Top Scientist to Speak at Commencement
Henry “Fritz” Schaefer III, one of the most distinguished physical scientists in the world, speaks at Westmont’s Commencement Saturday, May 7, at 9:30 a.m. on Carr Field. President Gayle D. Beebe presents the Westmont Medal to David and Anna Grotenhuis, in honor of their generosity and support of Westmont’s students and service to the Santa Barbara community.
Commencement is free and open to the public, but no parking is available on campus. Guests must park their cars at Santa Barbara City College and use Westmont’s free shuttle service to campus, arriving at SBCC no later than 8 a.m.
About 300 students will participate in commencement. Thirty Golden Warriors, who graduated in 1966, will march in the procession and celebrate their 50th reunion.
Shaefer, a computational and theoretical chemist, directs the Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry at the University of Georgia. He has written three books, “Science and Christianity: Conflict or Coherence?” “Scientists and their Gods” and “Quantum Chemistry: The Development of Ab Initio Methods in Molecular Electronic Structure Theory.” He has authored more than 1,500 scientific publications and is one of the most highly cited scientists in the world.
He has won numerous awards including the American Chemical Society’s ACS Award in Pure Chemistry (1979) and the American Chemical Society Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry (2014).
A 1991 U.S. News and World Report cover story, “The Creation”, claimed Shaefer was a “five-time nominee for the Nobel Prize.” In the article, Shaefer is quoted as saying: “The significance and joy in my science comes in the occasional moments of discovering something new and saying to myself, ‘So that’s how God did it!’ My goal is to understand a little corner of God’s plan.”
David W. Grotenhuis is a partner in the real estate investment and development company Santa Barbara Capital, which has developed and invested in numerous properties in the past 40 years in Santa Barbara, the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest. David is also founding partner of Cascade Investment Capital, based in Portland, Ore. He graduated from Westmont and received the Wall Street Journal Award as the outstanding graduate in Economics and Business. He met Wayne Siemens at Westmont, and they’ve been partners for more than 40 years. David has deep Santa Barbara business community connections. He was a founding board member of the Bank of Santa Barbara and past board member of Birnam Wood Golf Club. He mentors and offers business expertise to young interns and entrepreneurs.
Anna Grotenhuis graduated from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. She worked in the legal community in Los Angeles for many years before moving to Santa Barbara, where she has served on many boards and committees. She currently serves on the Westmont Foundation Board and co-chairs Westmont Women’s Leadership Council.
Together, David and Anna feel that charitable giving is their primary goal in life. They’re passionate advocates for education, especially for those who can’t afford to attend college. They provide diversity and music scholarships at Westmont. They care deeply about Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, where they’ve funded the Grotenhuis Pediatric Clinic. They provide significant support to the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission and fund Westmont Bethel Hospital in Guatemala. They also provide fellowship programs at UCLA Medical Center for interns in the Urology Department. They enjoy meeting scholarship and fellowship recipients each year and feel honored and privileged to know these students and young physicians. They keep in touch with many of them.
The Grotenhuis family has contributed to many philanthropic organizations locally and throughout the world. They believe that charitable giving is about giving time and energy, loving people and creating lasting relationships.