D. Beebe gave the Westmont Medals to Rev. Dr. Katherine Wiebe and Lindsay and Laurie Parton. Wiebe, a Christian pastoral psychotherapist at the Santa Barbara-based […]

“The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara (SFSB) has been around for 56 years and has given $108 million to over 50,000 students,” board president Don Logan told the 350 guests at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachside Resort. Every year the Foundation gives a luncheon to thank volunteers and donors for their help. Why does it […]

Community leaders gathered at the Hilton for the annual Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara lunch. The 56-year-old organization, which started giving $100 awards, this year awarded $8.32 million in scholarships to 2,260 students from across the county, bringing the total to a handsome $108 million to more than 50,000 college-bound youngsters over the past five […]

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 […]

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 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 […]

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 […]

Kerri Murray, president of the Santa Barbara based charity, ShelterBox USA, had one of her more ap-peal-ing assignments the other day in New York. The popular nonprofit was selected to participate in the ringing of the bell opening ceremony at Nasdaq’s headquarters in Manhattan’s Times Square on Giving Tuesday, with Kerri doing the honors along […]

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 […]