Westmont News

Westmont president Gayle D. Beebe has created a blog, chronicling the Westmont Alumni and Parent Europe Trip through June 29. Beebe, who is joined by his wife, Pam, and their three children, are traveling with about 40 Westmont alumni and parents overseas.

The ringed planet Saturn, sitting in the nearby constellation of Virgo, will be one of the focal points of a free, public viewing Friday, June 21, beginning at about 8 p.m. at the Westmont Observatory.

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art hosts a large rummage sale Friday, Aug. 16, and Saturday, Aug. 17, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Westmont’s Everything Art Sale will offer paintings, prints, drawings, frames, ceramics, art supplies, jewelry, antiques, art books and more. All proceeds benefit the museum and support the exhibition schedule.

Forbes Magazine has ranked Westmont in the top 100 colleges and universities of its new survey, Grateful Grads: Top Return-on-Investment. Westmont, which is listed as No.

More than 100 Westmont faculty and staff teamed up with more than 30 first responders and emergency officials for an all-day earthquake exercise at Westmont May 14. College employees practiced emergency functions and activities with 16 different local emergency organizations.

The exercise provided hands-on practice for the 25 emergency functions identified as necessary for a coordinated response.

Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope will zoom in on the craters of the moon, the rings of Saturn and a globular cluster during a free, public viewing Friday, May 17, beginning at about 8 p.m. and lasting several hours. The best viewing generally occurs later in the evening.

Led by bagpipes, more than 300 Westmont graduates marched from Kerrwood Hall through the formal gardens to Russell Carr Field May 4 for Commencement. Cloudy skies kept families and friends cool and comfortable as they cheered the graduating students.

The 14-member Westmont Fire Brigade has completed a 40-hour, national wildland firefighter training academy hosted at Pepperdine University. The training included classroom instruction in fire behavior, fire suppression, risk management and preparedness.

About 50 members of the Westmont College Choir and Chamber Singers will tour through Southern California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, singing a diverse repertoire of classic and contemporary sacred and secular music, folk songs, spirituals and vocal jazz.

Jason Womack, small business entrepreneur and advisor, will share four ways to reduce stress and be more productive in a free, public lecture, “L.E.A.P. into Your Future,” Monday, April 22, at 3:30 p.m. in Westmont’s Adams Center, room 216.

In January, Jane Higa announced she would retire from Westmont Aug. 31 after serving for 24 years as vice president and dean of students. She went on medical leave when physicians at UCLA Medical Center diagnosed her with ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease earlier in March.

Hundreds of faculty, staff, students and alumni welcomed the NAIA National Champion Westmont women’s basketball team as they returned to campus by bus March 20. Warrior supporters, armed with balloons, signs, pom-poms, newspapers, flowers and noise makers, created an arm tunnel as the Warriors, fresh off the college’s first national title in basketball, waded into a sea of adoring fans.

Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope hopes to show off the planet Jupiter during a free, public viewing of the stars on Friday, March 15, beginning at about 7:30 p.m. The best viewing generally occurs later in the evening. In case of inclement weather, please call the Telescope Viewing Hotline at (805) 565-6272 and check the Westmont website to see if the viewing has been cancelled.

More than 300 Westmont students and local volunteers will travel to Mexico, as part of Potter’s Clay, helping the under-served in Ensenada this spring break, March 8-15. Potter’s Clay, a student-organized service trip that started in 1977, is one of Westmont’s longest-running traditions.

Violinist Lalia Mangione of Belmont, Mich., earned a $10,000 annual music scholarship to study at Westmont for winning the Music Guild Competition on March 2. Seven high school seniors performed before a panel of judges in Westmont’s Deane Chapel. The other six musicians won smaller awards.

Retired Gen. Colin Powell used a combination of poignant stories and humorous anecdotes to keep more than 750 people in rapt attention during the 7 a.m.

The Westmont Orchestra, which just finished a tour from Southern California to the Sierra, presents its Spring Orchestra Concert in Santa Barbara on Friday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. in Montecito Covenant Church, 671 Cold Spring Rd., and Sunday, Feb. 24, at 3 p.m. in First Presbyterian Church, 21 E. Constance Ave. General admission is $10, and students are free.