Provost's Office Staff
Richard Pointer - Acting Provost
Dr. Pointer became Acting Provost on August 1, 2009.
Rick brings to the position a lifetime of experience within Christian higher education as student, alumnus, faculty member, and parent. A graduate of Houghton College, he earned his master’s degree and doctorate from The Johns Hopkins University in history and did post-doctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Following a dozen years of teaching at other Christian liberal arts colleges, he joined Westmont’s history department in 1994 and was chosen Social Science Division Teacher of the Year in 1997 and 2003. In March 2009 he was installed as the first holder of the Fletcher Jones Foundation Chair in the Social Sciences. An American historian, Rick has published two books, Protestant Pluralism and the New York Experience and Encounters of the Spirit: Native Americans and European Colonial Religion, as well as many articles. A member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies, he has served as president and vice president of the Conference on Faith and History and as an associate editor for Christian Scholar’s Review. Contact: pointer@westmont.edu
Phone: (805)565-6194
William Wright – Associate Provost
Dr. Wright serves Westmont in multiple capacities. He is responsible for institutional research of students and faculty and planning and budgeting for academic programs. He oversees the areas of Admissions, Athletics and Records as well as the Off-Campus Programs Office. He is a member of the President’s Executive Team and is the Association Liaison Officer for WASC. Previously he served the college in a faculty position in Psychology and then as Registrar. He has been the Associate Provost since 1999. Dr. Wright is an alum of Westmont (1972). He received an M.A. in Psychology from California State University, Los Angeles and a Ph.D. from Syracuse University in 1978 (also in psychology). Contact: wright@westmont.edu
Phone: (805) 565-7262
Tatiana Nazarenko - Dean of Curriculum and
Educational Effectiveness
Dr. Nazarenko joined Westmont College in 2010 as Dean of Curriculum and Educational Effectiveness. She works with all curricular and co-curricular departments on their assessment and program review plans. Previously, she served as Dean of Instruction and Assessment Liaison at Centralia College (WA) and held faculty positions at the University of Manitoba (Canada) and National University of Kyiv (Ukraine). She also brings to the position her experience in interdisciplinary research, global education and curriculum development gained at several educational institutions in the US and Canada. She received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Alberta (Canada) and her Ph.D. in English Philology from the National University of Kyiv. She holds masters’ degrees in Educational Leadership from the University of Washington and in English Studies and Education from the National University of Kyiv. Contact: tnazarenko@westmont.edu
Phone:(805) 565-6070
Barb Kennedy – Senior Administrative Assistant
Mrs. Kennedy has worked in the Provost’s Office since 2005. Among her wide ranging duties, she oversees the appointment calendars for the Dean and Associate Provost. She assists the department with all related faculty events and activities and is engaged in a variety of special projects for the office. She is a history graduate of UC Berkeley and also holds an MA. in Library Science from Cal State University San Jose. Contact: bkennedy@westmont.edu
Phone: (805) 565-6007