Westmont Magazine Parents Pledge $3.5 Million

Parents of a current Westmont student, who wish to remain anonymous, have pledged a $3.5 million unrestricted gift to the College.

More than half the donation ($2 million) will be sent before the end of the year, making it the largest one-time cash gift ever to the College.

“We believe Westmont is developing Christian leaders who will have significant influence in correcting and reshaping the value systems of our world,” the donors wrote in a letter to President Winter.

Dr. Winter announced the gift at the board of trustees’ October meeting.

“Certainly this is one of the most generous and important commitments that has been made to the College,” Dr. Winter said. “That this gift is unrestricted provides tremendous flexibility in how the College approaches its long-term goals, which include completing the core of the campus, increasing our endowment, and strengthening our scholarship and College programs.”

The pledge is the second multimillion dollar donation Westmont has received this year. In May, an anonymous family foundation pledged $5 million to the campus, which will partially fund two buildings that are part of the College’s master plan approved by Santa Barbara County: a new center for the visual arts and a new science classroom building, which will house the mathematics, physics, and psychology departments.

Gary Harris, chair of the board of trustees, notes, “Donations of any size are always a blessing to the College, but gifts of this nature are particularly important to Westmont’s future. As the College continues to plan and lay the groundwork for the next century, this kind of generosity means the College will be assured of continuing its mission.”