Westmont Magazine Homecoming Honors
Despite soggy weather, Westmont alums received a warm welcome at Homecoming in September. They renewed friendships and attended events such as chapel, mini-classes, soccer games, a coffeehouse and a family carnival. A special picnic dinner celebrating the completion of the capital campaign and the Homecoming Brunch brought alums together in thanksgiving. The college honored Cliff Lundberg ’65 as Alumnus of the Year and presented a Distinguished Service Award to Russ Carr ’56.
Russ Carr ’56 is the founder and president of Sports Outreach Institute. During his 17-year tenure at Westmont, he chaired the education department, coached men’s soccer and baseball, served as athletic director and directed overseas study tours.
As head soccer coach, he led his teams to 11 district crowns, seven area titles and the 1972 NAIA National Championship. He was district, area or national coach of the year 23 times. Westmont’s athletic field was named in his honor.
Since 1988 Sports Outreach Institute Inc. has grown into an international ministry with programs in Africa, Latin America and in the inner cities of the U.S. Russ has taken teams to Central and South America, Europe and Africa, challenging the Olympic, national and professional teams of these countries.
He has served on the U.S. Olympic Selection Committee, and he coached the West team in the First Annual Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America Senior Bowl in 1972. He also led the West team in the 1990 NAIA Senior Bowl.
Russ was inducted into the Santa Barbara Hall of Fame in 1985, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Westmont Hall of Fame in 1996. In 1992 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Santa Barbara High School and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s Honor Award.
Cliff Lundberg ’65 has been chief operations and finance officer of PostX Corporation, a software company in California’s Silicon Valley. Previously he was CEO of General Offshore Corporation, a multinational telecommunications and data network company. Under Cliff’s leadership, General Offshore became the world’s largest shallow water installer of fiber optic infrastructure, playing a critical role in the installation of many of today’s transoceanic Internet backbone cables.
His business career includes corporate officer positions in several other early-stage Silicon Valley technology companies. He was chief operations and finance officer of electronic retailer ByVideo Inc. and executive vice president of PRC Technical Applications. He has completed numerous merger and acquisition transactions, including strategic equity partnerships with Fortune 500 companies. In 1993, Cliff was nominated entrepreneur of the year in greater Washington, D.C.
He has a history of achievements as a volunteer in the non-profit sector. He chaired the board of the Kennedy Institute in Washington, D.C., and served on the board of the National Kidney Foundation. He serves on the boards of Sports Outreach Institute and Parca, a Bay Area organization dedicated to serving the disabled.
For 10 years, Cliff has been a Westmont trustee, chairing the development committee of the board. Most recently, he chaired the college’s successful capital campaign. He earned an M.B.A. and a professional designation in contract management from UC Los Angeles.