Less than two weeks after everyone’s attention was focused on the solar eclipse, the Westmont Observatory focuses on lunar craters and a red giant Friday, April 19, beginning after sunset at 7:30 pm and lasting several hours. The observatory, home to the powerful Keck Telescope, opens to the public every third Friday of the month […]
The annual Spring Student Research Symposium features the work of more than 40 student researchers on 23 different posters, and will be held on Thursday, April 18, from 3:30 –5 pm in the Winter Hall Atrium. “I’m looking forward to seeing the work our students have been doing this year,” says Michael Everest, interim […]
Westmont’s 63rd annual Spring Sing at the Santa Barbara Bowl on April 6 was filled with singing, dancing, acting, and hilarity. Students from each residence hall produced musical skits using the phrase “Out of Order” and competed for prizes and bragging rights. Spring Sing is the college’s longest running tradition and involves more students than […]
Nearly 20 Westmont political science students joined Professor Katherine Bryant to serve on the National Model United Nations from March 24-28 in New York. The students, who represented the delegations from Solomon Islands and Thailand, discussed pressing global issues and stepped into the shoes of diplomats, using the art of negotiation to learn how to […]
A floral portrait of Westmont alumnus Paul Eskildsen (‘81), who died in 2017, appeared in the 2024 Rose Parade on the OneLegacy Donate Life float, Woven Together: The Dance of Life. Paul was passionate about serving others even in death. As a registered donor and in excellent health at the age of 59, he gave […]
Over a 60-hour period before finals, the Weller Organ in Deane Chapel, controlled by Professor Steve Hodson, will be playing “ORGAN2/ASLSP (As Slow as Possible)” by John Cage (1912-1992). This 1987 work explores how slowly a piece of music might unfold. Westmont’s performance will begin at 8 am on April 26 (with a rest) and […]
Three-time Emmy-award winning actor Tony Hale spent an afternoon with Westmont theater arts students before sharing humorous stories and insights with a large crowd in Porter Theatre. Colorado actor Heather Ostberg Johnson (‘11) facilitated the event, Comedy and Faith with Tony Hale, on March 19th that students said helped them visualize a career in the […]
The results are in and the awards handed out at the second annual Montecito Student Film Festival on March 23 at Westmont’s Porter Theatre. About 150 people attended the festival throughout the day to watch 41 films, pared down from the more than 500 that were submitted. Chase Olivera, an 18-year-old student at College of […]
A group donning Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree’s elegant hats visited the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art to honor their late friend on March 21. Hiroko Benko, Brenda Blalock, Chris Frisina, Mary Gates, Erin Graffy, Bobbie Kinnear, Nan Marr, Joyce Shaar, and Grace Yoon toured Ridley-Tree’s entire collection of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot that she gave to the museum. […]
Six aspiring Westmont art graduates will exhibit their capstone projects at Between Moments from April 4-May 4 in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. A free, public opening reception will celebrate the graduating senior art majors on Thursday, April 4, from 4-6 pm. The students include Danielle Anderson of Palm Desert; Clare Carey of Bonsall; […]
The Fletcher Jones Foundation has awarded Westmont College $500,000 to provide students with education, training, and industry readiness for the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence (AI). The funds will expand the scope of the Center for Applied Technology Lab (CATLab) to include AI, adding state-of-the-art hardware and software infrastructure to facilitate students’ hands-on learning and […]
Malcolm Foley, special adviser to the president for equity and campus engagement at Baylor University, argues that race and racism are fundamentally not issues of pride but of greed in a lecture Wednesday, April 3, from 3:30-5 pm in the Global Leadership Center. The talk, “Child of Mammon or Child of God?: The Anti-Greed Gospel,” […]
This month, as we celebrate the remarkable achievements of women, the legacy of Ruth Kerr, who co-founded Westmont in 1937, continues to shape lives with a vision ahead of its time. She encouraged women to embrace the world beyond the idyllic Montecito campus, inspiring them to pursue their dreams and make a difference on a […]
The second annual Montecito Student Film Festival has exploded in popularity and gone global. Student filmmakers from 65 countries have submitted more than 500 films for the free event. Attendees can watch films throughout the day, Saturday, March 23, from 10 am – 5 pm in Westmont’s Porter Theatre. Festival producer Tamia Sanders (’24) says […]
Adam Goodworth, a professor in the departments of engineering and kinesiology, and alumnus Maury Hayashida (’95) examine balance and mobility and how aging affects them in a talk Thursday, March 21, at 5:30 pm at the Community Arts Workshop, 631 Garden Street, in downtown Santa Barbara. The Westmont Downtown Lecture, “Aging and Mobility: Fundamentals and […]
Jupiter and the Great Orion Nebula, M42, will be part of this month’s free stargazing event Friday, March 15, beginning about 6 pm and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. Along with Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope, members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Society bring their own telescopes to share with the public. Views of […]
Two Westmont voice instructors will join forces in a recital, “A Song Celebration,” on Saturday, March 23, at 4 pm in Deane Chapel on Westmont’s lower campus. The performance is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact the music department at (805) 565-6040. Tenor Chad Ruyle and soprano Nichole Dechaine, who […]
In Westmont men’s basketball’s first season in the conference, senior Anthony McIntyre has been named to the First Team All-PacWest. “From the first time he put on a Westmont uniform, Anthony’s continued to improve, especially during the offseason,” says head coach Landon Boucher. “To be the first Warrior in program history to be First Team […]
Richard Haass, who worked at the White House, State Department, and Pentagon under four different presidents, offered a civics lesson on global diplomacy while bringing clarity to international conflicts at the sold-out 19th annual Westmont President’s Breakfast on March 1st at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Despite the Israel-Hamas war, the Russia-Ukraine war, contentious […]
This spring, several of Westmont’s athletic facilities have seen dramatic upgrades to accompany the Warriors’ move to National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II in hopes of attracting exceptional student-athletes who will thrive with a rigorous Christian liberal arts education. The Westmont community and supporters have stepped up to provide vital resources for the challenge. Westmont […]
The only active-duty Air Force band west of the Rockies energized audiences at two free performances on Feb. 27 at Westmont and Montecito Covenant Church. The United States Air Force Band of the Golden West Winds woodwind dectet performed several patriotic and classical pieces, including one song that featured kazoos to the delight of the […]
Westmont’s John Blondell, a longtime professor of theater arts, puts his own contemporary, site-specific spin on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as part of a mini-festival about the famous tragedy Thursday, Feb. 29, at 7 pm; Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2, at 7 pm and 9 pm; and Sunday, March 3, at 7 pm […]
The Westmont Music Department offers its orchestra concerto concert, featuring the winners of its concerto/aria competition, Nathan Carlin, Karla Munoz, Tasha Loh, and Leah Nieman, on Friday, Feb. 23, at 7 pm at the college’s Page Hall and on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 3 pm in Hahn Hall at the Music Academy. Both performances are […]
Men’s basketball wing Anthony McIntyre continued his chase for the PacWest scoring title, as the senior dropped 25 points on 8-for-10 shooting in the Warriors 91-70 win over the Chaminade Silverswords on Feb. 17. Westmont’s leading scorer now averages 18.8 points-per-game, and with four games remaining in PacWest Conference play, he now stands alone atop […]
The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art and Westmont Music Department threw a grand party on Jan. 3 in honor of the late Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree, whose generosity benefited not only the college but the entire Santa Barbara community. The Westmont String Quartet played as celebrants enjoyed champagne and crêpe while taking in the stunning ocean […]
If the weather cooperates, and that has been a big if this winter, the Milky Way’s open clusters will be the focus of the monthly stargazing event on Friday, Feb. 16, beginning after 6 pm and lasting for several hours. The observatory, home of the powerful Keck Telescope, is open to the public every third […]
One of the best American beach volleyball players will speak in Westmont chapel on Friday, Feb. 16, at 10:30 am in Murchison Gym. Alumnus Avery Drost (’07) led the Association of Volleyball Players (AVP) with 350 digs and was second with 551 kills last season. He coaches boys’ volleyball at Mira Costa High School in […]
Westmont’s 35th annual Mathematics Field Day features students from nine regional high schools in a friendly competition Saturday, Feb. 10, in Winter Hall at 1 pm. Alphan Altinok, a senior data scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, will speak about “Mathematics of Artificial Intelligence” at the awards banquet at 5:30 pm in the Global Leadership […]
On a rural farm in Kenya in a series of mud buildings — known as the Shire and resembling a small Hobbiton — youth from the Nairobi slums learn to program software. For 10 weeks, they live in clean rooms with water, electricity, and comfortable beds as they study computers and the beautiful natural environment. […]
Hopi Katsina dolls, carved and colorfully decorated wooden figures, are more than just beautiful works of art: They represent Katsinam spirits believed to bring blessings of good health, growth and fertility. A unique exhibition, celebrating the resurgence of a traditional carving method, features dozens of the Katsina (or “Kachina” to non-Hopi people) dolls and is […]
President Gayle D. Beebe gave Christine Emmons the 2024 Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree Spirit of Santa Barbara Award at the Westmont Women’s Leadership Council Luncheon on Jan. 19. Emmons, a trustee of the Mosher Foundation and a fixture of the Santa Barbara art, music, and education nonprofit scene for several decades, is also a former pilot. […]
The Martin Institute for Christianity and Culture and the Dallas Willard Research Center have chosen Michael Stewart Robb’s book, The Kingdom Among Us: The Gospel According to Dallas Willard, as the winner of the Dallas Willard Research Center Book Award. Robb, a Christian educator and theologian, will receive the award and speak in chapel Wednesday, […]
Westmont baseball, last year’s winners of the NAIA World Series, are set to make the first pitch of the NCAA Division II season on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 2 pm. The Warriors will play Regis (Colo.) in four games over the weekend. Members of last year’s national champions will receive their World Series rings at […]
Richard Haass, a veteran diplomat, respected scholar of international relations and president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, speaks at the 19th annual Westmont President’s Breakfast on Friday, March 1, from 7-9 am in the Grand Ballroom of Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Tickets cost $125 per person and go on sale Friday, Feb. […]
Wendy Eley Jackson draws on three decades of experience in film and television in her talk, “The Transformative Power of Storytelling,” for a Westmont Downtown Lecture on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 5:30 pm at the Community Arts Workshop (631 Garden Street), in downtown Santa Barbara. The event is free and open to the public; no […]
“I was surprised at the sheer size of the math world,” said first-year student Isaiah Conway, reflecting on his trip with fellow students and faculty to the world’s largest mathematics conference Jan. 3-6 in San Francisco. Ten students and three faculty members were among nearly 6,000 other mathematicians at annual Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM), hosted […]
Trustee Marcus ‘Goodie’ Goodloe, whose daughter Hannah is currently a senior and will graduate in spring 2024, has written three books, including King Maker: Applying Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Leadership Lessons in Working with Athletes and Entertainers. Goodloe travels the country and uses the book to mentor students, educators, business professionals and athletes about […]
Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree’s entire collection of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot artworks – which includes 11 paintings, 12 lithographs, and a drawing – goes on display Jan. 11 – March 23 in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. A free public opening reception for the exhibition, Camille Corot to Orthodox Icons: Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree’s Gifts to the Collection, […]
Sisters Leah Otterlei Pillsbury (‘00) and Alexis Otterlei Bennett (‘05) left their native Minnesota to attend Westmont — and then went their separate ways after graduating, pursuing different careers. Eventually, their paths and occupations converged, and they launched a telehealth business in 2021. Leah majored in psychology and loved every part of her college experience. […]
Westmont celebrated the accomplishments of 18 new graduates of the Westmont Downtown | Grotenhuis Nursing program at a pinning ceremony December 14 at Montecito Covenant Church. This is the second cohort to graduate from the 16-month accelerated bachelor of science in nursing program, housed at 26 West Anapamu. President Gayle D. Beebe, program director Dianthe […]