Tag archives: Gayle D. Beebe

Author Michael Lewis Headlines Breakfast
By Scott Craig   |   January 25, 2022

Michael Lewis, bestselling author of blockbuster books such as Moneyball and The Blind Side, speaks with Westmont president Gayle D. Beebe at the 17th annual President’s Breakfast Friday, March 4, 2022, from 7:30 am to 9 am in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Tickets cost $125 each and go on […]

An Innovator with a Global Vision
By Scott Craig   |   January 4, 2022

The Westmont Downtown semester program has become an important link between the college and the Santa Barbara community. With the acquisition last summer of a second building on Anapamu Street in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, Westmont has the opportunity to extend its reach even further. Rick Ostrander has assumed the new position of […]

Celebrating Gifts Worth More Than $15 Million
By Scott Craig   |   September 21, 2021

With great appreciation, Westmont announces two major gifts totaling more than $15 million, the two largest cash gifts in college history. In late August, Westmont received $8.2 million from Ed and Mollie Miller, the largest single gift ever. It supports the Paul Raymond Miller Scholarship Endowment, named in honor of Ed’s father and originally established […]

Drought Claims Beloved Pickle Tree
By Scott Craig   |   July 15, 2021

Long before Westmont founder Ruth Kerr decided to move the burgeoning college to the former Dwight Murphy Estate in Montecito, the grounds featured a wide array of mature trees. Today, many overarching trees still provide shade for walkways serenely wending their way through campus. One soaring redwood tree on Kerrwood Lawn was well-known for its […]

Education Department Earns Accreditation, Praise
By Scott Craig   |   July 12, 2021

The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing has given full accreditation to the Westmont College Department of Education. The site visit team report says through interviews with stakeholders and school partners, it is clear that the local school community benefits from graduates of Westmont’s education department. “Employers consistently spoke of their desire to hire Westmont program […]

Westmont Creates Region’s Only Accelerated Nursing Program
By Scott Craig   |   June 10, 2021

Amid a global pandemic and dire nursing shortage, Westmont’s proposed Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) arrives just in time to meet a great need not only in the Santa Barbara community, but also in California. The program, run in partnership with Cottage Health, received unanimous approval for its feasibility study from the California […]

Honoring the Persevering Class of 2021
By Scott Craig   |   May 13, 2021

Westmont’s determined and resilient class of 2021 will walk across the stage and celebrate Commencement in person on May 8, at 9:30 am on Thorrington Field in a special, socially distanced layout.  Sandra Richter, Westmont’s Robert H. Gundry professor of biblical studies, delivers the address, while President Gayle D. Beebe will present the Westmont Medal […]

Engineering Student Designs Honu Shirt Company
By Scott Craig   |   December 24, 2020

Growing up, Mark Szekrenyi ’23 fell in love with Hawaiian sea turtles while snorkeling during family vacations. “Their peaceful majesty created a lasting bond with me,” he says. On his last visit to Hawaii several years ago, he learned just how endangered the creatures were. In the last two decades, the population of green sea […]

Employees of the Year Honored at Brunch
By Scott Craig   |   June 6, 2019

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 […]

Grads Urged to Choose Paths of Love, Friendship
By Scott Craig   |   May 9, 2019

Despite gray skies and a light drizzle, thousands of family members and friends celebrated and cheered the 291 Westmont graduates, who received their diplomas at Commencement May 4.  President Gayle D. Beebe gave the Westmont Medals to Rev. Dr. Katherine Wiebe and Lindsay and Laurie Parton. Wiebe, a Christian pastoral psychotherapist at the Santa Barbara-based […]

Westmont Adds Four-Year Engineering Major
By Scott Craig   |   November 29, 2018

Westmont will offer a Bachelor of Science in engineering with a concentration in mechanical engineering beginning in fall 2019, blending a mix of courses in engineering, physics, mathematics, and chemistry and grounding the program in the college’s liberal arts tradition. The new major continues Westmont’s tradition of cultivating innovation, collaboration, problem-solving, and moral discernment in […]

New Program Promotes Public Dialogue
By Scott Craig   |   November 1, 2018

Two Westmont professors seek to encourage dialogue on difficult issues in the local community. Deborah Dunn, professor of communication studies, and Rachel Winslow, director of the Westmont Center for Social Entrepreneurship and assistant professor of history, have created the Westmont Initiative for Public Dialogue and Deliberation (WIPDD) to encourage citizens to participate in our democracy […]

New Center Examines U.S. Democracy
By Scott Craig   |   August 23, 2018

Westmont’s new Center for American Democracy will help students understand the unique ideas, ideals, institutions, and practices of democracy in the United States. The center begins launching programs in fall 2018 thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous couple with new ties to the college. “We often read about fledgling democracies where entrenched tyrants […]

Goggles, Golf Clubs Coming to Westmont
By Scott Craig   |   July 26, 2018

Westmont will offer women’s swimming and men’s and women’s golf beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year, bolstering an already successful collegiate athletic program. The college earned sixth place in the 2018 NAIA Learfield Directors Cup final standings, the best finish in its 80-year history. The cup measures overall success by awarding points to each sport […]

Westmont Takes Int’l Trade to Singapore
By Scott Craig   |   June 21, 2018

Seventeen Westmont students are studying in Singapore for two months as part of Westmont’s new May term in Singapore. “It’s a remarkably fascinating time to be studying international trade and finance and going to Asia in the middle of a looming trade war,” says Paul Bradford, adjunct professor of economics and business, who will teach […]

Lisea Named New Campus Pastor
By Scott Craig   |   May 31, 2018

Westmont has named alumnus Scott Lisea ’88 as the new campus pastor and assistant to the president for church and community relations. He has served as head of school for Providence Christian School in Santa Barbara since 2015. Lisea begins July 1, and replaces Ben Patterson, who has retired after more than 17 years of […]

Commencement Honors Courageous Class of 2018
By Scott Craig   |   May 10, 2018

About 328 students received diplomas at Westmont Commencement on May 5, but none with more courage than Connor McManigal, who was seriously injured but survived the January 9 mudslide in Montecito.  “He was literally swept out of his home and swept more than a mile downstream and ended up on the 101,” president Gayle D. […]

Westmont Hosts Leadership Conference
By Scott Craig   |   April 5, 2018

Keynote speakers Doris Kearns Goodwin, David Brooks, Lynda Weinman, and president Gayle D. Beebe share insights on effective and purposeful leadership in government, non-profit and for-profit sectors at the 2018 Lead Where You Stand Conference, June 6-8, at Westmont’s new Global Leadership Center. The three-day event, “Transformational Leadership in the 21st Century: Pursuing the Greater […]

Grant to Complete Science Renovations
By Scott Craig   |   March 29, 2018

The Fletcher Jones Foundation has awarded a $750,000 grant to Westmont for the second phase of renovation of Whittier Science Building, including classroom, laboratory, and storage spaces. The next phase of work will take place during the summer, so Whittier will be completely renovated by fall 2018. In 2014, the Fletcher Jones Foundation awarded a […]

Students Return, Classes Resume
By Scott Craig   |   January 18, 2018

Westmont reopened its campus for students January 16 and resumed classes January 17 after the voluntary evacuation on January 9 following the Montecito mudslides. The Westmont campus sustained no damage from the storm, but students were voluntarily evacuated after college officials learned of water restrictions that would affect food preparation and sanitation. Crews delivered portable […]