Westmont News

The Westmont Choir, New Sounds, Chamber Singers and a few members of the Westmont Orchestra travel to the Pacific Northwest May 9-19, making stops in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The choir’s final performance on the annual trip will sing the national anthem at Safeco Field prior to the Seattle Mariners baseball game.

“Calvin Marshall,” a movie written and directed by Westmont alumnus Gary Lundgren ’93, premieres in Santa Barbara Sunday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m. at the Riviera Theater, 2044 Alameda Padre Serra. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at www.westmont.edu/calvin. Proceeds from the screening will support Westmont baseball.

Michael Towbes, one of Santa Barbara’s leading philanthropists will receive the Westmont Medal at Commencement, which returns to the college’s newly renovated Russell Carr Field Saturday, May 8, at 10 a.m.

Paul Chappell, a West Point graduate and former army captain, speaks about “Will War Ever End?” Thursday, April 29, at 7 p.m. in Westmont’s Founders Dining Room. The free, public lecture, which is sponsored by Westmont Intercultural Programs, explores the possibility of achieving peace.

The 2010 Westmont Fringe Festival, modeled on fringe festivals throughout the world, features a dynamic interplay of new works for theater, dance and performance art April 22-24 from 7-10 p.m., beginning at Porter Theatre. Nightly admission is $10.

Westmont has released a free application for the iPhone and iPod touch that provides easily accessible information about the college and campus events. By clicking on the app, users can read the latest news stories and find calendars for chapel, athletics, academics, and arts and lectures. There is also a campus map, a faculty/staff directory, menus for the dining commons and Study, and emergency information.

Four Westmont alumni will share stories of their business lives in a free, public panel discussion, “Tips for Surviving in a Challenging Job Market after Graduation: Mistakes I’ve Made and Ideas for Making the Most of It,” Tuesday, March 23, at 3:15 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge.

About 340 Westmont students will spend spring break, March 15-19, volunteering for various service projects in Mississippi and Alabama, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Ensenada, Mexico.

Christena Cleveland, assistant professor of psychology, presents a Phi Kappa Phi Paul C. Wilt Address, “Amazing Grace: Cultural Differences in Protestant Theology and Self-Awareness,” Tuesday, March 9, at 7p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge. The lecture is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

The U.S. Department of State has awarded Susan Penksa, Westmont professor of political science, a follow-on Fulbright grant, allowing her to return to Bosnia and Herzegovina to build on the work of her 2007 fellowship and further the Fulbright mission of worldwide mutual understanding.

The Westmont College Orchestra and Chapel Band will tour Southern California during spring vacation, March 12-16. The Spring Tour includes about 65 student performers, Michael Shasberger, Adams professor of Music and Worship, and Joel Patterson, director of worship and music.

Photos from the Event |  Video of the Convocation

The Westmont Chamber Singers perform music composed in Spain and colonial Mexico during the 16th and 17th centuries Sunday, March 28, at 3 p.m., at the Santa Barbara Presidio Chapel, 123 E. Canon Perdido St. The concert is free, however a donation of $10 is suggested.

John Cottingham, professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Reading, will discuss “Happiness, God and the Meaning of Life” Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 3:30 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge inside Kerrwood Hall. The Erasmus Society Lecture is free and open to the public.

More than a dozen Westmont students of varying backgrounds and majors perform the 1970’s rock musical “Godspell” Friday, Jan. 29 - Saturday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 31, at 3 p.m. in the gym at Montecito Covenant Church. The show is a fundraiser for the Westmont College Choir’s tour in May, which will take the group through California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Glenn Olson, a national leader in wildlife conservation and habitat restoration, speaks about “Adventures in Stewardship and Conserving Creation” in a free, public lecture Thursday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge in Kerrwood Hall.

Margaret M. Poloma, who has written extensively about religious experience in contemporary American society, will speak about “Integrating Science and Spirit: A Sociological Journey” in a free Pascal Society Lecture Tuesday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge.

Westmont students are honoring the late Martin Luther King Jr. with several events on and off campus. Westmont Student Ministries and Intercultural Programs are collecting new or used children’s books for the Neighborhood Clinics as part of the city’s “Honor the Dream, Be Great” Day of Service.

Reed Sheard has become vice president of college advancement and chief information officer at Westmont, assuming the management of the college’s fundraising, communication and external relations programs in addition to overseeing Information Technology.

Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, will speak at the fifth annual Westmont President’s Breakfast Friday, Feb. 19, at 7 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort. More than 700 people will attend the breakfast, which sold out in less than three days.