Former Westmont President Roger Voskuyl Dies
Roger Voskuyl, who served as president of Westmont College from 1950 to 1968, died Nov. 9 in Santa Barbara at the age of 95. The Harvard-educated chemist, who participated in the Manhattan Project during World War II, led Westmont during a crucial time in its history. Thanks to his efforts, the college gained accreditation in 1958, added eight major buildings and increased enrollment from 218 to 700.Voskuyl firmly established Westmont as an academically rigorous Christian college.
“It would be hard to overstate the importance of Roger Voskuyl in the history of Westmont,” said Westmont President Stan D. Gaede. “He was an active member in the Santa Barbara community and represented the college well. He left a much stronger institution at his retirement, both academically and physically. His faith was deep and genuine and impacted everything that he did. We are grateful to the Lord for the life of Roger Voskuyl.”
Born in Cedar Grove, Wis., May 16, 1910, Voskuyl graduated from Hope College and earned a doctorate in chemistry from Harvard University. He began teaching at Wheaton College in Illinois in 1938 and became dean of the faculty there in 1945. He served as acting president during the 1947-1948 academic year.
One of Voskuyl’s first actions when he assumed the presidency of Westmont in 1950 was stabilizing and rebuilding the faculty. He succeeded in attracting and keeping qualified professors, and the number of faculty with doctorates increased from 19 to 52 percent. When he left, there were 14 professors who had taught at the college for 10 or more years.
Under his leadership, the college constructed eight important buildings on campus: the Nancy Voskuyl Prayer Chapel, Porter Hall of Fine Arts, Van Kampen Hall, Deborah Clark Halls, Roger John Voskuyl Library, Hugh Murchison Gymnasium complex, William Stratton Porter Center, and the first section of Armington Halls.
Almost $7 million went into campus construction, some by government loans and some by private gifts. Assets increased in value from $500,000 in 1950 to $10 million in 1968. Annual gifts increased from $103,000 to $1 million.
Voskuyl served as president of the Montecito Rotary Club and belonged to the boards of Santa Barbara Community Chest, the Music Academy of the West and Samarkand. He was a member of the education commission of the Chamber of Commerce.
In 1968, he became executive director of the Council for the Advancement of Small Colleges, which he helped to found. He retired from that position in 1974. A memorial service will be held Monday, Nov. 21, at 10 a.m. at El Montecito Presbyterian Church.
Voskuyl is survived by his wife, Margaret Jacobsen Voskuyl, his children, Ruth Mulligan, Jane Jackson and Howard Voskuyl, four grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren. His first wife, Trudy Schaap Voskuyl, died in 1985, and their daughter Nancy, died in 1959.
A memorial service will be held Monday, Nov. 21, at 10 a.m. at El Montecito Presbyterian Church, where he and his wife, Margaret, are members.