Westmont News

The powerful Keck Telescope remains under repair, but the public viewing of the stars will continue Friday, June 15, beginning at 7:30 p.m. and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. Smaller telescopes will be provided by Westmont and members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit.

Westmont alumnus (Charles) Eben Drost ’11 will serve as director of music and worship at Westmont beginning July 2. Drost, who graduates from Fuller Seminary in June with a Master of Arts in theology, has accepted a one-year position at Westmont.

Art

The powerful Keck Telescope continues to under repair and non-functioning, but the public viewing of the stars will continue Friday, May 18, beginning at 7:30 p.m. and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. Smaller telescopes will be provided by Westmont and members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit.

Westmont senior Roslyn Smith ’19 took an unconventional road to college. She enrolled at North Carolina Central University in Durham, her hometown. “But the desire to travel would not go away,” she says.

Bob Alderette, associate professor of painting and drawing in the Roski School of Art and Design at USC, juries Westmont’s annual exhibition featuring Tri-County artists May 17-June 23 in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum.

Golfers and disc golfers will have a unique opportunity to play together in the 10th annual Will’s Tourney on Monday, May 14, at 11:30 a.m. at the Glen Annie Golf Club. A buffet dinner, raffle and awards presentation will follow the tournament at 5:15 p.m. All proceeds from the event benefit the William Wiersma Endowment Scholarship Fund at Westmont.

About 328 students received diplomas at Westmont Commencement on May 5, but none with more courage than Connor McManigal, who was seriously injured, but survived the Jan. 9 mudslide in Montecito.

Ben Patterson, in his final sermon as Westmont campus pastor, urged students to be happy, joyful and grateful in their lives.

Westmont has received $2 million toward a Center for Student Success from an anonymous donor with close ties to the college. A presidential initiative establishes the new center, which will coordinate all facets of the college experience to supercharge student success on campus and after graduation.

Westmont student musician Tim Beccue ’18 (cello) won first place ($5,000) in the instrumental honors April 29 at the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation (PASF) finals. Westmont student pianist Zelin Luan received honorable mention.

Look for the spring 2018 Westmont magazine, which has been printed and is being mailed out in the coming days. Our magazine cover and feature story “Stronger Together” reflect the campaign of the same name for recovery efforts by Santa Barbara and Montecito after the devastating debris flow in January. In April, NBC’s “Dateline” segment “No Way Out” also highlighted Stronger Together.

Tom Nguyen, Westmont trustee and managing director of U.S. sales for China International Capital Corp. (CICC), speaks at Westmont Commencement on Saturday, May 5, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. on Russell Carr Field at Westmont. President Gayle D.

The Westmont College Choir and Orchestra will host its Masterworks Concert tour performing Handel’s Messiah (parts 2 and 3) beginning in Santa Barbara on Friday, April 6, at 7 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 305 E. Anapamu St.

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 a.m. in Murchison Gym.

Westmont will activate its Shelter Activated for Flood Emergencies (SAFE) plan beginning Tuesday evening, March 20. Classes and activities will continue as planned through noon on Tuesday. We have designated responders and trained emergency response members of our community available and scheduled to be on site through Thursday and as needed, as well as medical personnel and their support staff.

The Westmont Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Winds will host their spring concert Sunday, April 22, at 7 p.m. in Deane Chapel on Westmont’s lower campus. Admission is free.

The Fletcher Jones Foundation has awarded a $750,000 grant to Westmont for the second phase of renovation of Whittier Science Building, including classroom, laboratory and storage spaces. The next phase of work will take place during the summer, so Whittier will be completely renovated by fall 2018.

Westmont seeks to integrate faith and learning in all its programs, and the campus pastor plays a crucial role in carrying out this mission and cultivating the spiritual development of students. President Gayle D. Beebe and Vice President for Student Life Edee Schulze co-chair a search committee interviewing candidates to replace Campus Pastor Ben Patterson, who announced his retirement in September 2017.

March marks National Women's History Month and we celebrate the life of Westmont's founder, Ruth Kerr. Kerr conceived the vision for the college, and served as a trustee and the college’s chief benefactor for 30 years.

The Westmont music and theatre arts departments combine creative talents to produce “Die Fledermaus (The Bat),” an operetta composed by Johann Strauss, on March 2 and 4 at 7 p.m. in downtown Santa Barbara’s New Vic Theatre. Tickets cost $17 for general admission, $12 for students and seniors, and may be purchased at newvictheater.com.

The computer that runs Westmont’s Keck Telescope has been experiencing intermittent problems and may be unavailable for the public viewing Friday, Feb. 16. Members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit will bring their own telescopes to the observatory for public use beginning about 7:30 p.m. and lasting several hours.

The third annual Advancing Women in Leadership Conference, March 5 at Azusa Pacific University, celebrates Women’s History Month. The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) sponsors the one-day national event, “Lead with PURPOSE,” which addresses the need to encourage and increase female leadership in higher education on school boards, in executive positions and in the classroom.

Seven high schools from around Southern California will compete in the 30th annual High School Mathematics Contest at Westmont on Saturday, Feb. 3, from 1-6:30 p.m. in Winter Hall. The competition starts at 1 p.m. with the College Bowl Prelims, Chalk Talk Prelims, and Team Exam, and will conclude with an awards ceremony in Founders Room.

This year’s Chalk Talk topic is complex numbers.

Yulya Dukhovny, Westmont artist-in-residence, performs her style of visual theater that features paper animation performed in a vertical 2D scenic space on Feb. 9-10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Porter Hall Black-Box Theatre.