Westmont News

“Photographs and Artifacts: A Southwestern Chronicle,” featuring works by Raymond Reid and Henry and Mary Weaver, opens Jan. 27 in Reynolds Gallery.

A public lecture by the artists will be 3 p.m. Jan. 30, followed by the opening reception from 4-6 p.m., both in the Art Center. The show runs through March 7.

The exhibit includes images of Native American life and the environment in which Native Americans live. The objects and artifacts range from traditional baskets and blankets to rarer beaded pouches and carved pipe bowls.

Andrew Walls, the second scholar participating in Westmont’s World Christianity and Global Encounters of the 21st Century lecture series, will discuss “Conversion and Proselytism in a Multifaith, Multiethnic World” 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Barbara. The event is free and open to the public.

Scholars Cecil Mel Robeck, professor of church history and ecumenics at Fuller Theological Seminary, and Anthea Butler, assistant professor of theology at Loyola Marymount University, will respond.

John Nava, the painter who designed the tapestries in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, will discuss the cathedral tapestries 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 in Westmont’s Porter Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.

For the cathedral, Nava created 25 tapestry panels that depict 135 men, women and children of faith, ranging in age from 9 months to 90 years. Towering an average of 10 feet each, together they form a “Communion of Saints.”

Award-winning pianist Sam Rotman, who earned two degrees from Juilliard, will present a free recital at 8 p.m. Jan. 13 in Porter Theatre on the Westmont campus.

While at Juilliard, he received nine awards in the form of grants, scholarships, and prizes. Subsequently, he has been among the winners in five piano competitions, both in the United States and Europe, including that of Laureate Winner in the 4th International Beethoven Competition in Vienna, Austria.

The John Stauffer Charitable Trust, based in Pasadena, has awarded Westmont $400,000 to purchase much-needed chemistry equipment that will enhance students’ ability to do first-rate research.

Westmont, a liberal arts college similar to Pomona and Claremont-McKenna, has a long tradition of fostering undergraduate research in the sciences, a feature that ensures acceptance for many of our graduates into the best graduate schools in the country.

Westmont has joined nearly 300 other institutions in launching the nation’s first prepaid tuition plan for private colleges and universities: the Independent 529 Plan.

The plan is similar to state-sponsored “529” prepaid tuition plans, but is unique in that it can be used at independent institutions throughout the nation. The program allows families to pay today’s tuition for certificates that will be redeemable years from now at any of the member institutions.

Westmont has scheduled two community conversations about its Campus Master Plan Update followed by tours of the plan site from 9 to 11 a.m. Nov. 16 and Nov. 23.

The informative gatherings will be in Page Hall, on the upper campus. Those who would like to attend should follow the signs from the campus’ main entrance off La Paz Road. Optional tours of the plan site will follow.
In addition, the Montecito Association has offered to sponsor a moderated Community Forum after the first of the year.

Photographs by Brad Elliott of locations and objects used in worship will be featured in the Reynolds Gallery holiday exhibit, “The Art of Devotion” from Nov. 11 through Jan. 18, 2003.

Assistant Art Professor Lisa DeBoer will give a lecture in conjunction with the exhibition at 3 p.m. Nov. 15 in the gallery. An opening reception will follow the lecture. All the events are free and open to the public.

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $96,000 grant to Westmont as part of a collaboration of 10 small colleges and universities to build a highly efficient large-area neutron detector, the Modular Neutron Array (MoNA). More than $700,000 has been awarded for the entire project.

The detector will be a key instrument in the study of rare isotopes at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) on the campus of Michigan State University. The study will help scientists better understand how the basic elements of our universe are synthesized inside of stars.

Sophocles’ “Antigone,” the classic dramatic text of a young woman struggling against the law, will be told through music and dance in the Westmont Theatre department’s presentation 8 p.m. Oct. 24, 25 and 31 and Nov. and 2 in Porter Theatre.

There also will be a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Oct. 26 and Nov. 2. Admission is $5 for students and seniors and $10 for the general audience.

The production examines Antigone’s struggle and explores the three types of laws that humans face: laws from religious texts, civil codes and the unwritten law in people’s hearts.

Local artist Rafael Parea de la Cabada will oversee “Revelation in Genesis,” a semester-long project involving Westmont students next fall. A $15,000 grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship will fund the project.
Parea will oversee three groups of students who will create three works of art to be displayed on campus: one in Page residence hall, one for the space used for chapel and one on the Voskuyl Library lawn. The works are intended to express the Christ-centered character of living, learning and worshipping at Westmont.

An updated campus master plan for Westmont College is under consideration by Santa Barbara County planning officials, who have determined that the plan will not cause significant environmental impacts that cannot be mitigated.

A series of works created in the aftermath of Sept. 11 and titled “Freedom”
by Art Professor John Carlander will be exhibited May 17 through July 27 at Westmont's Reynolds Gallery.

Freedom may mean different things to different people, but after the attack on America on Sept. 11, 2001, we may cherish our ideas of freedom more than ever. For an artist to have the freedom to work is a great treasure, and I am thankful for that freedom.

The internationally acclaimed actress Helena Hale will perform her one-woman play, “Artemisia Gentileschi, Of Lies and Truth,” 7:30 p.m. May 10 in Porter Theatre on the Westmont campus. Admission is $10 for general audience and $7.50 for Reynolds Gallery members.

Hale has performed the play in major museums and theaters throughout the United States as well as in Florence, Italy. It tells the dramatic life-story of Artemisia Gentileschi, the extraordinary 17th-century Italian Baroque artist who was highly regarded for her paintings, which depicted women as strong and independent.

Three generations will gather for Commencement at 10 a.m. May 4 on Carr Field to celebrate the latest recipient in the family of a Westmont degree.

Kirsten White will receive her bachelor’s degree in English, while her parents, Steve and Sharon Gerlach White (‘76 and ‘78 graduates, respectively), watch with her grandparents, Harlan and Ruth Gerlach. The Gerlachs will be celebrating their Golden Warrior anniversary: They graduated from Westmont in 1952.

As Golden Warriors, the Gerlachs will march in with their granddaughter and the other graduates for the ceremonies.

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has named Westmont as a winner of the 2002 Circle of Excellence in Educational Fund-Raising Award, which honors superior fund-raising programs across the country. The award comes as Westmont’s capital campaign, which raised more than $56 million, is coming to a close.

Ten National Merit Scholars are among Westmont’s incoming class this fall, representing – for the third year in a row – the strongest class academically in college history. First-year students will arrive on campus Aug. 21 for orientation, and classes begin Aug. 26.

The new National Merit Scholars will bring to 30 the number on campus. Additionally, 97 percent of all incoming students qualified for merit scholarships, meaning they were eligible to receive one of three Westmont scholarships based on academic excellence.

Westmont President Stan Gaede has a new book out: “An Incomplete Guide to the Rest of Your Life: On the Road to Meaning, Purpose & Happiness,” published by InterVarsity Press.

With warm stories and conversational style, Gaede addresses topics such as vocation, relationships, integrity and compassion to provide guidance in leading a life worth living and finding authentic happiness. He points his reader beyond temporary diversions to the God who offers true satisfaction and fulfillment.

Twelve students received David K. Winter Character through Servant Leadership Awards during a special ceremony April 18, 2002.

There were more than 80 nominations for the award, which was previously only open to juniors. This year, first-year and sophomore students were also eligible. Faculty, staff and other students nominated candidates who have demonstrated Christ-like character through acts of servant leadership.

The Westmont Jazz Band offers its annual spring concert 8 p.m. April 16 in Deane Chapel on Westmont’s lower campus. Admission is free and the concert is open to the public.

Three six-piece combo groups and a big band will perform songs from such jazz greats as Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

Dr. Stephen W. Hosea, medical director of the infection control department at Cottage Hospital, will speak on “Facing the Fear: What You Need to Know About Bioterrorism” 7 p.m. April 4 at Victoria Hall, 33 W. Victoria St. in downtown Santa Barbara.

The lecture is part of Westmont Downtown, a series sponsored by the Westmont Foundation. The event is free and open to the public.

Hosea has spoken frequently on bioterrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York and subsequent anthrax threats.