Westmont Magazine Building for Education

As part of Westmont’s capital campaign, “Embracing the Past, Ensuring the Future,” the Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation of Los Angeles has given $500,000 toward a new building for the sciences, the David K. Winter Hall for Science and Mathematics.

“I am most impressed with the work being done at Westmont College to provide a quality, Christian education,” said Richard L. Stack, trustee of the foundation. “It is on the shoulders of your graduates that the hopes of our society ride.

“Such a great responsibility deserves support and encouragement, and I am pleased that the Darling Foundation has the opportunity to participate in your mission.”

Stack practiced law with Hugh Darling for 13 years, until the prominent attorney died in 1986. An expert in aviation law, Darling was closely involved with aviation pioneer Western Airlines, provided legal counseling to the
carrier, and served on its board. Committed to community service, he was mayor of Beverly Hills and president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

Darling also believed in the importance of education and made time to lecture at UCLA Law School and to advise students competing in Moot Court there and at other area law schools.

After he died, his widow, Hazel, wanted to honor his memory and worked with Stack to establish a trust that became the Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation after her death in 1987. The foundation awards about $2 million each year to support education in California, especially legal education.

“We tend to focus on bricks-and-mortar projects because that has been a major need,” Stack explains.

The library at UCLA Law School is named for the Darlings, and the foundation has supported projects at USC, Pepperdine, Loyola Law School, and Azusa Pacific.

The Darling trustee first learned about Westmont from an attorney who represented the Kerr Family and spoke very highly of the college. Ruth Kerr was the principal founder of Westmont, and her son, William Kerr, has served on the college’s board for many years.

Winter Hall will house the computer science, mathematics, physics and psychology departments and provide critically needed classroom and office space. The facility is part of Westmont’s long-range plan to complete its campus.

“We are deeply grateful for the Darling Foundation’s confidence in Westmont’s mission,” says Stephen Baker, vice president for advancement. “Their support is a great encouragement to us.”