Westmont News

In the last two summers, Westmont has hosted more than 100 evangelical students, professors and nationally recognized experts for conferences about Christian climate advocacy. The Faith.Climate.Action. Workshop, funded by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, now provides nearly $40,000 in grants to support sustainability initiatives for eight members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).

Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope will zoom in on Jupiter and its Galilean moons on Friday, March 21, beginning at 7:30 p.m. and lasting several hours. The Westmont Observatory is open to the public every third Friday of the month and held in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit whose members bring their own telescopes to share with the public.

The Westmont Observatory opens for the viewing of a rare lunar event beginning Thursday, March 13, at 10 p.m. and lasting until Friday, March 14, at 1 a.m. The powerful Keck Telescope will zoom in on a total lunar eclipse, which will be visible throughout North American and in some locations in South American. The last total lunar eclipse in the U.S. was November 2022.

Two Westmont computer science professors will offer a holistic understanding of artificial intelligence (AI), explore promising new developments and expose lurking dangers in a Westmont Downtown Lecture, “A Human Approach to AI: Understanding Its Promises and Perils,” on Thursday, March 27, at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Arts Workshop, 631 Garden St., in downtown Santa Barbara. The talk is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations required.

Condoleezza Rice, the 66th U.S. secretary of state, shared insight into the Russia-Ukraine war as well as China and other international hot spots, while sprinkling wisdom about democracy, education and her childhood in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, at the Westmont President’s Breakfast on Feb. 28. More than 700 early-morning attendees enjoyed the sold-out event, now in its 20th year at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art hosted a powerful, heartful, outdoor event Feb. 20 that included stories, poems and live music about the significance of the 2008 Tea Fire. At the center of the gathering in Westmont’s formal garden was an installation, “Glowing Embers,” created by local artist Ethan Turpin and Jonathan PJ Smith, co-owner of the Environment Makers. The two used multiple video projectors to make the pine trees, which were scarred in the Tea Fire, appear as though glowing with fire from within.

In response to increasing demand and need for nurses, Westmont Downtown | Grotenhuis Nursing is growing the program. This May, 24 more students will begin their studies in the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

Westmont’s famed theater arts professor John Blondell, who will retire after 37 years at the college, directs “The Wind in the Willows” Friday, Feb. 21, at 8:30 p.m.; Feb. 22, 28 and March 1 at 7 p.m.; and March 1-2 at 2 p.m.; all in Porter Theatre. Purchase tickets, which cost $20 for general admission and $12 for students and seniors, at westmont.edu/box-office.

Bring the whole family to the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art for a day of fun, free activities with food, crafts, games, music and storytelling focused on our environment. Living Earth: A Family Day of Exploration on Saturday, March 1, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. focuses on the immersive exhibition “WILDLAND: Ethan Turpin’s Collaborations on Fire and Water,” which combines science and art.

Westmont has launched a new major in worship leadership designed for students pursuing careers as pastoral musicians with an emphasis on the contemporary worship styles more prevalent today.

Westmont’s 36th annual Mathematics Field Day features about 100 students from eight regional high schools in a friendly competition Saturday, Feb. 8, at 1 p.m. in Winter Hall.

Drawing on his experience, Westmont President Gayle D. Beebe will share the power of life’s crucibles – those pivotal moments of trial and triumph – that have defined his personal and professional life and leadership. The talk, “The Crucibles That Shape Us: Navigating the Defining Challenges of Leadership,” has been rescheduled to Monday, March 3, at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Arts Workshop, 631 Garden Street, in downtown Santa Barbara.

The eighth annual Westmont Women’s Leadership Council Luncheon reached new heights with a goal of encouraging and empowering female students with scholarships and networking connections to help them thrive in their future careers. The event, which featured Henrietta Holsman Fore, a Santa Barbara native who served as executive director of UNICEF and USAID administrator, has grown so popular, organizers moved it to the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort to accommodate additional supporters.

Artist Ethan Turpin and scientist Naomi Tague explore their combined work for “WILDLAND” in a free, public lecture, “Beyond Data Visualization: Art-Science Collaboration with Ethan Turpin and Naomi Tague” on Thursday, Jan. 30, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in Westmont’s Porter Theatre. No RSVPs are needed; and light refreshments will be served.

Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art exhibits “WILDLAND: Ethan Turpin's Collaborations on Fire and Water” through March 22.

A Westmont student and professor have won the Hatfield Prize, which will allow them to conduct research this semester through interviewing churches, nonprofits and government agencies who are preventing and addressing homelessness in Santa Barbara.

Westmont’s first monthly stargazing event of 2025 features Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, Orion’s nebula and the Owl Cluster on Friday, Jan. 17, at 6:30 p.m. and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. Along with the college’s powerful Keck Telescope, members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit bring their telescopes to share with the public.

A large crowd of about 175 people gathered to appreciate the multifaceted exhibition of “WILDLAND: Ethan Turpin's Collaborations on Fire and Water” on Jan. 9 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The exhibition, which explores the complex relationships between fire, water and ourselves, is open through March 22.

A Westmont biology class is celebrating the growing success of an oak woodland restoration project in the barranca along the westside of Westmont’s campus. Nearly all of the 60 coast live oaks that were planted along the dry Westmont Creek in November 2023 are surviving and many have grown more than three feet tall.

Condoleezza Rice, the 66th U.S. secretary of state, speaks at the 20th annual Westmont President’s Breakfast on Friday, Feb. 28, from 7-9 a.m. at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Tickets cost $175 per person and go on sale Friday, Jan. 31, at 9 a.m. at westmont.edu/breakfast. Seating is limited, and tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

The fourth cohort of Westmont Downtown| Grotenhuis Nursing graduates were celebrated at a pinning ceremony in front of friends and family Dec. 12 at Montecito Covenant Church.

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art features the multimedia creations of Ethan Turpin, whose works are grounded in the natural cycles of wildfire, devastation, and recovery and regrowth from Jan. 9-March 22. The public is invited to a free opening reception of “WILDLAND: Ethan Turpin's Collaborations on Fire and Water” on Thursday, Jan. 9, 4-6 p.m. at the museum.

Westmont honored alumnus Tine Hardeman ’55 prior to the women’s basketball game against Azusa Pacific University on Dec. 14 in Murchison Gym. Hardeman died on Dec. 2 at age 92.

Westmont’s final monthly stargazing event of 2024 features two gas giants, Orion, the Owl Cluster and the Andromeda galaxy on Friday, Dec. 20, at 6:30 p.m. and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. Along with the college’s powerful Keck Telescope, members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit bring their telescopes to share with the public.

Westmont’s 12 junior engineering students battled in a three-part competition for their Machine Design course that included racing and jumping the 500-piece remote-control (RC) car they made in front of Kerrwood Hall on Dec. 5.

The college kicked off the Christmas season with its annual lighting of Kerrwood Hall in a festive event, Let There Be Light, on Dec. 3 as the Westmont community gathered on Kerrwood Lawn.

The Westmont Women’s Leadership Council Luncheon features Henrietta Holsman Fore, a recognized leader in business, corporate boards, the U.S. government, the United Nations and nonprofit organizations, on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, 12-1:30 p.m. at Montecito Covenant Church, 671 Cold Spring Road, Santa Barbara.

A generous donor has committed $50,000 to match gifts made to the Westmont Fund between November 26 and December 3, doubling the impact of your donation until midnight or until the match has been met.

More than 170 high school students and their families attended Affording Your College Dream, a community event that explores the best ways low-income students can fund a college education.

Westmont students Josef Bingener ’25 and Ethan Camp ’27 have participated in a novel nuclear physics experiment with Professor Robert Haring-Kaye. They traveled to Florida State University (FSU) to study the structural properties of an exotic isotope of gallium (72Ga) that survives for only a few hours before decaying to a different isotope.

The November public stargazing event will feature a Beaver Moon, Owl Cluster and two gas giants, Saturn and Jupiter, on Friday, Nov. 15, beginning at 6 p.m. and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. The college hosts a free, public viewing on the third Friday of every month in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit whose members bring their telescopes to share with the public.

The Westmont Theatre Arts Department staged a hilarious version of John Buchan’s “The 39 Steps” that brought plenty of laughs through an unrelenting barrage of creative set-design gags and physical comedy. Director Mitchell Thomas masterfully squeezes out every laugh while navigating a plot that doesn’t take itself seriously. This was good lighthearted fun at its best. Over six performances, more than 600 people saw the performance in Porter Theatre.

Daniel Jensen will be officially installed as the James R. and Eleanor S. Allder professor of science and technology in a formal, public ceremony Friday, Nov. 8, at 10:30 a.m. in Murchison Gym. Jensen has directed Westmont’s burgeoning engineering program since it began in fall 2021. 

Celebrate Advent with glorious music at Westmont’s 20^th anniversary Christmas Festival, a highlight for many local residents during the holidays, on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 15, at 3 p.m., both at the Granada Theatre in Santa Barbara. Tickets go on sale Monday, Nov. 4, at 10 a.m. at westmont.edu/christmas-festival.

More than 30 members of the Oak Group, a collection of landscape artists passionate about nature and committed to preserving local lands, will each exhibit a painting in “The Oak Group Presents the Grace of the World” from Nov. 21- Dec. 21 in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. Many of the artists will take part in a free, public opening reception Thursday, Nov. 21, from 4-6 p.m. in the museum.

Hospitals have increasingly been closing maternity departments around the country, including in California. Stephanie Curtis, a certified nurse midwife and Westmont instructor of nursing, examines the issue of maternity care deserts in a Westmont Downtown Lecture, “Delivering in the Desert: The Impact of Maternity Ward Closures,” on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 5:30 p.m.

Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope takes aim at Saturn and a supermoon at this month’s free public stargazing event on Friday, Oct. 18, beginning about 7 p.m. and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. The college hosts a monthly star party on the third Friday of each month in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit.

Westmont theater offers “The 39 Steps,” a fast-paced murder mystery and international espionage plot, encompassing numerous characters played by just five actors Oct. 25-26 at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 31 at 9 p.m., Nov. 1-2 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 2 at 2 p.m., all in Porter Theatre. Purchase tickets, which cost $20 for general admission and $12 for students and seniors, through westmont.edu/boxoffice. 

On the morning of March 27, 1989, Westmont students Lisa Bebout, Patty (Hallock) Crosby, Megan (Harter) Adams, Alan Voorman and Garth Weedman drove in Voorman’s bright yellow Toyota Corolla from their camp in Ensenada, Mexico, to a nearby village. As members of the Potter’s Clay Construction Team, they were renovating a dilapidated house there. But an oncoming car suddenly jumped the divider and landed on top of Voorman’s vehicle. Fellow students in two cars behind them screeched to a halt and piled out to rescue their friends as ambulances rushed to the scene.

Polarization in our culture and politics has led to division, tension and hostility in our churches, workplaces and even our families. Shirley Mullen, former Westmont provost and history professor, encouraged the Westmont community to instead claim the powerful, redemptive potential of the courageous middle.

Nearly 40 students will present their summer research findings at the annual Celebration of Summer Research on Friday, Oct. 4, from 3:30-5 p.m. in the Winter Hall Atrium. The Celebration of Summer Research, sponsored by the Office of the Provost, is free and open to the public.

For two decades, U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges list has ranked Westmont as the top Christian liberal arts college in California and the Western U.S. Westmont remains one of the top Christian liberal arts colleges in California, listed among 10 other liberal arts schools. Overall, it is one of only two nationally ranked in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. In the 2025 edition of U.S. News, Westmont appears at No. 108 (tied) among all national, not regional, liberal arts colleges.

Westmont President Gayle D. Beebe will be a delegate at the Fourth Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization on Sept. 22-28 in Incheon, South Korea. He has served as a college president for more than 25 years (18 at Westmont) and received his invitation through the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities. Beebe joins about 5,000 delegates from around the world, including thousands more attending virtually, making it the largest representation since the movement began in 1974.

The planet Saturn will be the star of the show on Friday, Sept. 20, from 7:30-10 p.m. at the Westmont Observatory. “If you haven't seen this unique planet and its rings through a telescope before, I highly encourage you to come out and join us,” says Jen Ito, assistant professor of physics and director of the observatory. “Saturn is my favorite planet to see through a telescope."

Westmont’s alums return to campus for Homecoming 2024 with an abundance of family-friendly events Oct. 4-6. Please visit westmont.edu/homecoming for the full schedule, prices and ticket information.

Jesse Covington, whose research explores the interrelation of religion and government, takes a step away from the current electoral matchup to look at enduring challenges Christians face in a context like the United States.

Guests from the Lilly Network of more than 100 faith-based colleges and universities will examine the initial findings of a study about the intellectual-religious experience of undergraduates at the network’s national conference hosted by Westmont's Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts on Sept. 27-29.

The public is invited to join Westmont’s astrophysics students to learn more about the moon on NASA’s International Observe the Moon Night on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at the Westmont Observatory.

Six new professors on tenure track or with multiyear contracts joined the Westmont faculty this fall. Jonathan Diaz (English), Kevin McGuire (economics and business), Sara Morrisset (history) and Jada L. Willis (kinesiology) step into tenure-track positions.