Westmont News

Bob Woodward, the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, examined “Presidential Leadership and the Price of Politics” for 300 people on Jan. 16 in the Coral Casino at the Four Seasons Santa Barbara Biltmore. The legendary journalist, who has worked for the Washington Post since 1971, said it is not enough for a president to simply provide moral and ethical leadership.

The Fletcher Jones Foundation has awarded a $750,000 grant to Westmont toward the renovation of the college’s biology and chemistry labs. The grant will improve classroom and lab spaces inside Whittier Science Building, which opened in 1985.

The Westmont Observatory is closed this evening due to poor visibility. Please check back next month for another free, public viewing on Friday, Jan. 16.

Thomas Whittemore, Westmont physics instructor, will operate the powerful Keck Telescope, a 24-inch reflector, while several members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit offer celestial views with additional smaller telescopes.

Four academic departments welcomed new tenure-track professors this fall. The five professors are Timothy VanHaitsma (kinesiology), Sarah Jirek (sociology), Enrico Manlapig (economics and business), Meagan Stirling (art) and Meredith Whitnah (sociology).

VanHaitsma, a graduate of Calvin College, earned a Master of Science at Indiana University and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Utah.

The Westmont Office of Alumni and Parent Relations hosts a unique venture to the Bajío region of Mexico for alumni and parents June 27-July 6. The trip, led by Mary Docter, Westmont professor of modern languages, includes stops at several UNESCO World Heritage Sites where Westmont in Mexico students live and learn.

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art, celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, hosts the West Coast premiere exhibition of internationally famous sculptor Chakaia Booker Dec. 11-Jan. 31. A free, public opening reception with Booker is Thursday, Dec. 11, from 4-6 p.m.

The Westmont women’s cross country team finished eighth out of 38 teams at the NAIA National Championship Nov. 22  in Lawrence, Kansas, its seventh best finish in program history and best placing since 1998.

Westmont kicks off the Christmas season with the 13th annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Kerrwood Lawn on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 5 p.m. Following caroling and the annual Pickle Address, a mystery tree lighter will throw down the massive switch that lights a 150-foot redwood tree, affectionately known as the Pickle Tree. The event is free and open to the public.

This month’s public viewing of the stars will feature astronomical glimpses of a heart, owl and a Christmas tree on Friday, Nov. 21, beginning after 6:30 p.m. and lasting for several hours at the Westmont Observatory.   The free event is held every third Friday of the month in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit.

The Westmont Christmas Festival, one of the most popular holiday events in Santa Barbara, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year with performances Dec. 5-6 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 6-7 at 3 p.m. all at First Presbyterian Church, 21 E. Constance Ave.

Westmont student musicians and composers show off their talents at five free concerts this month, all in Deane Chapel on Westmont’s lower campus. For more information, please contact the music department at (805) 565-6040.

Westmont’s Music Drama Workshop offers a variety of songs from Broadway to opera Sunday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in Deane Chapel. The Musical Revue, which will last about an hour, is free and open to the public.

The contemporary play "Almost, Maine" takes a joyful and poignant look at love on the stage of Westmont’s Porter Theatre Nov. 14-­15, 20­-22 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. General admission is $15; $10 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased online at westmont.edu/boxoffice or by calling (805) 565-­7140.

The Westmont Fall Choral Festival, combining the voices of more than 330 students from 10 area high schools, is Friday, Nov. 7, at 4:45 p.m. in First United Methodist Church, 305 E. Anapamu St., and 7 p.m. in First Presbyterian Church, 21 E. Constance Ave. Half of the choirs will perform at 4:45 p.m. and the remaining half will perform prior to the Westmont ensembles at 7 p.m.

The Westmont Fall Orchestra Concert will present a diverse musical sampling by such composers as John Williams, Scott Joplin and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. in the Page Multipurpose Room at Westmont and Sunday, Nov. 2, at 3 p.m. in First Presbyterian Church. General admission to each performance is $10; students are free. To purchase tickets or obtain more information, please call (805) 565-6040.

Westmont officially installs Edee Schulze as vice president for student life at a special convocation ceremony Friday, Oct. 24, at 10:30 a.m. in Murchison Gym. Speakers will include President Gayle D.

The Westmont Observatory opens for a partial solar eclipse on Thursday, Oct. 23, from 2:15-5 p.m. At its peak, the moon will cover more than 30 percent of the sun at 3:30 p.m. The viewing is free and open to the public.

Steven Lee ’13, who earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with honors, has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant to conduct biology research in Korea.

Taylor Jashinsky ’14 will serve as a communications liaison for the next two years in Southern Asia with World Concern, a Christian non-profit committed to developing sustainable communities in poverty stricken areas around the world.

Jessie van Eerden, a distinguished fiction writer and essayist, will read from her recently published novel “Glorybound” and other new works on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge at Westmont’s Kerrwood Hall.

Edee Schulze, vice president for student life at Westmont, examines how small inequities can create a negative learning experience for female college students on Thursday, Oct. 16, from 3:30-5 p.m. in Winter Hall’s Darling Foundation Lecture Hall (Room 210) at Westmont.

The Westmont Observatory, which opens its doors to the public every third Friday of the month, will be available Friday, Oct. 17, beginning at 7:30 p.m. and lasting several hours. The viewing occurs in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, whose members bring their own telescopes to Westmont for public use.

The salaries of Westmont graduates fared well in two 2014 rankings that used data collected from the website PayScale.

A triangle of constellations that holds some of the finest open clusters in the night sky will be the starring attraction of this month’s public viewing at the Westmont Observatory on Friday, Sept. 19, beginning after 7:30 p.m. and lasting several hours. The free event is held every third Friday of the month in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit.

What can we learn from the leadership of American presidents? Westmont will explore that question in the coming year through the Moral and Ethical Leadership in the American Presidency series, sponsored by the Mosher Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership.

For the sixth straight year, the U.S. News & World Report ranked Westmont in the top 100 best liberal arts colleges.

President Gayle D. Beebe announced Saturday that Jane Hideko Higa, former vice president for student life and dean of students, died Friday evening, Sept. 5, of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. She was 63.