Westmont News

Professor Jorge L. A. Garcia will deliver the lecture “Racism as Vice: The Current Philosophical Debate,” Thursday, Oct. 4, at 3:30 p.m., in Westmont’s Hieronymus Lounge.

Chemistry professor Dr. Stephen Contakes, who joined the Westmont faculty this fall, hopes to influence student’s lives inside and outside the classroom. The Lehigh University alumnus is a bioinorganic chemist who focuses on metals in biology.

“The chemistry involved in activities such as thinking and moving contain metals which play a key role in the ways our bodies function,” he says. Contakes does research that replicates in non-natural systems the way these metals act.

Religious studies professor Caryn Reeder, who joined the Westmont faculty this fall, is anxious to begin conducting research on a new topic. She has spent much of the past year writing “The Enemy Within: Biblical and Intertestamental Traditions of Family Violence,” a dissertation she hopes to publish focusing on domestic violence in the Bible and other ancient texts.

“I’m ready to move beyond family violence and get into something more cheerful,” she says.

Mitch Vance, a general partner of a private equity investment firm, has agreed to chair Westmont’s Board of Advisors, President Gayle Beebe announced today. Vance joined the board in 2000 and previously served on the Westmont Foundation.

The National Science Foundation awarded Westmont professors Kim P. Kihlstrom and Wayne Iba a $287,500 grant for their project Connection-Oriented Computer Science Education. The grant will provide scholarships of up to $10,000 each year to students majoring in computer science who demonstrate financial need and academic promise.

The project aims to increase the number of talented and well-prepared computer science graduates, particularly women and culturally diverse students.

Westmont alumnus David Batstone, a modern day abolitionist, will stop in the Tri Counties this week as part of a 60-city tour to end slavery and human trafficking. He will speak in chapel at Westmont Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 10:30 a.m. He will speak that evening at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 8180 Telephone Road in Ventura at 7 p.m.

The social issues and implications surrounding the skin tone of Asians will be the focus of a talk by author and scholar Paul Spickard, Friday, Sept. 28, at 3:30 p.m. in Westmont’s Hieronymus Lounge. The free, public lecture, “Is Lighter Better? Skin-Tone Discrimination Among Asian Americans,” will explain and interpret the issue and its implications for Asian American women.

Lesa Stern, communication studies professor, joined the Westmont faculty this fall and looks forward to mentoring and conducting research with her students. She completed a study on students’ use of the popular social networking Web site Facebook while teaching at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

“It was the good, the bad and the ugly,” Stern says. “Students will tell you a lot on their profiles. That was a fun one.”

Kathryn Stelmach always knew she wanted to be a teacher. The new Westmont English professor and Carlsbad native says she was deeply influenced by her maternal grandparents, who both taught high school English.

“Growing up, I would sit in my grandfather’s chair and read his dog-eared poetry. I really fell in love with it,” she says.

William Dyrness, professor of theology and culture at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, will present a lecture on “Georges Rouault, Jacques Maritain and Cultural Renewal in France,” Thursday, September 27, at 7 p.m. in Westmont’s Reynolds Gallery. This free event is in conjunction with the gallery’s current exhibit, “Georges Rouault: Miserere et Guerre.”

English faculty and students will read aloud the entire text of Charlotte Brontë’s novel “Jane Eyre” between 9 a.m. and midnight Saturday, Sept. 29, in Reynolds Hall at Westmont. Community members are invited to come by, listen and enjoy light refreshments provided throughout the day.

Montecito native and former professional tennis player Alex Nizet will oversee efforts to raise funds, resources and community support for Westmont athletics. Nizet, who recently earned his master’s degree at Yale University Divinity School, joins the college as director of athletic development.

Westmont students gathered on Kerrwood Lawn to honor the victims killed in the 9/11 attacks six years ago.

Dr. William Nelson, religious studies professor, led a prayer service and moment of silence. Taps was also played at sundown.

Michael Shasberger, Adams professor of music and worship, and Neil Dimaggio will present “Songs for the Amusement of All” at Christ Lutheran Church, 6595 Covington Way in Goleta, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. There will be a goodwill offering to benefit Domestic Violence Solutions. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has agreed to match the donation.The duo will perform the same program Friday, Oct.

For Westmont's second annual outdoor sculpture exhibit, Reynolds Gallery features Ed Inks Sculpture Garden Aug. 27 to Dec. 13. A reception with the artist takes place Thursday, Sept. 27, 4-6 p.m.

President Gayle Beebe dedicates the new Keck Telescope Thursday, Sept. 6, at 3 p.m. in Westmont’s Carroll Observatory. Students and faculty will present their summer research projects in Founders Dining Room following the public dedication.

Westmont music professors present the Fall Faculty Recital in Porter Theatre Friday, Sept. 14, at 8 p.m. The program features vocal and instrumental pieces ranging from opera to jazz, offering community members and students a taste of the breadth and depth of the department. The event is free and open to the public.

A reception and membership party at Casa de la Guerra, 9 East De la Guerra Street, Thursday, Sept. 13, 4-6 p.m. celebrates the continued development of Westmont’s art program. The event, sponsored by the Westmont Art Council in collaboration with the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, is free and open to the public.

Ena Heller, executive director of New York’s Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA), will present a free lecture, “Redefining Biblical Art in New York City,” in Westmont’s Hieronymus Lounge Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. Art Council members Walter and Darlene Hansen present the talk in conjunction with the exhibit, Georges Rouault: Miserere et Guerre, curated by MOBIA, which runs through Oct. 18 in Reynolds Gallery.

ORIENTATION BEGINS THURSDAY FOR TALENTED CLASS OF STUDENTS

The 388 members of the incoming class of 2011 will begin arriving at Westmont this week. They belong to one of the strongest academic classes in the college’s 70-year history.

Political scientist Jesse Covington joins Westmont’s faculty this fall as an assistant professor after completing his doctorate at the University of Notre Dame.

Covington, a Southern California native, holds master’s degrees from Notre Dame and Westminster Theological Seminary. He has taught at Wheaton College in Illinois for the past two years. At Westmont, he will focus on political theory and constitutional law.

Westmont remains in the top tier among the nation's top liberal arts
colleges in the 2008 edition of U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best
Colleges" released today. Westmont tied with 10 other colleges with a
ranking of 106. This is the third straight year the college has been in the
top tier.

Reynolds Gallery will host Georges Rouault’s Miserere et Guerre: This Anguished
World of Shadows, a cycle of prints that explores the connections between war,
suffering and mercy, Aug. 23 through Oct. 18. There will be an opening reception
Thursday, Aug. 23, 4-6 p.m.

Westmont alumnus Rick Ifland has joined the board of trustees, which oversees the operations of the college. He has worked as a successful private equity investor and entrepreneur for the past two decades.

“I am thrilled to work closely with a campus that’s filled with tomorrow’s leaders and to help create an optimal environment where they can learn deeply,” Ifland says.

Gayle Beebe assumed leadership of Westmont as the college’s eighth president July 1. He, his wife, Pam, and their three children (Anna, 14, Elizabeth, 12, and Ricky, 8)moved into the president’s house above the college in June. The family came from Spring Arbor, Mich., where Beebe served as president of Spring Arbor University for seven years.

One of the area's leading violinists will perform a free midday concert this month in Ventura. Philip Ficsor, Westmont professor of violin, will play classical music Thursday, July 26, at 12:15 p.m. at the Ventura Avenue Adult Center, 550 N. Ventura Ave.

Does the natural world provide rational evidence for an intelligent designer? Is the question itself a scientific one or is it religion masquerading as science? Are there ways to affirm solid science and genuine religious faith or do they necessarily conflict when it comes to evolution?

President George W. Bush announced that Jedd Medefind, a 1997 Westmont graduate, will become special assistant to the president and deputy director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Prior to this, Medefind served as director of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the Department of Labor.

Westmont’s student life office has given 12 outstanding Westmont students awards for their involvement in student leadership during the last school year. The David K. Winter Servant Leadership Award is given each spring to honor students who show exemplary service as leaders at Westmont and in the community.

Each student receives $2,000 toward tuition during the next school year.

College's Closest Neighbor Focuses Gift on Scholarships, Arts
Montecito neighbors Harold and Annette Simmons have surprised Westmont College with a $1 million gift. Half the gift has been designated for student scholarships. The remainder will go toward funding an endowed chair in art that will bolster the program of the soon to be constructed visual arts center and gallery.

The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board has selected Dr. Susan Penksa, Westmont associate professor of political science, as a Fulbright Scholar grantee to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the last 10 years Penksa, an international security and development consultant, has built an extensive consulting practice with national governments, the European Union, NATO, the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations.

Five Westmont students will fly out of Los Angeles today to spend a month serving people in Indonesia in one of four student-led Emmaus Road trips. Twenty-five students will participate this summer.

A service project to Nigeria had to be cancelled this week due to a surge in criminal activity in the country and extensive travel warnings. College officials hope to redirect the group to another African country.

Westmont has created a scholarship honoring husband and wife Drs. Gayle and Ruth Tucker who have taught in the college’s education department for 31 years. Jenny Deetz, the first recipient of the Tucker Scholarship, graduated this month with her teaching credential.

More than two dozen local teachers attended a recent reception at Westmont recognizing Westmont’s student teachers, master teachers and the Tuckers.

The Westmont College Choir, Chamber Singers, and New Sounds will join voices with the Chamber Orchestra on their annual musical tour, this year through the Southwest. The group of more than 75 students will travel though Southern California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona from Sunday, May 6, through May16.

Traditional and contemporary art work will be on display at Reynolds Gallery’s final exhibition of the season, “Views and Visions: The Still Life.” The exhibit, which features paintings and photographs, will be held from Thursday, May 10, through June 22. There will be an opening reception Thursday, May 10, at 4 p.m.

A huge crane lowered a 24-inch reflector telescope into Westmont’s Carroll Observatory Tuesday, April 24. The new high-tech telescope will be the most powerful on California's Central Coast.

Physics Professors Ken Kihlstrom, Warren Rogers and Michael Sommermann have been anxiously waiting for the telescope while DFM Engineering in Colorado spent a year fine tuning the powerful F/8 Cassegrain instrument with Ritchey-Chretien optics.

Chancellor and Interim President David K. Winter will welcome President Designate Gayle Beebe during graduation ceremonies, Saturday, May 5, at 10 a.m. on the Russell Carr Athletic Field. It will be Beebe’s first public introduction at Westmont since he was named president Feb. 14. Beebe will take over the presidency July 1.

Robert S. Bryant, owner of Bryant and Sons Ltd. Jewelers, will receive the Westmont Medal during Commencement.

Thirty students in a marketing class are hoping to use what they’ve learned this semester to raise money to fund a school for AIDS orphans in South Africa. The second annual charity auction will benefit Bridges of Hope International and will be held Friday, April 20, at 7 p.m. at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.

Allan Nishimura, professor of chemistry, will be installed in the Kathleen Smith chair of natural and behavioral sciences, the first endowed faculty chair in the sciences. There will be a reception Wednesday, April 11, at the President’s Patio outside Kerrwood at 4 p.m., and a ceremony in Hieronymus Lounge will follow at 4:30 p.m.

The Westmont Men’s Club Polo Team came up just short in its unexpected quest for a national championship Saturday night. Westmont lost 12-8 to Texas A&M in the finals in the U.S. Polo Association National Intercollegiate Championship at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.

Team members are Ryan Cronin-Prather, a senior from Modesto, Collin White, a freshman from Napa, and Alex de La Torre Bueno, a freshman from Ojai.

The Citadel, Westmont’s yearbook, won a prestigious Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown Award at the 29th annual College Media Convention in March for its 2005-2006 volume. Of the 1,860 CSPA members eligible to enter the Crown Awards, just five earned a Gold Crown in the collegiate yearbook category.

The Reynolds Gallery showcases the independent projects of 16 talented Westmont seniors at an art exhibit Thursday, April 12, through Saturday, May 5. There will be an opening reception and awards presentation for the Senior Art Major Show Thursday, April 12, from 4-6 p.m. The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.

Cultural Struggles of Britain's South Asian Immigrants

Internationally recognized speaker Thema Bryant-Davis will explore the many influences affecting recovery from traumatic experiences in “The Cultural Context of Trauma Recovery” Friday, April 13, at 3:30 p.m. in Westmont’s Hieronymus Lounge. Refreshments will be served prior to the free lecture.The talk will examine traumatic experiences including child abuse, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, medical trauma, war, community violence, and school traumas. Dr.

Seventeen Westmont students spent their spring break in Mississippi and Alabama engaging and responding to issues relating to racism and social justice.

The Racial Equality and Justice (REJ) group worked with the John M. Perkins Foundation in Jackson, Miss., which purchases and renovates houses and makes them available to single mothers and Katrina survivors. The students painted, cleaned and completed other renovations to several homes.

Ensenada Mayor César Mancillas and his wife, Beatriz, presented Westmont with the key to the city during last week’s 30th annual student-led spring break service trip there. The city-wide celebration of Potter’s Clay included flamenco dancers and a large dinner.