Westmont News

About 410 new students, who include 58 new transfers, begin their journey at Westmont Thursday, Aug. 26, moving into residence halls and enjoying several days of welcoming activities during Orientation.

“I rarely drink coffee,” says Tiffany Gong ’23, a behavioral neuroscience student at Westmont, who is the subject and the researcher examining the impact of acute caffeine on cortisol and melatonin levels.

Carol Velas, who has served as a registered nurse for 35 years, will direct Westmont’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program, which begins in January 2022 pending approval by the California Board of Registered Nursing. The former senior manager for state licensing and accreditation at Chamberlain University in Chicago, Velas helped design Westmont’s nursing program, serving as a consultant for the initial feasibility study.

The Lilly Graduate Fellows Program has selected Westmont alumna Olivia Stowell ’19 as one of 10 Lilly Graduate Fellows nationwide. The prestigious fellowship supports outstanding students who want to explore the connections within Christianity, higher education, and the vocation of the teacher-scholar as they pursue graduate degrees in humanities and the arts. Stowell, who earned a Master of Arts from Villanova, enters the doctoral program in Communication and Media at the University of Michigan this fall.

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art invites visitors to explore the diverse expressions and meanings of abstract art through the exhibition, “Towards a 21st Century Abstraction,” on display from July 8-August 14. Artists and visitors are welcome Monday through Friday between 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

In a new book of poetry, Paul J. Willis takes his readers on a path through California’s coastal redwoods and giant sequoias in the Sierra, weaving in adolescent practical jokes and sharing unexpected epiphanies. Slant Books published the latest book by the Westmont professor of English and former Santa Barbara poet laureate.

“Soul Care in African American Practice” by Barbara L. Peacock (InterVarsity Press, 2020) has won the annual book award from the Martin Institute for Christianity and Culture and the Dallas Willard Research Center (MIDWC) at Westmont College. She will speak in chapel on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 10:30 a.m.

Kerrwood Lawn in the late 1960s

A Stately Sight to Generations of Warriors

Amid a global pandemic and dire nursing shortage, Westmont’s proposed Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) arrives just in time to meet a great need not only in the Santa Barbara community but in California. The program, run in partnership with Cottage Health, received unanimous approval for its feasibility study from the California Board of Registered Nursing’s (BRN) Education Licensing Committee (ELC) in April and awaits further approvals.

Westmont’s Senzo Zola Sokhela, a 19-year-old freshman from South Africa, has made a name for himself despite his short time on campus. After Sokhela won two individual national championships at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships May 28, the U.S.

Westmont College and Young Life Southwestern Division have awarded full scholarships to Arath Gomez of Santa Barbara, Destiny Mitchell of Victorville and Serena Nohmeh of Reseda. Young Life Urban Leadership Scholarships cover the cost of tuition, room and board for each student to attend Westmont for four years.

“No class in the history of Westmont College has endured so much to make it to this day,” said President Gayle D. Beebe as he welcomed the 306 members of the class of 2021 and their families on May 8 to a special, socially distanced Commencement service on Thorrington Field. “Four years ago, you arrived on a beautiful August afternoon, ready to move in, anticipating all that lay ahead, not thinking of the long and arduous journey that would bring you to this moment.

Each year, the Westmont community celebrates the many ways that God has gifted our students academically by announcing and honoring the Outstanding Graduate Awards in each department during the Academic Awards Convocation prior to Commencement. This year, the ceremony was pre-recorded and is available for viewing here: https://youtu.be/Rb-kaApMhec.

The following are the Outstanding Graduates of 2021

The creative works of 31 local artists will be front and center in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art’s new show, “At The Edges: Tri-County Juried Exhibition,” on display from May 20- June 19. Though there will not be an opening reception for the show, artists and visitors are welcome Monday through Friday between 10 a.m.- 4 p.m., while the exhibition is open.

https://keyt.com/news/education/2021/05/07/westmont-college-preparing-for-in-person-graduation-saturday/

https://www.noozhawk.com/article/westmont_college_commencement_20210508

https://newspress.com/westmont-college-sends-off-class-of-2021/

The 306 members of Westmont College’s class of 2021 rank among the most determined and resilient college graduates in our nation’s history.

The Westmont Theater Arts Department, in collaboration with the newly created film studies program, presents a virtual premiere of “A Winter’s Tale (Interrupted)” on Friday, April 30, at 7 p.m. The play, which does contain mature content, is free to stream at westmont.edu/watchtheater.

Equal parts theater performance, documentary, video log and art film, the production explores what it means to be an artist and a human in the winter of 2020 in America.

Thirteen graduating art majors offer their capstone art projects, which include oil paintings, drawings, collages, digital illustrations, sculptural installations, prints, photographs, videos and stop-motion animation from April 8- May 8 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. See “Untold: Westmont Graduate Exhibition 2021” online at westmont.edu/museum/untold. Find information at westmont.edu/museum about making an appointment to see the exhibit in person.

Keynote speakers David Brooks, Erin Meyer, Gayle D.

The 25th Annual Westmont College Student Research Symposium, celebrating more than three dozen research projects by 50 students and their professors, is moving outdoors on Thursday, April 22, from 3:30-5 p.m. The event is not open to the public.

While in 2020 we needed to have this event virtually, this year, student presenters will set up posters inside the top-most tennis courts and attendees will walk through the presentations in a one-way direction. Masks and physical distancing will be required.

Westmont’s student musicians will spring into action this month, performing in seven different virtual concerts, available for free streaming beginning at 7 p.m. at westmont.edu/virtual-concert-series.

The Westmont Music Department combines the choir and orchestra for an inspiring performance of “Requiem” by Gabriel Faure in its annual Masterworks Concert. The pre-recorded performance will be available for streaming beginning Friday, April 2.

The Westmont Music Department held its ninth annual Instrumental Guild Competition with six finalists performing virtually for college scholarships. A virtual concert of the competition became available March 5 with violinist Sophia Chan of Loma Linda receiving up to $10,000 in annual music scholarships funds (up to $40,000 for four years) to study at Westmont.

Westmont’s Dallas Willard Center for Spiritual Formation will give its 2020 Book Award to Angela Carpenter, assistant professor of religion at Hope College in Michigan, on Wednesday, March 10, at 3:30 p.m. via Zoom at westmont.edu/lectures.

Watch an engaging video of “The Elixir of Love,” a two-act opera by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti, on Friday, February 19, at 7 p.m. at westmont.edu/music. After months of socially distant rehearsals and three days of challenging but safe videotaping, the Westmont Music Department presents its latest opera. Alumna Christina (Farris) Jensen ’09 returned to Santa Barbara to serve as stage director for the production during the pandemic.

Climate change and the threat it poses to humans has been well publicized. But we hear less about its effects on the multitude of other species on the planet. Amanda Sparkman, chair of the Westmont Biology Department, explores “A Snake in the Spring Rain: How Biodiversity is Responding to a Changing Climate” on Thursday, February 18, at 5:30 p.m. The Westmont Downtown Lecture will occur live via Zoom.

A celebrated Harvard historian and bestselling author, Nancy Koehn will discuss courageous and principled leadership at the 16^th annual Westmont President’s Breakfast on Friday, March 5, at 8 a.m. Tickets to the virtual event, which cost $35, go on sale February 12 at westmont.edu/breakfast.

A national study examines the link between religious experiences and depression by following more than 12,000 American adolescents from their teens into middle adulthood. The research indicates that attending religious services staves off depression, but it also ties life-changing spiritual experiences and a belief in divine leading and angelic protection to an increased risk for depression, especially in men.

Westmont pioneers a new certificate program that trains people to use statistical data in studying complex human behavior and addressing global challenges. The Certificate in Social Impact Analytics (SIA) targets college graduates with non-technical backgrounds interested in developing statistical and analytical skills so they can assess the social impacts of programs, interventions and policies.

The Westmont Theater Arts Department has established a new initiative expanding its focus on diversity, justice, global engagement and intercultural competency. Beginning in fall 2021, as part of the Justice and Global Engagement in the Theatre Arts Initiative, John Blondell, award-winning director and Westmont professor of theater arts, will become the new global ambassador in the performing arts.

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art highlights works donated to or purchased for to the museum. “Selections from the Permanent Collection of Contemporary Art” will run from January 14-March 27, 2021. The exhibition will be available online at westmont.edu/museum/contemporarycollection.

Westmont has launched a national search for a provost to oversee the college’s educational program. The search committee, chaired by President Gayle D. Beebe, is seeking a chief academic officer who will ensure a vibrant partnership between the college’s curricular and co-curricular programs.

As the second highest-ranking senior administrator at the college, the provost serves as a member of the Westmont Executive Team. The provost, who is also dean of faculty, has the primary responsibility for the academic program.

Westmont has purchased a four-story building in downtown Santa Barbara where it will launch a new nursing program in partnership with Cottage Health. The new nursing program will address the critical shortage of skilled nurses in Santa Barbara and throughout the region.

Ninety-two percent of Westmont graduates from the class of 2020 have found a job or are attending graduate school (or planning to attend) despite a national economy sickened by the coronavirus.

The 16^th annual Westmont Christmas Festival, “Ris’n with Healing in His Wings,” presents a special online event this year due to the pandemic. The Westmont Music Department, led by Michael Shasberger, Adams professor of music and worship, has creatively recorded the 100 members of the Westmont Orchestra and College Choir, Chamber Singers and Choral Union throughout campus. The virtual concert, which retells the Christmas story by weaving narration with music, will be posted online Friday, Dec. 4, at 5 p.m.

Rick Pointer, professor emeritus of history at Westmont, has written a biography of Papunhank, a little-known Munsee reformer and Moravian leader.

A national study following more than 12,000 people from adolescence to adulthood showed that positive and caring relationships in the teenage years make a lasting impact on mental health. Warm relationships with parents, friends and teachers are highly effective safeguards against depressive symptoms later in life, as is educational achievement. Teenage romantic relationships, pregnancy and multiple sex partners pose modest risks, while alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use reveal mixed associations.

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art celebrates its 10th anniversary with a fundraising exhibition, “5x5: Celebrating Ten Years,” which features about 450, five-inch-square works of art from Dec. 3-18. The art will be available for purchase through an online auction at westmont.edu/museum/5x5 that ends Friday, Dec. 18, at 5 p.m.

Westmont’s talented student musicians and composers will be in the spotlight at the Student Composer's Concert on Friday, Nov. 13, beginning at 7 p.m. westmont.edu/virtual-concert-series.

“There will be a spectacular array of new pieces by composition students at Westmont,” says Steve Butler, professor of music and an ASCAP award-winning composer.

The Westmont men’s basketball team tips off its 2020-21 season against the University of Saint Katherine from San Marcos, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Murchison Gym. Though fans will not be allowed in the gym due to the pandemic, the game will be live-streamed and available on Roku, Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV.

The Forest Foundation, which has supported the arts and education in California and Illinois since 1963, is donating several sculptures and more than three dozen pedestals and sculptural stands to the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. Museum officials are working with Brander Vineyard to create a long-term sculpture exhibition at the Santa Ynez winery.

The Westmont Music Department’s weekly Friday night virtual concert series gets jazzy on Nov. 6. The Westmont Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of keyboardist Eben Drost, will perform many recognizable standards starting at 7 p.m. at westmont.edu/virtual-concert-series. The concert will be recorded in Deane Chapel with musicians wearing masks and singers standing outside the door when they perform.

Enrico Manlapig, associate professor of economics and business, explores “Decision Analysis and the Common Good” in a live webinar on Thursday, Nov. 19, at 5:30 p.m. at vimeo.com/474003951.

Members of the Westmont College Choir and Choral Union, wearing masks and singing outside, offer a Fall Choral Celebration on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. at westmont.edu/virtual-concert-series.

Westmont College has received a grant of $1 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish the Westmont Center for Thriving Communities.

The program is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. The aim of the national initiative is to strengthen Christian congregations so they can help people deepen their relationships with God, build strong relationships with each other and contribute to the flourishing of local communities and the world.

Acclaimed author Jon Meacham addresses “The Architecture of Endurance: Building a Republic that Stands the Test of Time” on Friday, Nov. 6, from 12-1:30 p.m. in a special virtual event from Westmont. The live broadcast opens with remarks by Westmont President Gayle D. Beebe and includes a question-and-answer session with Meacham, presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize winner. The talk is free and open to the public thanks to the gracious support of Westmont’s Mosher Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership.

The Westmont College website, which has undergone a five-year overhaul, won the Web Marketing Association’s 2020 WebAward for Outstanding Achievement in Best Faith-Based Website. A select group of independent judges from around the world selected Westmont’s website for setting the standard of excellence in website development.

Very few Westmont students have tested positive for the coronavirus since returning to campus in mid-September, and faculty and staff are finding innovative ways for students to thrive while staying safe.