Westmont News

Members of the music faculty at Westmont will present a free recital featuring music from Buxtehude to Debussy on Tuesday, March 20, at 8 p.m. at Westmont’s Porter Theatre.

Voiceless Communication Wins at Entrepreneurial Forum

A student venture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign won top honors at the Fourth Annual Spirit of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (S.E.E.D.) Collegiate Venture Forum at the Andalucia Hotel March 2-3. A panel of experienced judges chose Ambient Corporation as Best Emerging Venture Investment Opportunity for the biotechnology firm’s development of a new form of voiceless communication.

More than 220 Westmont students and three dozen community volunteers are spending their spring break building homes, running medical/dental clinics, competing with local sports teams and leading vacation Bible schools. This is the 30th year for Potter’s Clay, the student-organized service trip to Ensenada, Mexico. The week-long trip begins Friday, March 9, and the volunteers return Friday, March 16.

Nine student ventures from across the country will take part in the Fourth Annual Spirit of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (S.E.E.D.) Collegiate Venture Forum at the Andalucia Hotel March 2-3. The opening luncheon, Friday, March 2, at 11:30 a.m., features keynote speaker Dr. Yulun Wang, founder and CEO of InTouch Health. Tickets are $50, and reservations are required.

Westmont student musicians will perform two concerts in March. The first is an Instrumental Chamber Concert March 2 at 8 p.m. in Westmont’s Deane Chapel. Chamber musicians will also present a recital featuring vocal and instrumental chamber groups March 6 at 8 p.m. in Porter Theatre. The concerts are free and open to the public.

Eighth President Wins Unanimous Support from Trustees

The Westmont Board of Trustees named Gayle D. Beebe as the college’s eighth president. Beebe has served as president of Spring Arbor University in Michigan for the past seven years and will take over the Montecito college at the beginning of the next academic year, July 1, 2007.

Jeff Schloss, professor of biology at Westmont, will discuss “Evolutionary Theory, Biblical Faith, and the Mystery of Altruism,” in a Phi Kappa Phi lecture, Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Schloss explores whether the New Testament’s command to selflessly love one another is biologically possible under evolution’s survival of the fittest.

Westmont is putting a new spin on a classic Greek comedy in hopes of staging an entertaining play with a moral edge. John Blondell, Westmont professor of theatre arts, directs the 14-student cast performing “The Clouds,” by Aristophanes, Feb. 23-24 and March 1-3, all at 8 p.m. in Westmont's Porter Theater. There will also be a performance at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 3. Admission is $15; $7 for students.

The Westmont Chamber Orchestra in partnership with the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra will perform in the opening event of the Santa Barbara International Guitar Festival, Friday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. in Victoria Hall Theatre.

A second performance will be held at El Montecito Presbyterian Church, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 for general admission; students are free.

The performance by Westmont’s 40-member orchestra will include a cameo appearance by the 50-member College Choir, along with guest faculty soloist Patrick Anderson on guitar.

Award-winning documentary filmmaker and author James Ault will show his latest film and lecture on “Toward a New Christianity: The Rise of African Christianity and Its World Significance,” Thursday, Feb. 8, at 3:30 p.m., in Founders Dining Room at Westmont.

Four Santa Barbara college professors will participate in a panel discussion on Thomas Friedman’s book, “The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century,” as part of Westmont Downtown: Conversations About Things that Matter. The event is free and open to the public, Thursday, Feb. 15, at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St., at 5:30 p.m. Seating is limited.

A day of events at Westmont, Wednesday, Feb. 7, will focus on ending slavery and human trafficking. Westmont alum David Batstone, University of San Francisco professor of ethics, will speak in chapel at 10:30 a.m.

  The Westmont trustees welcomed two new members to the board who are both parents of Westmont graduates. Peter Thorrington and Bruce Bickel join 29 other members who oversee the operation of the college.

The Westmont theatre arts department’s popular student production, “The Car Play Project,” which had an overwhelmingly successful run in November and December, will be pulling into downtown Santa Barbara, Thursday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m., in the plaza directly behind the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The production is free, though seating is expected to be limited.

The Westmont College Choir will perform the 1970s rock musical “Godspell,” Friday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 3, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Montecito Covenant Church.

The show is co-directed by alumna Sharon Williams and student Jessica Weber. The cast includes 10 students and two recent Westmont alumni.

Westmont Brings One-Woman Play on Apartheid to Santa Barbara

A deeply personal story about apartheid in South Africa in the early 1960s comes to the stage in Santa Barbara next month. Gin Hammond performs “The Syringa Tree” at the Marjorie Luke Theatre, Friday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m.

Thomas L. Friedman, one of the world’s most highly respected commentators on international affairs, will speak at Westmont’s second annual President’s Breakfast, Wednesday, Feb. 28. He will discuss “The World is Flat: Speaking on the Next Phase of Globalization,” at 7 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort. Tickets went on sale Friday, Jan. 26, and sold out in three hours.

A public poetry reading in the Los Padres National Forest will honor the life and work of William Stafford, former U.S. poet laureate. The gathering will be Saturday, Jan. 27, at 2 p.m. in the First Crossing Day Use Area on Paradise Road off of Highway 154 in Santa Barbara County.

One of California’s premier figurative realist painters and draftsman will exhibit his work at Westmont’s Reynolds Gallery this spring. Harry Carmean will show his figurative drawings, Thursday, Jan. 18, through March 9. An opening reception with Carmean will be held Thursday, Jan. 18, at 4 p.m. at the gallery.

An assistant professor of philosophy from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., will come to Westmont to talk about how cultural myths of female and male eating relate in important ways to how men and women generally react to desire. Christina Van Dyke’s lecture “‘I’ll Have a Salad and Diet Coke’: Eating as a Gendered Act,” will be at Kerrwood Hall in Hieronymus Lounge, Friday, Jan. 12, at 3:30 p.m. The free talk is open to the public.

The Westmont Board of Trustees has elected Steve Stong as its new chair, replacing David Eaton who has completed his six-year term. Denise Adams has been elected vice chair, filling the vacancy left by Stong.

The board of trustees oversees the operation of the college.

Students attending Westmont’s San Francisco Urban Program will now enjoy a new kitchen facility.
The Clunie House, Westmont’s historic Victorian campus at the corner of Lyon and Fell streets, has completed a major culinary renovation.

Randall VanderMey, Westmont professor of English, will read from his latest book, “Charm School: Five Women of the Odyssey,” at a poetry reading Sunday, Dec. 17, at Karpeles Manuscript Library, 21 West Anapamu St., at 2:30 p.m.

More than two dozen entrepreneurial students have put their innovative business ideas to the test in hopes of competing in the 17th annual Westmont Collegiate Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition, Thursday, Dec. 7, at 4:45 p.m. in Kerrwood Hall’s Hieronymus Lounge. The competition is free and open to the public.

Westmont’s theatre arts department continues to push the boundaries of theatrical space with “The Car Play Project,” Thursday, Nov. 30, through Saturday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. at Hubbard Hall parking lot. About 40 students will perform 16 original plays simultaneously inside 16 parked vehicles. Each play is less than 12 minutes and the entire show will last two hours.

Hundreds of students, alumni, and neighbors will don mittens and scarves to celebrate Christmas season at the fifth annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Westmont’s Kerrwood Lawn, Wednesday, Dec. 6. The lights on the 150-foot redwood tree will aglow at 5 p.m.

Santa Claus will be inside Kerrwood Hall to pose for free pictures with children. Warm apple cider and cookies will also be available.

Warren Rogers, professor of physics, will serve as Westmont’s interim academic dean, filling a vacancy left by outgoing Provost Shirley Mullen.

Don’t plan on sitting down and watching an ordinary recital for Westmont’s next dance performance. In fact, most people at “Danceworks” won’t be sitting at all.

The Westmont Windancers will perform “Danceworks” Friday, Nov. 17, and Saturday, Nov. 18, in Porter Theatre at 8 p.m.

One of the leading experts in the fields of mission history, the history of world Christianity and mission theology will speak at Westmont. Dana Robert, co-director of the Center for Global Christianity and Mission at Boston University, will present “Global Christianity: Issues for North Americans in the 21st Century” at a free public lecture, Thursday, Nov. 9, at 3:30 p.m., in Hieronymus Lounge. She will also speak in chapel, Friday, Nov. 10, at 10:30 a.m.

A Westmont-sponsored lecture will explore the complex issue of immigration in the United States, Thursday, Nov. 9, at University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara Street, at 5:30 p.m. The Westmont Downtown lecture, “Immigration and the American Experience,” will feature Dave Lawrence, professor of political science, Rick Pointer, professor of history, and Diana Villanueva-Hoeckley, a Westmont student with a unique immigration story.

An anonymous donor has given $75 million to Westmont, the second largest gift ever for a national liberal arts college. Westmont Chancellor David K. Winter announced the gift on Friday, Oct. 27.

There will be representatives from at least three dozen graduate programs taking part in this year’s Westmont Graduate School Fair. The fair will be held Friday, Nov. 3, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., on the Magnolia Lawn. It is free and open to the public.

Representatives from around the country will speak to students and alumni about what their programs have to offer.

Joyce Luy, Westmont’s dean of admission, says that between 75 and 80 percent of Westmont students attend graduate school at some point in their life.

The Westmont Chamber Orchestra will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth at two concerts, Friday, Nov. 3 in Abravanel Hall at the Music Academy of the West, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 5 at First Presbyterian Church, 21 East Constance, at 7 p.m. General admission is $5, students are free.

A widely-published author and winner of two National Jewish Book Awards will speak as part of the annual Westmont-UC Santa Barbara Hebrew Bible Lecture. Michael Fishbane, Nathan Cummings professor of Jewish studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School, will speak on “The Ideals of Torah and Torah-study in the Psalms,” Thursday, Nov. 2, in Hieronymus Lounge, at 7 p.m.

Eighteen nationally and internationally known artists will display custom-made teapots, cups and other unique ceramic works Thursday, Nov. 2, through Dec. 15. in Westmont’s Reynolds Gallery. There will be an opening discussion and reception for “Form and Function: A Ceramics Invitational,” Thursday, Nov. 2, at 4 p.m.

Singers from eight high schools will join Westmont’s men’s and women’s chorales, chamber singers and college choir for the Fall Choral Festival Concert, Friday, Oct. 27, at the Marjorie Luke Theatre, 721 East Cota Street, at 7 p.m. The concert is free, but seating is limited.

The American Double, a violin-piano ensemble, will perform a unique concert featuring all of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom’s works for violin and piano. “The Bolcom Project” will be performed as part of the Kerrytown Concert House Classical Series, Sunday, Oct. 22, at 4 p.m. at the concert house, 415 North Fourth Avenue in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Andrea Gurney knew she wanted to become a psychologist when she was 13 years old. When Gurney’s parents separated, she moved with her mother and sister from New York to Arizona. She remembers going to a family therapist at that time and how it helped provide stability and helped the family to openly communicate with one another.

A day of events at Westmont this month will celebrate Mark Nelson, new Dr. Kenneth and Peggy Monroe professor of philosophy. The endowed chair was created by former Westmont professor Kenneth Monroe, who died in 1987, and his wife, Peggy, who died in February 2004.

Nelson started teaching at Westmont this fall, after spending his last 12 years teaching at the University of Leeds, one of the largest universities in the United Kingdom.

One of the world’s leading experts on science and religion will speak at Westmont, Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 3:30 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge. Denis Alexander is head of the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, supervising research in molecular genetics, and director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at St. Edmund’s College at Cambridge University.

Charles Farhadian, assistant professor of religious studies, will speak on “Can Islam Save the West?” at the first fall event of the Westmont Downtown lecture series, Thursday, Oct. 12, at 5:30 p.m. at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara Street.

Farhadian will explore the relationship between Islam and the West, highlighting a variety of influential Muslim voices to illustrate the diversity of Islam, particularly in its encounter with the West.

Steven Rogers says he enjoys conducting individual psychotherapy and neuropsychological research, but admits his deep passion is working with students. After earning his doctorate, he was a neuropsychology chief fellow at UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute when a full-time teaching job opened up at Westmont. He liked the focus on undergraduate education.

Int'l Theatre Festival Converges on Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara will soon host the first international Shakespeare festival in the nation, thanks in large part to the vision and work of John Blondell, Westmont theater arts professor. The Lit Moon World Shakespeare Festival will feature 11 days of events celebrating Shakespeare, Thursday, Oct. 12, through Sunday, Oct. 22.

Westmont has hired a new director for the San Francisco Urban Program. Scott McClelland is heading the off-campus program he describes as a “maturity accelerator” for students.

The San Francisco program began in 1971 and operates in a 108-year old house near Golden Gate Park. There are 22 students enrolled this semester.

Westmont once again had the largest team of volunteers at the United Way’s 15th annual Day of Caring. About 115 students, faculty and staff spent their Saturday morning volunteering at North Kellogg Open Space and Ellwood School.

Last year, Westmont’s team had more than 90 volunteers take part in Day of Caring, Santa Barbara County’s biggest single-day volunteer event.

Westmont has taken a major step toward keeping its campus up to date technologically by going wireless. The $100,000 upgrade includes the installation of wireless access points at most of the campus residence halls as well Voskuyl Library and Kerr Student Center. The technology will allow students and faculty to connect to the Internet outside of their offices and rooms on campus.