The Fletcher Jones Foundation has awarded Westmont $1 million toward the creation of the college’s first endowed chair in the social sciences. The grant is being matched with a $500,000 gift from an anonymous donor to fully endow the chair.
Influential early 20th century English writer G.K. Chesterton will be the focus of a talk at Westmont Thursday, Oct. 18. Dale Ahlquist, president of the American Chesterton Society, will deliver a free lecture, “An Introduction to G.K. Chesterton,” in Hieronymus Lounge at 7 p.m.
A group of Westmont alumni and friends who began a chapter of The Chesterton Society in Santa Barbara in 2003 are sponsoring the event.
About 50 students are driving to Ensenada, Mexico, this weekend to volunteer at a Special Olympics there. The annual student-led trip started in 2003, a product of Potter’s Clay, the student-led service trip that celebrated its 30th anniversary last spring.
The Westmont students will help time events, hand out food, assist visually impaired athletes, and cheer for all the athletes at the Special Olympics in Ensenada.
Musicians from Santa Barbara and across the country will gather at Westmont for a Chamber Music Retreat and Master Class Friday, Oct. 19 through Monday, Oct. 22, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Cellist Nona Pyron, internationally known musician and adjunct professor at Westmont, has led the Master Class in Santa Barbara since 1999. Auditing positions are still available to the public for a small fee.
The violin-piano duo American Double will perform works by William Bolcom in conjunction with the national release of their CD, “The Bolcom Project,” Friday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m.
Timothy Kiho Park, associate professor of Asian mission and director of Korean studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, will speak on “The Korean Church and World Mission,” Thursday, Oct. 18, at 3:30 p.m. in Westmont’s Hieronymus Lounge. Refreshments will be available after the talk.