Westmont Magazine The Dean Decides to Leave

Few people at Westmont know as many students, parents, and alumni as Dave Morley, the dean of admissions for the past 17 years. So his decision to leave and take a challenging position at Santa Barbara City College has saddened many hearts.

“Dave has made an extraordinary contribution to Westmont, and this is a great loss to me personally as well as to the institution,” says President David Winter. “I deeply regret his decision to leave.” The two Daves have worked together since 1970 and are close friends.

“My years at Westmont have been great,” says Dave Morley. “I really believe in this place, and I’m excited to see it get stronger all the time. Westmont is certainly positioning itself to be a force in Christian higher education.”

As he gets ready to retire in a few years, Dave has decided to work as a counselor for underrepresented students in the Educational Opportunity Program Services office at City College. He has done volunteer work through this program for several years and has a longtime interest in helping minority students.

“I have seen City College change the lives of these students,” he explains. “I think I can be used there and grow in some important new ways.”

Dave’s accomplishments at Westmont are impressive. When he came in 1982, the college received 698 applications and 3,782 inquiries; today these totals are 1,650 and 15,642. The average grade-point average and SAT scores of first-year students have risen from 2.91 and 970 to 3.65 and 1190, and the number of underrepresented students jumped from four to 17 percent. Once a concern, the retention rate is now an incredible 91 percent.

Under Dave’s leadership, the college has produced two award-winning admissions videos. The first earned a Gold Medal from the Council for the Advancement and Support for Education (CASE) in 1986, and the second captured a Silver Medal in 1992.

An active member of local, statewide, and national professional organizations, Dave has held many leadership positions, and he served as president of the National Association of Christian College Admissions Personnel (NACCAP). This group also named him National Admissions Officer of the Year.

A graduate of Whit-worth College in Washington, he earned an M.A. in education and worked as director of admissions there before moving to the admissions office at CSU, Sacramento.
Westmont honors Dave for his tremendous service and sadly bids him good-bye.