Author spotlight: Scott Craig

Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College.

Grads Urged to Use Phones for Good
By Scott Craig   |   May 13, 2025

Led by bagpipes under overcast skies, about 340 graduates made their Last March from Kerrwood Hall down to Thorrington Field where they walked across the stage to receive their diplomas on May 3.  Retiring professor and Commencement speaker Jim Taylor (’78) encouraged the graduates to do something unexpected – to pull out and use their […]

Beloved Professor to Speak at Commencement
By Scott Craig   |   May 6, 2025

About 340 graduates will participate in Commencement on Saturday, May 3, at 9:30 am on Thorrington Field with 162 earning honors. More than 70 Golden Warriors, who graduated in 1975, will march in the procession to celebrate their 50th reunion. About 15 nursing graduates, representing the fifth cohort of the Westmont Downtown | Grotenhuis Nursing […]

Three Warriors Earn All-PacWest Honors
By Scott Craig   |   May 6, 2025

Zola Sokhela, Abigail Hundley, and David Oyebade brought home All-PacWest honors as a result of top three finishes at the PacWest Outdoor Track-and-Field Championships on April 25-26 at Fresno Pacific.  Sokhela finished second in both the men’s 1,500 meter run and 800-meter run, earning eight team points in each race. His time of 3:56.57 in […]

Baseball Closes in on PacWest Title
By Scott Craig   |   May 6, 2025

Westmont baseball (37-11, 32-9 PacWest) – ranked No. 4 in NCAA DII – cut its magic number to two after taking three of four games against Vanguard on April 25-26. Westmont has two games remaining in the regular season, make-up games at Azusa Pacific on Thursday, May 1.  Freshman Jesse Di Maggio, a Dos Pueblos […]

Alum Enjoys Climbing in Paradise
By Scott Craig   |   April 29, 2025

A passionate longtime rock climber, Noah Banez (‘18) pursues his sport in an unlikely location: the isolated island of Guam. The co-founder and managing director of Guam Sports Climbing Center (Climbing Guam) in Barrigada, he also coaches the Guam National Climbing Team.  He and his wife, Olivia ‘Ozie’ Le Sage Banez, moved to Guam in […]

Students Honored for Servant Leadership
By Scott Craig   |   April 29, 2025

Two Westmont students received David K. Winter Servant Leadership Awards during chapel on April 7 in Murchison Gym. Angela D’Amour, dean of student engagement and interim vice president for student life, honored Kate Robinson (‘27) of Beverly, Massachusetts, and Andreas Olvera (‘26) of Woodland, California, for demonstrating above-and-beyond commitment to serving the campus community with […]

April Stargazing Features Jupiter
By Scott Craig   |   April 22, 2025

The Westmont Observatory opens to the public for a free stargazing event Friday, April 25, beginning about 8 pm and lasting several hours.  Jen Ito, Westmont assistant professor of physics, says the college’s powerful Keck Telescope will zoom in on the gas giant Jupiter. “This will probably be the last time we’ll get to see […]

Examining Religion’s Role in Social Justice
By Scott Craig   |   April 22, 2025

Meredith Whitnah, associate professor and chair of the Westmont sociology department, illuminates the role of race and gender in religious responses to social injustice in a reading and Q&A with Provost Kim Denu about Whitnah’s new book, Faith and the Fragility of Justice: Responses to Gender-Based Violence in South Africa, on Friday, April 25, from […]

Warriors Sweep at Hilo
By Scott Craig   |   April 22, 2025

Westmont baseball (31-9, 26-7 PacWest), ranked No. 4 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II Poll, won another series April 11-12 defeating the Hawaii Hilo Vulcans (9-28, 9-24) in three games with the fourth game being rained out after three innings with Westmont leading 5-0.  The Warriors remain atop the PacWest standings with […]

Graduating Art Majors Offer ‘Twelvefold’
By Scott Craig   |   April 8, 2025

Twelve graduating art majors will display their capstone art projects from April 3rd to May 3rd at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. A free public reception opens Twelvefold: Westmont College Graduate Exhibition 2025 on Thursday, April 3, from 4-6 pm. The exhibition offers diverse themes focused on identity, relationships, and place. The artists include […]

Spring Sing 
By Scott Craig   |   April 8, 2025

It was a picture-perfect evening at the Santa Barbara Bowl for Westmont’s 64th annual Spring Sing, Picture This, on March 29th. Off Campus earned bragging rights as the sweepstakes winner of the musical skit competition between students from each residence hall. Their skit, “Champagne Problems,” was a Montecito whodunit mystery based on the classic board […]

Westmont Offers Grants for Climate Projects
By Scott Craig   |   April 1, 2025

In the last two summers, Westmont has hosted more than 100 evangelical students, professors and nationally recognized experts for conferences about Christian climate advocacy. The Faith.Climate.Action. Workshop, funded by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, now provides nearly $40,000 in grants to support sustainability initiatives for eight members of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities […]

Champions Abound at Classic
By Scott Craig   |   April 1, 2025

Multiple records were broken at the annual Westmont Classic track and field meet on March 21-22, which was the final home meet for 15 senior athletes. Both the men’s and women’s teams came in second behind George Fox University.  Junior David Oyebade broke the program’s best-career mark in the men’s hammer – twice – finishing […]

Talk Examines AI’s Future, Possible Dangers
By Scott Craig   |   March 25, 2025

Two Westmont computer science professors will offer a holistic understanding of artificial intelligence (AI), explore promising new developments, and expose lurking dangers in a Westmont Downtown Lecture, “A Human Approach to AI: Understanding Its Promises and Perils,” on Thursday, March 27, at 5:30 pm at the Community Arts Workshop in downtown Santa Barbara. The talk […]

Stargazers to Catch Martian Views
By Scott Craig   |   March 25, 2025

Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope will zoom in on Jupiter and its Galilean moons on Friday, March 21, beginning at 7:30 pm and lasting several hours. The Westmont Observatory is open to the public every third Friday of the month and held in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, whose members bring their own telescopes […]

Baseball Swings Another Sweep
By Scott Craig   |   March 25, 2025

Westmont baseball (22-3, 17-1 PacWest), ranked No. 5 in NCAA DII by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, swept Azusa Pacific in a doubleheader, 9-5 and 11-2, on March 15 at Carr Field. The Warriors are 19-1 over their last 20 games.  Two pitchers established new program records for the Warriors. Senior starter Bryan Peck […]

Answering Demand for More Nurses
By Scott Craig   |   March 18, 2025

In response to increasing demand and need for nurses, Westmont Downtown Grotenhuis Nursing is growing the program. This May 24, more students will begin their studies in the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing. On February 26, The California Board of Registered Nursing approved Westmont’s plan to increase enrollment in its accelerated 16-month program, allowing students […]

Observatory Opens for Total Eclipse of the Moon
By Scott Craig   |   March 18, 2025

If the weather cooperates, the Westmont Observatory will open for the viewing of a rare lunar event beginning Thursday, March 13, at 10 pm and lasting until Friday, March 14, at 1 am. The powerful Keck Telescope will zoom in on a total lunar eclipse, which will be visible throughout North American and in some […]

Baseball Takes Down PacWest Foe
By Scott Craig   |   March 18, 2025

Westmont baseball (20-3, 15-1) won three of four games against Point Loma over the weekend to take a four-game lead over Jessup and Point Loma in PacWest Conference standings. Prior to the showdown at Carr Field, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II Poll had Westmont ranked at No. 5 and Point Loma at […]

Rice Shares Global Vision of Democracy
By Scott Craig   |   March 11, 2025

Condoleezza Rice, the 66th U.S. Secretary of State, shared insight into the Russia-Ukraine war as well as China and other international hot spots, while sprinkling wisdom about democracy, education, and her childhood in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, at the Westmont President’s Breakfast on February 28. More than 700 early-morning attendees enjoyed the sold-out event, now in […]

‘Glowing Embers’ Forges Community Bonds
By Scott Craig   |   March 11, 2025

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art hosted a powerful, heartful, outdoor event February 20 that included stories, poems and live music about the significance of the 2008 Tea Fire. At the center of the gathering in Westmont’s formal garden was an installation, Glowing Embers, created by local artist Ethan Turpin and Jonathan PJ Smith, co-owner […]

‘Wind in the Willows’ is Final Curtain for Blondell
By Scott Craig   |   March 4, 2025

Westmont’s famed theater arts professor John Blondell, who will retire after 37 years at the college, directs The Wind in the Willows, which runs at various dates and times through March 2 in Porter Theatre. Purchase tickets, which cost $20 for general admission and $12 for students and seniors, at westmont.edu/box-office. Blondell says he chose […]

Museum Hosts Living Earth Family Day 
By Scott Craig   |   March 4, 2025

Bring the whole family to the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art for a day of fun, free activities with food, crafts, games, music and storytelling focused on our environment. “Living Earth: A Family Day of Exploration” – on Saturday, March 1, from 11 am to 4 pm – focuses on the immersive exhibition WILDLAND: Ethan […]

Hoops Teams Battle in PacWest Tournament
By Scott Craig   |   March 4, 2025

Both the Westmont men’s and women’s basketball teams will begin play in their first-ever PacWest Tournament March 6 and 7 at the Conlan Center on the campus of Dominican University in San Rafael. The Warriors’ teams will conclude their regular seasons March 1 at Point Loma.  The women (17-9,13-6 PacWest) will be seeded no lower […]

Teen Math Whizzes Solve their Way to Victory
By Scott Craig   |   February 25, 2025

The mathletes of Dos Pueblos High School claimed top honors, beating seven other regional high schools at Westmont’s 36th annual Mathematics Field Day on February 8. They won the 9-10th grade College Bowl and the 11-12th grade Chalk Talk to claim overall victories in both grade levels. Oaks Christian claimed the 9-10th grade Written Team […]

College Offers Worship Leadership Major
By Scott Craig   |   February 25, 2025

Westmont has launched a new major in worship leadership designed for students pursuing careers as pastoral musicians with an emphasis on the contemporary worship styles more prevalent today.  The National Association of Schools of Music Commission on Accreditation, an organization of more than 600 colleges and universities that establishes national standards for degrees and credentials, […]

McIntyre Earns National Honor
By Scott Craig   |   February 25, 2025

Adrian McIntyre became the first athlete in Westmont basketball history to be named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Player of the Week following his historic performance February 8 – when he scored 51 points in a 99-89 overtime win against Point Loma. The 51-point outburst, which broke Westmont’s single-game record, was […]

Mr. Shiang Goes to Washington
By Scott Craig   |   February 18, 2025

A class in international politics during his first semester at Westmont inspired David Shiang to consider a career in public service. Now a senior, he serves as student body president following a prestigious summer internship at the White House.  The son of Taiwanese immigrants, David grew up in Los Angeles and chose Westmont largely because […]

Warrior Breaks 70-Year-Old Record
By Scott Craig   |   February 18, 2025

Senior guard Adrian McIntyre scored 51 points shattering a Warrior record that had stood for 70 years and propelling Westmont to a key overtime 89-99 win against Point Loma on February 8th. McIntyre’s outburst bested the 46 points of Westmont legend Tine Hardeman, who died December 2nd at age 92.  The victory keeps the Westmont […]

Baseball Sweeps Gator
By Scott Craig   |   February 18, 2025

In its home opening weekend, No. 25 Westmont baseball (5-2) took all four games from San Francisco State (1-4). Catcher Shane Hofstadler hit .714 in the series to raise his overall batting average to .429, while infielder Michael Soper hit .470 in the series sweep. Local talent Jesse Di Maggio (Dos Pueblos) and Isaac Veal […]

Talk Explores Embracing Challenge
By Scott Craig   |   February 11, 2025

Drawing on his experience, Westmont President Gayle D. Beebe will share the power of life’s crucibles – those pivotal moments of trial and triumph – that have defined his personal and professional life and leadership. This free Westmont Downtown Lecture, The Crucibles That Shape Us: Navigating the Defining Challenges of Leadership, begins at 5:30 pm […]

Teen Mathletes Battle at Fun Field Day
By Scott Craig   |   February 11, 2025

Westmont’s 36th annual Mathematics Field Day features about 100 students from eight regional high schools in a friendly competition Saturday, Feb. 8, at 1 pm in Winter Hall.  The event includes college bowls with buzzers, written exams and Chalk Talks with student presentations. This year the Chalk Talk, a 10-12-minute presentation, is about base systems, […]

Baseball Opening Day
By Scott Craig   |   February 11, 2025

(photos by Brad Elliott) Westmont baseball celebrates the start of a new season at home this weekend against San Francisco State on Feb 8-9. The Warriors, ranked No. 25 in the 2025 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II Poll, dropped two of three at Cal Poly Pomona last weekend in an exciting opening series.  […]

Lifelong Champions for Women Gather, Celebrate
By Scott Craig   |   February 4, 2025

The eighth annual Westmont Women’s Leadership Council Luncheon reached new heights with a goal of encouraging and empowering female students with scholarships and networking connections to help them thrive in their future careers. The event, which featured Henrietta Holsman Fore, a Santa Barbara native who served as executive director of UNICEF and USAID administrator, has […]

Talk Explores Art, Science of ‘WILDLAND’
By Scott Craig   |   February 4, 2025

Artist Ethan Turpin and scientist Naomi Tague explore their combined work for WILDLAND in a free public lecture, Beyond Data Visualization: Art-Science Collaboration with Ethan Turpin and Naomi Tague, on Thursday, Jan. 30, from 5:30-6:30 pm in Westmont’s Porter Theatre. No RSVPs are needed and light refreshments will be served.  Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art […]

Researchers Win Prize to Examine Homelessness
By Scott Craig   |   January 28, 2025

A Westmont student and professor have won the Hatfield Prize, which will allow them to conduct research this semester through interviewing churches, nonprofits and government agencies who are preventing and addressing homelessness in Santa Barbara. Kate Robinson, a sophomore political science major, has received $5,000 and Katherine Bryant, assistant professor of political science, has received […]

Honoring a Legendary Team
By Scott Craig   |   January 28, 2025

Legendary Westmont men’s basketball coach Chet Kammerer and assistant Randy Pfund will be part of an alumni event to celebrate Westmont’s 1983-84 team on Saturday, Jan. 25. The team, which finished the season with a 31-4 record and reached the semifinals of the NAIA National Tournament, was unbeaten in 14 games inside Murchison Gym. The […]

Rice Returns to President’s Breakfast
By Scott Craig   |   January 21, 2025

Condoleezza Rice, the 66th U.S. Secretary of State, returns to speak at the 20th annual Westmont President’s Breakfast on Friday, February 28, from 7-9 am at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Tickets cost $175 per person and go on sale Friday, January 31, at 9 am at westmont.edu/breakfast. Seating is limited, and tickets are […]

Growing Oaks Offer Wildfire Resilience 
By Scott Craig   |   January 21, 2025

A Westmont biology class is celebrating the growing success of an oak woodland restoration project in the barranca along the westside of Westmont’s campus. Nearly all of the 60 coast live oaks that were planted along the dry Westmont Creek in November 2023 are surviving and many have grown more than three feet tall.  Students […]

Strangely Beautiful ‘WILDLAND’ 
By Scott Craig   |   January 21, 2025

A large crowd of about 175 people gathered to appreciate the multifaceted exhibition of WILDLAND: Ethan Turpin’s Collaborations on Fire and Water on January 9 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The exhibition, which explores the complex relationships between fire, water and ourselves, is open through March 22.  The exhibit includes hands-on stereographs that […]