News and Events
Alumna Uses Café to Combat Gangs in SF
Westmont alumna Teresa (Moore) Goines ’97 and members of Old Skool Café, a supper club/internship program, launched by Goines to help neighborhood youth avoid gangs, drugs and crime, will speak at several college events Feb. 9-11. The event, which celebrates Black History Month, is sponsored by Westmont’s Black Student Union and San Francisco Urban, an off-campus Westmont program in San Francisco, featuring vocationally-oriented internships and study in urban issues, such as human trafficking and homelessness. [more]
Talk Delves Deep Into Mexican Life, Culture
Professors Mary Docter and Laura Montgomery, who have developed and led Westmont in Mexico, a semester-long academic program in Querétaro, present a lecture, “Westmont in Mexico: A Deeper Encounter with Mexican Life and Culture,” Thursday, Feb. 11, at 5:30 p.m. in University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St. The lecture, part of Westmont Downtown: Conversations About Things That Matter, is free and open to the public. [more]
Poet Starkey Holds Reading, Booksigning
Santa Barbara Poet Laureate David Starkey will read his poetry at a booksigning event Thursday, Feb. 25, at 3:30 p.m. in Westmont’s Hieronymus Lounge inside Kerrwood Hall. Starkey, director of the Creative Writing Program at Santa Barbara City College, is the current poet laureate of the City of Santa Barbara. The reading is free and open to the public. [more]
High Schools to Battle in Math Super Bowl
About 80 students from 10 Southern California high schools will compete in the 23rd annual High School Mathematics Contest Saturday, Feb. 6. The contest begins at 1 p.m. with a Chalk Talk Derby, written exams and a fast-paced team competition with buzzers modeled after the once-popular College Bowl TV show. Finals will get under way beginning at 4 p.m. in Porter Theatre. Dinner and an awards ceremony with Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Kerr Student Center. [more]
Students Raise Choir Funds with ‘Godspell’
More than a dozen Westmont students of varying backgrounds and majors perform the 1970’s rock musical “Godspell” Friday, Jan. 29 – Saturday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 31, at 3 p.m. in the gym at Montecito Covenant Church. The show is a fundraiser for the Westmont College Choir’s tour in May, which will take the group through California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $5 for [more]
Diving Into Beckett and Absurd Theatre
Westmont Theater performs “PlayBeckett,” six short plays by Irish playwright Samuel Beckett, one of the most widely discussed and highly prized of 20th century authors, Thursday, Jan. 28, and Friday, Jan. 29, at 7 and 9 p.m. Ticket are $7 general admission, $5 students/seniors for one bill of plays; $10 general admission, $7 for students/seniors for two bills of plays. For tickets or more information, please call (805) 565-7040. [more]
Bird Conservation Leader to Share Stories
Glenn Olson, a national leader in wildlife conservation and habitat restoration, speaks about “Adventures in Stewardship and Conserving Creation” in a free, public lecture Thursday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge in Kerrwood Hall. [more]
Sheard Promoted to VP of Advancement
Reed Sheard has become vice president of college advancement and chief information officer at Westmont, assuming the management of the college’s fundraising, communication and external relations programs in addition to overseeing Information Technology. “Reed brings an extensive background in sales and marketing to this assignment,” says President Gayle D. Beebe. [more]
Reading to Honor Poet William Stafford
Paul Willis, Westmont professor of English, hosts a fourth annual community reading in the Los Padres National Forest, “Remembering William Stafford,” Saturday, Jan. 30, at 2 p.m. at the First Crossing Day Use Area on Paradise Road off Highway 154 in Santa Barbara County. Featured readers include local poets Nancy Lee and Bruce Schmidt. Members of the community are invited to share their favorite Stafford poems as well. [more]
Exhibiting the Meditative Nature of Stones
Two Japanese-themed exhibitions open the new year in Westmont’s Reynolds Gallery. “American Viewing Stones: Selections from the James and Alice Greaves Collection” showcases a contemporary adaptation on traditional Japanese suiseki or scholar’s stones. “Kiyoshi Saito Prints” highlights work by an influential Japanese artist that’s part of the college’s permanent collection. Both exhibitions open with a free, public reception on [more]
Gallery Raises Funds for Mozambique Cause
In the first exhibition of the season, Reynolds Gallery used art to draw attention to the continuing problem of poverty by pairing 36 etchings by Rembrandt of the poor in 17th century Holland with eight oversize color photographs by South African artist Zwelethu Mthethwa of the poor and marginalized in present-day Mozambique. The images confronted gallery visitors with bright depictions of miners working in very poor conditions [more]
Warriors Give Moore 400th Win
Westmont Men’s Basketball (6-2) posted a 78-61 over the Keelhaulers of Cal State Maritime (7-8) to hand Warrior Head Coach John Moore the 400th win of his career. The milestone came in Moore’s 500th game as Westmont’s head coach. “It is a privileged to come back and coach at my alma mater and coach in the footsteps of a hero of mine – Chet Kammerer,” said Moore. “Overall, it’s just a sign of having good teams over a long period of time. [more]
Festival Spreads Peace Through Music
More than 2,400 people packed into First Presbyterian Church Dec. 4-6 during three performances of the Westmont Christmas Festival, “And In This Place Will I Give Peace.” The popular program, which interweaves music and narration, sold out days in advance. In its fifth year, the free event showcases the college’s diverse musical talents and Christian traditions while ringing in the advent season. Between songs, student-orators [more]
Independent Names Blondell A Local Hero
The Santa Barbara Independent has named John Blondell, Westmont theater arts professor and artistic director of Lit Moon Theatre Company, a 2009 Local Hero. The weekly publication describes Blondell as a theatrical visionary. “In addition to producing innovative shows both in Santa Barbara and at theater festivals around the world, Lit Moon has become the sponsor of a series of Shakespeare and world theater festivals that bring to Santa Barbara [more]
Newton Named to Freedoms Foundation
David Newton, Westmont Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance, has been named to the board of directors of a prestigious national educational organization. Newton formally joins the Board of Directors for The Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge at its semi-annual meeting Sept. 25-27 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. “My appointment is specifically focused on developing two very innovative national entrepreneurship education initiatives for the more than [more]
Schloss Awarded Endowed Science Chair
The T.B. Walker Foundation, an anonymous donor and other friends have committed $1.5 million to Westmont to create the college’s first endowed chair in the natural and behavioral sciences. The T.B. Walker Chair in the Natural and Behavioral Sciences will honor the work of an outstanding professor in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering-physics, mathematics or psychology. Jeff Schloss, distinguished professor of biology, will be the first scientist to hold the new position. Internationally known for his prolific scholarship on interactions between evolutionary theory and religious faith, [more]
Westmont Soars in the U.S. News Ranking
Westmont leaped 19 spots in this year’s ranking of the best liberal arts colleges according to U.S. News and World Report’s “American’s Best Colleges, 2010 Edition.” Of the nation’s 266 liberal arts colleges, Westmont finished at 92. [more]