Westmont News

Former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett will speak on “What’s Right and What’s Wrong with American Education” at Westmont’s first President’s Breakfast, 7 a.m. April 1 in the Grand Ballroom at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort. The sold-out event, first scheduled for Feb. 11, was postponed due to complications that arose after Bennett’s knee replacement surgery.

Westmont English Professor Paul Willis will speak on “Ophelia, You’re Breaking Our Heart: The American Appeal of Shakespeare’s Tragic Heroine” at 7 p.m. March 7 in Hieronymus Lounge, Westmont. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Willis’ talk is the Paul C. Wilt Phi Kappa Phi Lecture for the spring semester. Westmont Professors Cheri Larsen Hoeckley (English) and John Blondell (Theatre Arts) will respond.

The next Westmont Downtown Conversation, “Journeys of Choice—Pilgrims, Tourists and Mountaineers,” by Paul Willis and Lisa DeBoer begins at 5:30 p.m. March 10, at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St. The two Westmont humanities professors will lead a series of reflections on the meaning of travel through the lens of literature and art. The event is free and open to the public.
Questions raised during the discussion will include: Do travelers today have anything to learn from those who have gone before? What traditions of travel shape our journeys?

The Westmont College Choir will perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Jesu, Meine Freude” at the fifth annual Choral Masterworks Concert, 8 p.m. Feb. 25 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1500 State St. in downtown Santa Barbara.

The suggested donation for admission is $10 for the general audience and $7 for students and seniors.

Music Professor Steve Hodson will conduct the College Choir in the 11-movement Bach motet, accompanied by strings and organ.

A team from Westmont was one of eight selected from 45 entries to compete in the Spirit of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (SEED) business plan competition March 7 and 8 at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort. The eight semi-finalists in the national competition made presentations to a panel of venture capitalists, angel investors, investment bankers, corporate CFOs and successful entrepreneurs.

Although the President's Breakfast talk by former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett on Feb. 11 was postponed due to Bennett’s health, the follow-up discussion, “What’s Right and What’s Wrong with American Education,” will take place as scheduled 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17, at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St.

David Lindberg, Hillsdale professor emeritus of the history of science, University of Wisconsin, will speak on “The Florentine Heretic? Galileo, the Church and the Cosmos” 3:30 p.m. March 4 in Porter Theatre, Westmont. The event, sponsored by the Pascal Society, is free and open to the public.

Westmont College’s Repertory Theater presents William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” 8 p.m. Feb. 25 and 26 and March 3-5 with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. March 5 in Porter Theatre. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for children, students and seniors.

Professor Ogbu Kalu, the Henry Winter Luce Professor of world Christianity and mission at McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, will speak on “Patterns of Christian Presence and African Responses” 3:30 p.m. Feb. 24 in Hieronymus Lounge, Kerrwood Hall on the upper Westmont campus. Kalu also will speak in Westmont’s chapel 10:30 a.m. Feb. 25. Both events are free and open to the public.

The next Westmont Downtown Conversation, “What’s Right and What’s Wrong with American Education,” is a panel discussion lead by local educations specialists at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17, at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St. Panelists include Peter MacDougall, former president of Santa Barbara City College; Gerri Fausett, superintendent of Hope Elementary School District; Lynne Cavazos, interim director of UCSB’s Teacher Education Program and director of the county Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program; and Westmont education Professor Andrew Mullen.

Poet and playwright Jeanne Murray Walker will read from her new collection of poems, “A Deed to the Light,” 3:30 p.m. Feb. 17 in Hieronymus Lounge, Westmont. Refreshments will be served. She also will speak in Westmont’s chapel 10:30 a.m. Feb. 18. Both events are free and open to the public.

The Institute for the Liberal Arts at Westmont presents Naomi Shaefer Riley, author of “God on the Quad: How Religious Colleges and the Missionary Generation Are Changing America,”  who will speak at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4, in Hieronymus Lounge on the upper Westmont campus.  The event is free and open to the public.

On the occasion of his retirement after 35 years, Westmont philosophy Professor Robert Wennberg will speak on “Bringing Back the ‘Evangelical’ In the Evangelical College” 7 p.m. Feb. 7 in Hieronymus Lounge, Kerrwood Hall on the upper Westmont campus.

The event is free and open to the public.

Writer Jon Christensen will present “From the Tide Pool to the Stars” at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18 in the San Rafael Room of Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort. Christensen will recount his expedition retracing John Steinbeck’s 1940 voyage with marine biologist Edward Ricketts exploring marine life along the coast of the Baja Peninsula.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

Representing the best mathematical minds of their schools, approximately 100 students will compete at Westmont’s 19th annual High School Mathematics Contest 1 - 5:30 p.m. Feb. 12.

Former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett will speak on “What’s Right and What’s Wrong with American Education” at Westmont’s first President’s Breakfast, 7 a.m. Feb. 11 in the Grand Ballroom at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort.

Tickets, which are $50, can be purchased by calling (805) 565-6895.

"Bennett, who served as secretary of education in the Reagan administration, is the author of the best-selling “The Book of Virtues” and “The Children’s Book of Virtues” and hosts a national radio talk show, “Bill Bennett’s Morning in America.”

As part of Westmont’s Conference on Christianity and Literature, Reverend Norm Freeman will marry music and ministry in a Jazz Vespers service 4:15 p.m. Jan. 22 in Hieronymus Lounge on the upper campus.

The event is free and open to the public.

The Jazz Vespers service synthesizes several traditions, each finding a unifying voice the musical heritage of jazz.

“Jazz gives voice to the hopes, dreams, frustrations and pain that express human experience,” Freeman said. “It is the musical incense that collects and carries the prayers of people.”

Westmont English Professor Paul Willis will read from his new book of poems, “How To Get There,” 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Contemporary Arts Forum upstairs in Paseo Nuevo, downtown Santa Barbara.

The reading is open to the public with a suggested donation of $3

Professor Robert Eric Frykenberg, professor emeritus of history and South Asian studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison, will speak on “Pandita Ramabai and World Christianity” 3:30 p.m. Jan. 25 in Kerrwood Hall on the upper Westmont campus.

The lecture, part of the series on World Christianity is free and open to the public. This series seeks to draw the attention of students, faculty and interested community members to the global presence of Christianity, particularly in the non-Western world.

The “Faculty Show,” featuring recent work by the Westmont College art faculty, will appear Jan. 18 through March 12 in Reynolds Gallery. The college will host a reception for the artists, which is open to the public, 4-6 p.m. Jan. 20 in Reynolds Gallery on the lower campus.

“This is our centerpiece show for the year,” said Reynolds Gallery Director Tony Askew. “Our faculty members are all working artists in their own right and this show will display the wide range of ability and media that makes our department so creatively diverse.”

Five members of the Los Angeles chapter of the famous Tuskegee Airmen will visit Westmont for a colloquium and reception with students 3:30 p.m. Jan. 19 in Page Multipurpose Room on the upper campus.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American fighter pilot squadron of the U.S. Armed Forces. Instituted in 1939 in Tuskegee, Ala., the group was a profoundly segregated part of the new Army Air Corps during World War II.

Palestinian-American poet Naomi Shihab Nye will read from various collections of her poems 8 p.m. Jan. 21 at Victoria Hall, downtown Santa Barbara. After the reading, Nye will hold a book signing (books may be purchased at the event). Nye also will speak in Westmont’s chapel 10:30 a.m. Jan. 21 on “The Light that Shines on Us All: A World of Voices.”

"Both events are free and open to the public.

The next Westmont Downtown Conversation, “Science and Religion: Time for Divorce or Renewal of Vows?” will explore some historical clashes between science and religion. Chemistry Professor Niva Tro will speak 5:30 p.m. Jan. 18, at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Hear and sing traditional music of the season when Westmont’s choral groups and instrumental ensembles present their holiday concert “Christ, the Prince of Peace,” 8 p.m. Dec. 10 and 11 at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Santa Barbara. Admission is free, although a donation will be requested.

Westmont Windancers’ fall dance program, “Cirque: Short, Sweet and Surreal,” offers a circus of surprising twists and turns 8 p.m. Dec. 3 and 4 in Porter Theatre. Refreshments and a question-and-answer time follow the short recital.

Directed and choreographed by dance Professor Erlyne Whiteman, the production features choreography by theater arts instructor Vicki Finlayson and student performances by the Windancers.

The premiere public performance of “Kenosis,” an original composition of spiritual poetry set to contemporary music, will be 8 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Center Stage Theater, Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center in downtown Santa Barbara.

The Westmont Big Band and three combos will perform the best of their work at the Jazz Ensemble Concert 8 p.m. Nov. 19 in Deane Chapel. Admission is free.

The 15-piece big band, directed by music instructor Ron McCarley, will feature both swing music and more contemporary big band music.

“One piece is a tribute to Benny Goodman,” McCarley said.  “The three combos will play a wide variety of music from jazz standards to Wayne Shorter pieces.”

Enjoy the sounds of classical music 8 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Westmont Wind Ensemble and Chamber Orchestra concert in Deane Chapel on Westmont’s lower campus. Admission is free.

“The concert will be fun as well as classical and formal,” Wind Ensemble director Ron McCarley said. “As a special finale we will feature a piece that uses organ and invites the audience to sing the 100th Psalm with us. It will be an enjoyable evening.”

Hebrew Bible expert Alan Cooper will speak on “What Makes Baby Girls Different: Leviticus 12 and “Original Sin” 4 p.m. Nov. 1 in Hieronymus Lounge as part of the annual Westmont-UCSB Lecture on the Hebrew Bible.

The event, sponsored by the religious studies departments at Westmont and UCSB and the Westmont provost’s office, is free and open to the public.

Cooper is a professor of the Bible at both The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and at the neighboring Union Theological Seminary, a non-denominational Christian seminary.

Ernan McMullin, John Cardinal O’Hara professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, will speak on “Is the Universe Fine-Tuned?” 3:30 p.m. Nov. 5 in Porter Theatre. The event, sponsored by the Pascal Society, is free and open to the public.

World-renowned graphic designer and creative director Margo Chase will speak on “Behind Design: A Lecture with Pretty Pictures” at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 in Porter Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.

What goes on behind the scenes? Where do ideas come from? Chase will discuss the inner workings of her busy Los Angeles creative agency, Chase Design Group.

Chase discovered graphic design while in graduate school and quickly fell in love. Out of school, she started doing freelance design and ultimately opened Chase Design Group.

“Painted Faith: New Mexican Devotional Images,” featuring santos from a never-before-exhibited Santa Barbara Museum of Art collection, will be on exhibit at Westmont’s Reynolds Gallery Nov. 1 through Dec. 18.

An opening reception for the exhibit, the college’s annual holiday show, will be 4-6 p.m. Nov. 18 in the Art Center. A lecture on “New Mexican Santos,” will be given by Cody Hartley, guest curator at the Museum of Art, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10 in Room 101 in the Art Center.

Westmont Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance David Newton will present the lecture “Right Here, Right Now: The Case for America's War on Terror” 7 p.m. Oct. 22 in the Page Multipurpose Room on the upper
Westmont campus.

 “Reckless,” written by Craig Lucas, opens the Westmont theater season on Oct. 28. The play follows Rachel, a cheerful suburban housewife, through a bizarre and fantastic journey as she travels across the country, eventually attaining a hard-won maturity.

Directed by Mitchell Thomas, Westmont’s new full-time, tenure-track professor, “Reckless” plays 8 p.m. Oct. 28, 29, 30 and Nov. 4, 5, 6 with an additional 2 p.m. matinee Nov. 6 in Porter Theatre on the Westmont campus.

Yale Professor Miroslav Volf will speak on “Memory, Salvation, and Perdition: Reconciliation and the Ambiguity of Memory” 3:30 p.m. Oct. 14 upstairs in Kerr Student Center on the upper Westmont campus.

The lecture, part of the series on World Christianity and Global Encounters of the 21st Century, is free and open to the public.

The series seeks to draw the attention of students, faculty and interested community members to the global presence of Christianity, particularly in the non-Western world.

Westmont Communication Studies Professor Greg Spencer has completed his first novel, writing it from an idea he had filed away twenty years ago.

The annual Fall Choral Concert featuring Westmont’s Choir, Chamber Singers and Vox Lumina Women’s Chorale will be 8 p.m. Oct. 15 at Santa Barbara's First United Methodist Church, 303 E. Anapamu St. (at Garden). A donation will be requested.

The choirs will present “Songs of Hope and Mourning” which will consider lament and the human condition, from passionate grief to unrelenting hope.

A fall faculty concert will be presented by the Westmont music department 8 p.m. Oct. 1 in Deane Chapel on the Westmont campus.
The concert is free and open to the public. A reception follows.

The recital will feature: Steven R. Hodson performing Mendelssohn’s “Songs Without Words” on piano; Celeste Tavera, soprano; Patrick Anderson, on guitar; and Emily Sommermann, performing Martinu’s Madrigal Sonata for Flute, Violin and Piano with friends Linda Holland on flute and Josephine Brummel on piano.

Westmont Philosophy Professor Jim Taylor will speak on “Jesus’ Miracles and Christian Belief” at 7 p.m. Sept. 27 in Hieronymus Lounge, Westmont.

Taylor’s talk is the Paul C. Wilt Phi Kappa Phi Lecture for fall semester. Religious studies Professor Bruce Fisk and philosophy Professor Bob Wennberg will respond.

Taylor will discuss why Christians believe that Jesus is God and that he performed miracles by presenting arguments he finds most persuasive.

Parents and grandparents can discover how to instill family values that have a positive influence on finances during a seminar at Westmont, “The Importance of Worth to Wealth and the Fit Family,” 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Oct. 9 in Porter Theatre on the Westmont campus.

College-bound students in the tri-counties will have an opportunity to meet with professionals from more than 30 leading Christian colleges nationwide at the Ninth Annual West Coast Christian College Fair on 6-8:30 p.m., Sept. 27, at Westmont College (955 La Paz Road).

“The Florence Portfolio: Sacrifice,” a new exhibit featuring a series of intaglio prints done by American artists working in Florence, Italy, runs through Oct. 23 in Reynolds Gallery. An opening reception will be 4-6 p.m. Sept. 9 in the Art Center, on Westmont’s lower campus.

Westmont’s Print Sale and Fair, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Aug. 21, will feature more than 25 artists who will donate 30 percent of all sales to the Westmont printmaking program.

The fair will be held on the lawn in front of Reynolds Gallery on the lower campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Building on its reputation for innovative and adventurous theater, Westmont has planned a 2004-05 season that features boldly conceived productions of classic and contemporary plays, dance and visual theater.

Mitchell Thomas, Westmont’s new, full-time, tenure-track professor, opens the season with his production of Craig Lucas’s “Reckless” Oct. 28, playing weekends through Nov. 6 in Porter Theatre.

Actor and gifted teacher Mitchell Thomas joins the Westmont faculty as a full-time, tenure-track professor this fall. Also, the famed Russian visual theater ensemble, DO-Theatre, St. Petersburg, will be artists-in-residence in September.

Santa Barbara Downtown Rotary Club has awarded Westmont President Stan D. Gaede with a Paul Harris Fellowship in recognition of Gaede’s  and the college’s contribution to international understanding and service.

The honor was given to Gaede during a recent Rotary Club luncheon, at which he spoke. A $1,000 donation was made by the Santa Barbara Club on Gaede’s behalf to Rotary International’s Annual Programs Fund.

What do you get when Ray Bradbury, Neil Simon, Sue Grafton, Christopher Buckley, Gayle Lynds and 350 other writers converge for a week at Westmont? The Santa Barbara Writers Conference!

"This year’s conference begins June 25 and runs through July 2, with outstanding speaker events every afternoon and evening that are open to the public. A special treat this year: Publishers have allowed the conference bookstore to sell advance copies of Ray Bradbury and Sue Grafton’s latest books before they hit the bookstores, but only on the days that Bradbury and Grafton appear.

Westmont has received a $2.5 million gift from the Adams Family Foundation for the establishment of an endowed chair in music.

The money will endow a new faculty position in the music department called the Adams Chair of Music and Worship. A portion of the gift -- $500,000 – will endow a fund to enhance music program offerings.

“We are committed to enhancing Westmont’s music program not just for its fine students but for the impact it can have on the community,” Denise Adams said.