Tag archives: Westmont

Westmont Names New Provost
By Scott Craig   |   February 15, 2022

Kimberly Battle-Walters Denu, a stalwart of Christian higher education, takes over Westmont’s academic programs as the new provost beginning August 1. “We’re grateful to hire Kim Denu, a gifted leader, global scholar, and a recognized educator with 25 years of executive leadership experience in Christian higher education,” says President Gayle D. Beebe. “Deeply committed to […]

Talk to Explore Photography, Poetry
By Scott Craig   |   February 15, 2022

Randall VanderMey, Westmont professor of English, says that after four decades of resisting photography, he now uses this art form to write and share poetry with a completely new audience. He describes his approach at a Westmont Downtown Lecture, “Photography and Poetry: Against My Will,” on Thursday, February 17, at 5:30 pm at the Community […]

Turning Love of Westmont into a Field of Dreams
By Scott Craig   |   February 1, 2022

For more than half a century, the hulking figure of Phil Baker ’71 has traversed Westmont’s campus. As the longtime grounds manager with a familiar goatee and wide mustache, he has created breathtaking gardens and stunning athletic fields. He quietly retired last summer, preferring a tri-tip luncheon with a few dozen co-workers and family at […]

Westmont Opera Returns to the Stage with ‘Tender Land’
By Steven Libowitz   |   January 27, 2022

American composer Aaron Copland was inspired to write his opera The Tender Land when he saw Walker Evans’ famed Depression-era photographs and read James Agee’s “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.” Now, Westmont Opera is presenting the rarely seen 1954 work as its 2022 production at the Center Stage Theater, representing the school’s return to […]

Art Exhibition is ‘Amplifying the Between’
By Scott Craig   |   January 25, 2022

Santa Barbara artist Marie Schoeff explores a profound yet unpretentious relationship with nature and spirituality in a new exhibition, “Marie Schoeff: Amplifying the Between” at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art from through March 26.  Schoeff’s imagery, rooted in drawing, explores the ethereal, a transcendent space in a spiritual realm. Her strong sense of physical […]

SBUSD Puts Sports on Pause
By Nick Masuda   |   January 11, 2022

Instruction returned to campuses throughout Santa Barbara Unified School District on January 3, with a flurry of communications helping both staff and students navigate an expected rise in COVID-19 cases throughout the area. Superintendent Hilda Maldonado delivered a message to the district on January 3 that provided clarification on health protocols, as well as some […]

Richter Joins Top Bible Translation Team
By Scott Craig   |   January 4, 2022

Sandra Richter, Robert H. Gundry professor of biblical studies, serves on the New International Version (NIV) Committee for Bible Translation (CBT). Few women have joined the prestigious team translating the top-selling English-language Bible. “Knowing the reach of the NIV and the reputation of the excellent scholars already serving on the CBT, it was a quick […]

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 […]

Illustrator Chalks Up Another Milestone
By Scott Craig   |   January 4, 2022

A steady string of awards continues to paint an impressive career for Scott Anderson, Westmont professor of art. A jury has chosen his illustration commissioned by the Westmont College Festival Theatre, for the 64th annual exhibition of the New York Society of Illustrators, one of the most prestigious and competitive shows in the field of […]

Local Educator Earns Gold Star
By Scott Craig   |   December 14, 2021

Marianne D’Emidio-Caston, who served the local education community for more than three decades, received the Westmont Education Department’s 2021-22 Excellence in Education Award.  D’Emidio-Caston, who most recently directed student teaching at Antioch University Santa Barbara, spoke to Westmont education students, encouraging them to find a trusted, long-term professional partner to “grow with and, more generally, […]

Some ‘Salvation’
By Richard Mineards   |   December 14, 2021

The venerable Granada was socially gridlocked when Westmont College held its 17th annual Christmas Festival “Salvation For All” over two days given the demand for tickets. Michael Shasberger, Adams professor for music and worship, who is retiring in May after 16 years, created the hugely popular event and has directed it each year, normally at […]

Small Cars Offer Big Lessons for Budding Engineers
By Scott Craig   |   December 14, 2021

“Engineering is so hard you have to have fun,” said Dan Jensen, director of Westmont engineering, as small, remote-control cars zipped along the road in front of Kerrwood Hall. On December 6, students in Jensen’s Machine Design course raced their foot-long RC cars on a short, figure-eight racetrack as part of their coursework.  A few […]

Cuba to California: Hope and Faith Carry Sisters Safely to College
By Scott Craig   |   November 30, 2021

Two first-year students encountered setbacks and obstacles on their journey to Westmont. But as sisters Roxana and Rosario Montané traveled to Southern California from Havana, Cuba, they witnessed God’s provision.  “It’s important to always have faith, believe that you can do whatever you want to do and know that God is with you and is […]

Alive and Kicking into the National Tourney
By Scott Craig   |   November 23, 2021

For the third straight year, the Westmont women’s soccer team (10-1-5) will host an opening round of the NAIA National Championship Tournament on November 18 and 20 on Thorrington Field. The second-seeded Warriors will battle third-seeded Embry-Riddle (Arizona) on Thursday, November 18, at 1:30 pm. The top-seeded Southeastern (Florida) will play Marymount (California) on November […]

Christmas Festival Makes Its Granada Premiere
By Scott Craig   |   November 23, 2021

The 17th Annual Westmont Christmas Festival appears for the first time at Santa Barbara’s famed Granada Theatre on Saturday, December 4, at 7 pm and Sunday, December 5, at 3 pm. Tickets, which cost $20 each, go on sale Tuesday, November 23, at 5 pm at westmont.edu/festival. Each year, the festival celebrates the birth of […]

The College Calling
By Elliana Westmacott   |   November 22, 2021

Grounding oneself into the realm of Advanced Placement courses, heightened expectations, and overloaded schedules while beginning the search for one’s passions is not simple, to say the least. I’m in the middle of my junior year of high school and the looming idea of college that was always in the back of my mind has […]

Talk Examines Bolivian Child Workers
By Scott Craig   |   November 16, 2021

Elizabeth Gardner, Westmont assistant professor of communication studies, examines a protest by children and adolescents in South America on Thursday, November 11, at 7 pm in Westmont’s Global Leadership Center. The Paul C. Wilt Phi Kappa Phi Lecture, “Child Workers Redefining a Bolivian Childhood in the Código Niña, Niño y Adolescente,” is free and open […]

Museum Opens a Trove from Its Collection
By Scott Craig   |   November 16, 2021

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art, which moved from the confines of the Reynold’s Gallery to its current home in the Adams Center for the Visual Arts more than a decade ago, reveals the enormity of its holdings in “Academic, Barbizon, and Impressionist Artists: Highlights from the Permanent Collection” from November 11- December 18 in […]

Women’s Soccer Hosts Tournament
By Scott Craig   |   November 16, 2021

The No. 17 Westmont women’s soccer team hosts the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament beginning Thursday, November 11, with two semifinal games on Thorrington Field. Ottawa (Arizona) will play Hope International at 11 am and the Warriors, co-champions of the GSAC regular season, will battle The Master’s at 1:30 pm. The winners will face off […]

‘Crossing the Chasm’ Author to Speak at Luncheon
By Scott Craig   |   November 9, 2021

Geoffrey Moore, a bestselling author, speaker, and adviser, whose work focuses on the market dynamics caused by disruptive innovation, speaks at a Mosher Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership luncheon on Friday, November 5, from 12-1:30 pm in the Simmons Center of Westmont’s Global Leadership Center. A limited amount of in-person tickets, which cost $100 […]