Welcome to the first of several Provost’s Reports, which will appear periodically through the summer and more regularly during the academic year. I hope this will be one way of informing you about the academic and co-curricular realms of Westmont.

As I was preparing this report, we all received the tragic word that Alex Moore had passed away. We begin the report, then, with a tribute to him, chosen from the words that his wife, Kirsten Moore, wrote for his memorial service.

Provost’s Reports will have three standard sections. The first, in the right-hand column, will be a summary of recent “Academic Accomplishments.” For this initial report, I have simply focused on the faculty awards given at Commencement, the promotion and tenure decisions made by the trustees, and some good news about a few alums. In the future I will include items from the monthly reports of achievements read at faculty meetings and other notable accomplishments.

The reports will regularly include some “Updates,” as I note new appointments and identify various initiatives in motion. They will often offer some personal “Reflections,” either my own or those of a colleague, as we endeavor to look at our mission from several angles, drawing upon the stories of our life together to define our common project. My reflections in this report come from my words to the Emmaus Road students during their Commissioning Ceremony. I offer it as a prayer for the summer, wherever your journeys take you.

In the short time that I knew Alex, I quickly came to understand why his passing is such a great loss to our community. During the last two weeks I have been called or approached by people from various corners of the country who simply wanted to convey their condolences to Kirsten and Westmont. As a tribute to his character and legacy, here are the words that Kirsten prepared for his memorial service:

Alex Moore

By Kirsten Moore

[continue reading tribute...]

Vice Provost

I am pleased that Patti Hunter has agreed to serve an additional year as the vice provost. She will continue with her current blended role, spending half of her time in the Provost’s Office and half of her time as professor of mathematics. During the course of the year, I will be assessing more closely the ways that the work has been distributed among administrators, as we consider the best ways of guiding the academic program. As part of her role this fall, Patti will provide some general oversight of the Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts while Chris Hoeckley is on the England Semester.

[continue reading more updates...]

I would like to offer a prayer for you as you launch your summer journeys down the many Emmaus Roads. Many of you will recognize the words of this prayer . . . but I’ll take my own circuitous path to get there.

During the week when I was deliberating over Westmont’s offer, I was in Israel as part of a review team for a semester-abroad program. [continue reading more...]