Westmont News

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  • Art Majors Revealed in ‘Between Moments’

    March 25, 2024

    Six aspiring Westmont art graduates will exhibit their capstone projects at “Between Moments” from April 4-May 4 in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. A free, public opening reception will celebrate the graduating senior art majors on Thursday, April 4, from 4-6 p.m.

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  • Talk Explores Racism, Anti-Greed Gospel

    March 19, 2024

    Malcolm Foley, special adviser to the president for equity and campus engagement at Baylor University, argues that race and racism are fundamentally not issues of pride but of greed in a lecture Wednesday, April 3, from 3:30-5 p.m. in the Global Leadership Center.

    The talk, “Child of Mammon or Child of God?: The Anti-Greed Gospel,” is free and open to the public. The sociology and anthropology department, history department, Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts and the Provost’s Office sponsor the lecture.

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  • Viewing Features Jupiter, Orion Nebula

    March 12, 2024

    Jupiter and the Great Orion Nebula, M42, will be part of this month’s free stargazing event Friday, March 15, beginning about 6 p.m. and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. Along with Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope, members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Society bring their own telescopes to share with the public.

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  • Donors Equip Warriors for NCAA DII Success

    March 12, 2024

    This spring, several of Westmont’s athletic facilities have seen dramatic upgrades to accompany the Warriors’ move to National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II in hopes of attracting exceptional student-athletes who will thrive with a rigorous Christian liberal arts education. The Westmont community and supporters have stepped up to provide vital resources for the challenge.

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  • Woodwinds Beneath Their Wings

    March 12, 2024

    The only active duty Air Force band west of the Rockies energized audiences at two free performances Feb. 27 at Westmont and Montecito Covenant Church.

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  • Haass Promotes Civic Duties, Global Diplomacy

    March 5, 2024

    Richard Haass, who worked at the White House, State Department and Pentagon under four different presidents, offered a civics lesson on global diplomacy while bringing clarity to international conflicts at the sold-out 19th annual Westmont President’s Breakfast March 1 at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Despite the Israel-Hamas war, the Russia-Ukraine war, contentious China-U.S. relations and the climate crisis, the veteran diplomat admitted that what keeps him up at night is domestic politics.

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  • Student Musicians Shine in Orchestra Concerto

    February 14, 2024

    The Westmont Music Department offers its orchestra concerto concert, featuring the winners of its concerto/aria competition, Nathan Carlin, Karla Munoz, Tasha Loh and Leah Nieman, on Friday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. at the college’s Page Hall and on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 3 p.m. in Hahn Hall at the Music Academy. Both performances are free and open to the public. For more information, please visit westmont.edu/music.

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  • Beach Volleyball Star to Preach

    February 12, 2024

    One of the best American beach volleyball players will speak in Westmont chapel on Friday, Feb. 16, at 10:30 a.m. in Murchison Gym. Alumnus Avery Drost ’07 led the Association of Volleyball Players (AVP) with 350 digs and was second with 551 kills last season. He coaches boys volleyball at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach while serving as a youth director at New City Church in El Segundo.

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  • Viewing Features Celestial Smiley Face

    February 12, 2024

    If the weather cooperates, and that has been a big if this winter, the Milky Way’s open clusters will be the focus of the monthly stargazing event on Friday, Feb. 16, beginning after 6 p.m. and lasting for several hours. The observatory, home of the powerful Keck Telescope, is open to the public every third Friday of the month and held in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit (SBAU) whose members bring their own telescopes to share with the public.

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  • Audience Thrust Into ‘The Capulets’

    February 8, 2024

    Westmont’s John Blondell, a longtime professor of theater arts, puts his own contemporary, site-specific spin on Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” as part of a mini-festival about the famous tragedy Thursday, Feb. 29, at 7 p.m.; Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.; and Sunday, March 3, at 7 p.m. in and around the Community Arts Workshop (CAW), 631 Garden Street, in downtown Santa Barbara.

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  • Westmont Weathers Strong Storm

    February 4, 2024

    (Updated Feb. 5 at 2 p.m.) After assessing the rain storm impacts on the campus and the community as a whole, Westmont will resume in-person work and classes tomorrow, Tuesday, February 6. Please continue to monitor your email for additional updates related to this weather event, and note that while Westmont will resume normal operations, additional rains are forecasted through Wednesday, so please plan accordingly and travel safely.

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  • Teen Math Contest Celebrates 35

    January 31, 2024

    Westmont’s 35th annual Mathematics Field Day features students from nine regional high schools in a friendly competition Saturday, Feb. 10, at 1 p.m. in Winter Hall. Alphan Altinok, a senior data scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, will speak about “Mathematics of Artificial Intelligence” at the awards banquet at 5:30 p.m. in the Global Leadership Center. 

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  • Exhibit Highlights Traditional Hopi Katsina Dolls

    January 24, 2024

    Hopi Katsina dolls, carved and colorfully decorated wooden figures, are more than just beautiful works of art: They represent Katsinam spirits believed to bring blessings of good health, growth and fertility. A unique exhibition, celebrating the resurgence of a traditional carving method, features dozens of the Katsina (or “Kachina” to non-Hopi people) dolls and is open through May 4 in the lower level of the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art.

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  • Students Participate at World’s Largest Math Meeting

    January 16, 2024

    “I was surprised at the sheer size of the math world,” said first-year student Isaiah Conway, reflecting on his trip with fellow students and faculty to the world’s largest mathematics conference Jan. 3-6 in San Francisco. Ten students and three faculty members were among nearly 6,000 other mathematicians at annual Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM), hosted by the American Mathematical Society.

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  • Opera Double Bill Features ‘Telephone,’ ‘Gallantry’

    January 16, 2024

    A double feature operatic performance opens the curtains on the Westmont music department’s spring concert season with productions of Gian Carlo Menotti’s “The Telephone” and Douglas Moore’s “Gallantry” Jan. 19 and 21 at 7 p.m. in Porter Theatre. Purchase tickets, which cost $20 general admission and $15 for students and seniors, online at westmont.edu/boxoffice.

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  • Viewing Focuses on Jupiter, Orion Nebula

    January 11, 2024

    This month’s Stargazing at the Westmont Observatory features Jupiter and its four Galilean moons as well as M42, the Orion Nebula, on Friday, Jan. 19, beginning after 6 p.m. and lasting for several hours. The observatory, home of the powerful Keck Telescope, is open to the public every third Friday of the month and held in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit (SBAU) whose members bring their own telescopes to share with the public.

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  • Examining Mendelssohn, Protestant Music

    December 20, 2023

    For two decades, Siegwart ‘Zig’ Reichwald, Westmont’s Adams professor of music and worship, engrossed himself in the sacred music of German composer and performer Felix Mendelssohn. But when he came to his works written for the Berlin Cathedral in 1843-44, he was struck by how unusual they were compared to the rest of Mendelssohn’s musical creations.

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  • DC to Get a Remodel

    December 19, 2023

    Crews have begun a $2 million renovation project to Westmont’s Dining Commons with the majority of the work being funded by Bon Appetit, the college’s food service provider since August 2022.

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  • Students Reveal Physics Findings

    December 18, 2023

    Two Westmont students presented their research at a joint meeting of the Nuclear Physics Divisions of the American and Japanese Physics Societies Nov. 26-Dec. 1 on the Big Island of Hawaii. Natalie Fogg '24 and Reese Toepfer '26 joined Robert Haring-Kaye, Westmont professor of physics and department chair of physics and engineering, at the event that featured more than 100 undergraduates from both nations.

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  • Winter Stargazing at the ‘Mont

    December 12, 2023

    Bundle up and head to the Westmont Observatory, which opens to the public for its free, monthly Stargazing event Friday, Dec. 15, beginning at sunset and lasting several hours. Saturn and many other celestial delights will be targeted by Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope and the other scopes owned by members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, whose members set up around the observatory.

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  • Engineering Students Go for Speed

    December 11, 2023

    Overcoming obstacles was the challenge of the day as the Westmont Engineering Department hosted its third annual remote control car competition Dec. 7 in front of Kerrwood Hall.

    New this year, students competed in a bowling pin knockout following the traditional figure eight race. The competition was tight and a final race with all three cars was needed to determine a winner.

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  • Book Radiates Advent

    December 11, 2023

    With the arrival of Advent, Paul Willis, professor emeritus of English and former Santa Barbara poet laureate, has co-edited an anthology of readings “A Radiant Birth: Advent Readings for a Bright Season.” Madeleine L'Engle, Marilyn McEntyre, Eugene Peterson, Tania Runyan, Luci Shaw, Jeanne Murray Walker, Walter Wangerin, Lauren Winner and Philip Yancey contribute to the book, which provides daily readings for the four weeks of Advent and two weeks of Christmas.

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  • Mr. Monopoly Goes Straight to Westmont

    December 4, 2023

    Westmont is on the board! Monopoly: The Santa Barbara Edition includes a space featuring the Montecito campus in the light purple section where Virginia Avenue sits in the classic game. The only college featured on the board, Westmont appears between two iconic locations: the Santa Barbara Harbor and the Santa Barbara Airport. The square features a Brad Elliott photo highlighting the college’s iconic Italian fountain, a replica of one dating from the 19th century that graced the Dwight Murphy estate, which Westmont purchased in 1945.

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  • Study Examines Anxiety, Emotional Neglect from Fellow Congregation Members

    November 30, 2023

    A study of older U.S. South Asians examines relationships between religious service attendance (temple, mosque, etc.), anxiety and feelings of emotional neglect by fellow congregation members. The research finds that among U.S. South Asians, those who attend religious services more often are also more likely to experience higher levels of anxiety. Further, much of this relationship can be attributed to feelings of being ignored or neglected by other members of the congregation.

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  • Program Explores Meaning of Preaching

    November 27, 2023

    Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded Westmont College a $1.25 million grant to create a unique program exploring the meaning and value of in-person Christian preaching. At a time when much communication takes place online, remotely and impersonally, the Incarnational Preaching Project will invite active and aspiring preachers to investigate the value of preaching live to a church community.

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  • Nursing Program Earns Final Accreditation

    November 27, 2023

    The Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) voted to approve accreditation for Westmont’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program. Westmont had to clearly demonstrate that its nursing program, which launched in January 2022, met all four of the CCNE standards: mission and governance, institutional commitment and resources, curriculum and teaching-learning practices, and assessment and achievement of program outcomes.

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  • Project Promotes Fire Resilience, Biodiversity

    November 16, 2023

    An ecological restoration project near the Westmont campus has begun with students, faculty and staff planting about 45 native coast live oaks. This first phase focuses on an area where Montecito Fire removed many dead and dying eucalyptus trees last summer.

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  • Luncheon Empowers Future Women Leaders

    November 16, 2023

    The Westmont Women’s Leadership Council Luncheon features Natalie Taylor, certified financial planner and behavioral financial advisor, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, 12-2 p.m. in the Global Leadership Center. A limited number of tickets, which cost $100 per person, may be purchased online.

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  • Celebrate Advent at Westmont

    November 14, 2023

    Westmont celebrates Advent with “Let There be Light!” a festive gathering, tree lighting, hot cocoa and opportunity to take photos with Santa on Wednesday, Nov. 29, from 5-7 p.m. on Kerrwood Lawn. The family-friendly event is free and open to the public.

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  • Trustee Emeritus Gary Harris Dies

    October 31, 2023

    Longtime Westmont trustee Gary Harris died Oct. 27 from a heart attack. He was 87.

    President Gayle D. Beebe announced to the Westmont community that he and Pam were praying for Gary's wife, Jo Harris, and their family, and encouraged the community to do so as well.

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  • American Double Returns to Westmont

    October 31, 2023

    Violinist Philip Ficsor, who served on Westmont’s music faculty from 2006-13, returns to college for a recital with American Double, a violin-piano duo consisting of Ficsor and pianist Constantine Finehouse, on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 3 p.m. in Deane Chapel. The concert, featuring American masterworks for violin and piano by John Corigliano and Daniel Gee ’13, Westmont director of choral activities, is free and open to the public.

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  • Christmas Festival Offers ‘Fullness of Joy’

    October 25, 2023

    The 19th annual Westmont Christmas Festival, which marks the beginning of the holiday season for many in Santa Barbara, combines orchestra and choirs at the Granada Theatre, the central coast’s premier performing arts venue in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, on Saturday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 3, at 3 p.m. Tickets, which cost $22 each, go on sale Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 5 p.m. at westmont.edu/christmas-festival.

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