Experience 45 of the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art’s recent acquisitions at a stunning summer show. The exhibition features works by three dozen artists, including Americans Richard Artschwager, Laddie John Dill, and Louisiana Bendolph of the Gee’s Bend quilters, contemporary Chinese artist Yue Minjun, and numerous local artists. New Acquisitions: Selections from the Modern and […]
Westmont’s annual Impact Conference, co-sponsored by Salesforce, explores opportunities and dangers using artificial intelligence tools in education Thursday, July 25, and Friday, July 26, in the Global Leadership Center. Tickets to the two-day event cost $100 with breakfast and lunch provided both days. To register or get more information, please visit westmont.edu/impact. “The conference, geared […]
Westmont Athletics has been granted full membership into NCAA Division II… a year early. The NCAA Division II Membership Committee told President Gayle D. Beebe and Robert Ruiz, director of athletics, that the Warriors had successfully completed year two of the NCAA probationary period and had been granted a waiver for year three of the […]
Westmont hosted more than 70 evangelical students, professors, and nationally recognized experts from across the country for the second consecutive summer to address the global challenge of climate change on June 16-21. “Faith. Climate. Action. A Workshop on Christian Climate Advocacy” equips students who care deeply about the environment to become leaders in their communities […]
About 200 of the best high school baseball players from Southern California came to Westmont’s Carr Field to show off their talents in front of Major League Baseball scouts and coaches from Division I colleges June 24-26. Since 2010, Westmont has hosted the Area Code Tryouts, which are organized by the Milwaukee Brewers in this […]
Roy Lee, Santa Barbara County 1st District supervisor-elect and Carpinteria councilman, will spend the six months before he’s sworn into office listening to his constituents. He and his chief of staff, Wade Cowper, met for breakfast with Westmont’s executive team, including President Gayle D. Beebe, before touring the 111-acre campus by golf cart on June […]
Westmont alumnus and local resident Tim Beccue (’18) is back on campus, this time as a fellow of the Music Academy of the West. Since 2016, Westmont houses 140 exceptional young classical musicians each summer for the academy, which provides live events through Aug. 3. Visit musicacademy.org for a full calendar of concerts. “I have […]
Westmont’s Lead Where You Stand Conference delivered inspirational stories, helpful advice, and insightful conversation for the 173 attendees with the goal of “Pursuing the Greater Good in Challenging Times” from June 5-6 at the Montecito college. It featured keynote speakers Marcus ‘Goodie’ Goodloe, Dr. Charity Dean, Matthew Luhn, Gayle D. Beebe, David Brooks, Jeff Schloss, […]
“Dropping in three, two, one.” Then a drone, flying 150 feet high, released a plastic, hexagonal safety pod housing a blinking computer chip, amusing dozens of people gathered to watch one of two final presentations by the engineering design team on Lovik Field at Westmont. The craft, trailed by a parachute, hit the grass, and […]
Westmont hosted 450 attendees for the North American Coalition for Christian Admissions Professionals (NACAAP) Conference June 3-5. With the theme “Mi Casa, Su Casa,” the Montecito college led by Ceili Norling, admissions and marketing coordinator, rolled out the welcome mat, offering keynote talks and worship sessions with alumnus Dean Wilson (’97), Turner Foundation president and […]
Westmont alumna Ella Jennings (’23), education and outreach coordinator at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art, shares her paintings of luminous interiors in an exhibition, Abide with Me, at the Fireside Gallery at Trinity Lutheran Evangelical Church, 909 N. La Cumbre, open from 10 am – 2 pm on weekdays. “The everyday buildings we frequent […]
Westmont honored a number of employees for their outstanding contributions at the May 9 Faculty and Staff Appreciation Brunch, an annual ceremony that recognizes individual work anniversaries and accomplishments. President Gayle D. Beebe and members of the college’s executive team selected the recipients from a peer-nominated pool. An endowment set up by the late Bruce […]
Westmont’s Education Department honored its eight elementary and three secondary student teachers, who all earned California Preliminary Credentials, at the Celebration of Teaching event April 26 on campus. Interestingly, the three secondary teachers previously earned bachelor’s degrees in music at Westmont. The annual gathering also thanks cooperating teachers from Adams, Canalino, Carpinteria Family, Cleveland and […]
Two recent Westmont graduates, who served with UC Santa Barbara’s ROTC Program while students, have been commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army. Jacob Bailey (‘24) of Whitefish, Montana, and Jared Noh (‘24) of Glendale will continue their service in the Army afterthe summer. Bailey, who earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering, will join […]
Westmont was well represented at an annual scholarship awards celebration on May 20 at the UC Santa Barbara Multicultural Center. Seven future Westmont students were honored with $5,000 scholarships through the Program for Effective Access to College (PEAC). Six of the students plan on taking advantage of Westmont’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) […]
Mitchell Thomas, professor of theater arts, won a coveted Indy Award for Directing for his role in staging Godspell. The May 20 event was the first time the Santa Barbra Independent has hosted the awards since the pandemic. Thomas was most recently awarded an Indy for directing Pride and Prejudice in 2019. The jazz band […]
Westmont alumnus Dave Talbott (piano) leads the annual All-City Hymn Sing on Sunday, June 2, at 3 pm at Shoreline Community Church, 935 San Andres St. Talbott, the resident musician at the Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center for four decades, will lead attendees in an hour of singing everyone’s favorite hymns. Talbott, who lives at […]
A large crowd gathered inside and out for the opening of the annual juried exhibition of local artists, “[TBH]…To Be Honest,” at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. Los Angeles gallery owner Walter Maciel juried the exhibition of 45 works, selecting the winners for top cash prizes on May 16. The Tri-County Juried Exhibition is […]
Three Westmont alumni, Kenna Brase (‘22), Simeon Michelson (‘24), and Elizabeth Potter (‘22) have won prestigious Fulbright Scholarships to teach English outside the United States. Brase will serve in Turkey, Michelson in Azerbaijan, and Potter in Thailand. For Brase, the trip to Turkey is coming to fruition after a more than four-year delay due to […]
Jacob Guthrie, an incoming junior communication studies student, is not waiting for his Westmont degree to launch his own business. The young, tech-savvy entrepreneur, who turns 20 later this summer, founded 805MediaWorks, a marketing agency focused on Southern California’s thriving real estate market. The agency offers realtors, as well as other businesses, a wide range […]
It seems there’s no more difficult job these days than the college president. Not only have college campuses become battlegrounds for protestors of the Israel-Hamas War, but the value of higher education has come under fire. To be successful, they must inspire faculty, staff, students, and other constituencies, while upholding the ideals of the academy. […]
Westmont has assembled an inspirational group of renowned speakers for its 10th annual LEAD Where You Stand Conference June 5-6 at the college’s Global Leadership Center. David Brooks, New York Times columnist and bestselling author, headlines an exceptional and diverse group of speakers that includes: Gayle D. Beebe, Westmont president and author of The Crucibles […]
The gray skies and light drizzle were no match for the warm hearts and sunny disposition of the 320 members of Westmont’s class of 2024 and their loved ones. The ceremony, replete with prayer and songs of thanksgiving, offered a stark contrast to other college graduations across the country that have been canceled or marred […]
The exceptional talent of local artists will be on full display at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art for its annual Tri-County Juried Exhibition from May 16 to June 15. An opening reception for “[TBH]…To Be Honest,” featuring this year’s juror Walter Maciel, a Los Angeles gallerist, is May 16 from 4-6 pm. Maciel will […]
The Westmont Orchestra and the Westmont College Choir join forces in May for the college’s first combined tour. Traveling from Los Angeles to Northern California, about 120 students will perform scenes from “Elijah” by Felix Mendelssohn as well as other pieces. “It’s a big undertaking and will show the breadth of music at Westmont,” says […]
Students presented their findings from research projects that spanned topics from running on slanted surfaces, the effects of music on heart rate, subliminal advertising, and racial identity in study-abroad programs at the Spring Student Research Symposium on April 18 in the Winter Hall Atrium. Kim Denu, Westmont provost and dean of the faculty, spoke […]
Ava Kimmel, a junior soprano who is majoring in vocal performance at Westmont, won the Adult Vocal Division of the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation competition on April 28 at the Music Academy. The foundation provides financial assistance to students of the performing arts and to support music educational outreach organizations in the Santa Barbara community. […]
Westmont’s Daniel Patterson rewrote the baseball record book April 26 in Irvine, but the Warriors (33-15-3, 23-8-1 PacWest) fell out of contention for their first PacWest Conference Championship. Patterson belted two solo home runs in the first game – one in the fifth inning and another in the sixth. That brought his season total to […]
About 324 graduates will participate in Commencement on Saturday, May 4, at 9:30 am on Thorrington Field with 147 graduating with honors. About 50 Golden Warriors, who graduated in 1974, will march in the procession to celebrate their 50th reunion. Eleven nursing graduates will participate in the ceremony, two days after their pinning ceremony on […]
Two Westmont juniors, Rachael Todd of Nipomo and Levi Wicks of Huntington Beach, won David K. Winter Servant Leadership Awards for showing selflessness and humility as effective leaders. Angela D’Amour, dean of student engagement, introduced the 24th annual awardees on April 10 in Westmont chapel. The award recognizes the late David K. Winter, who served […]
Peyton Hendricks was the Westmont men’s golf team’s top finisher, tying for eighth place with a three-day score of 227 at the PacWest Men’s Golf Championship on Mauna Lani’s North Course on the Big Island. “Peyton improved his score every day with his best score being on the final day,” said Westmont’s head coach Josh […]
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. […]