FUNDRAISING
With a Lot of Help and Heart from Our Friends
The Westmont community, including alums, parents, faculty, staff and friends, has blessed the college with generous gifts supporting a variety of programs on campus. You make Westmont stronger and open the doors for many students to benefit from a transformative Christian liberal arts education.
Honoring Scholarship Donors
In February, Westmont hosted the President’s Annual Scholarship Appreciation Luncheon to celebrate the life-changing nature of endowed and annual scholarships by uniting donors with the students they support.
President Gayle D. Beebe shared encouraging highlights from the college. He then introduced Jennifer Kilungga ’27, Miles Ozorio ’25 and Rebeca Perez Sanchez ’27, who shared about their experiences as students. The Westmont Chamber Singers, led by Micah Howard ’25, performed for the guests.
“The event served as a visible reminder of how the Lord provides for Westmont students through the generosity of those present and many across the country who were unable to attend,” says Sarah Camp, assistant vice president for advancement. “The joyful luncheon concluded with each guest receiving a wooden bookmark with an engraved image of the Westmont fountain, handcrafted from the redwood tree that once stood on Kerrwood Lawn. Sickened by drought, the tree continued to be beautiful until it had to come down. The token reminds us that God can produce beauty in all circumstances as we help students thrive and pursue God’s calling.”
Westmont Wednesday Inspires Donors
In one short week, April 9 through April 16, the Westmont community contributed a total of $249,119 to the college. Every gift to the Westmont Fund during that time helped secure a generous $100,000 challenge match to provide the resources students need to thrive at Westmont. Alums, parents, faculty, staff and friends responded generously to remove financial obstacles for students so they can realize their dream of a Westmont education.
Celebrating Friends Leaving a Legacy to Westmont
The Wallace Emerson Society recognizes alums, parents and friends who have included Westmont in their wills or estate plans. Created in 1993, the society honors the college’s founding president, Wallace Emerson. During the 2024-2025 fiscal year, 32 new friends have joined the society, bringing the total of living members to 847.
Do you need a will? If so, Westmont encourages you to check out FreeWill (freewill.com/westmont) before June 30. For two years, the college has paid to provide the community with access to a no-cost, easy-to-use tool for creating a will or trust to help you provide for loved ones and express your deepest values. That offer will soon end.
Your Gifts at Work
The active involvement of generous friends supports a wide variety of important projects and improvements, including exciting developments in engineering and music.
Roy G. Johnston Family Center for Engineering and Culture
This year, Rob Johnston and his wife, Cathy Barsotti, paid tribute to Rob’s father, Roy G. Johnston, by establishing the Johnston Family Center for Engineering to honor Roy’s legacy as a giant in the field of structural engineering. Cofounder of one of the country’s most prominent structural engineering firms, he was a leader in the field for nearly 70 years. His firm constructed more than 20,000 buildings, and his wide-ranging engagement with building codes and seismic safety influenced safety standards nationally and globally. His body of contributions included shaping the skyline of Los Angeles. Roy served on Westmont’s Board of Trustees for 25 years and spent 16 as chair. His daughter, Judith, had attended Westmont.
Westmont’s Bachelor of Science program in general engineering provides diverse technical content, enhancing job opportunities and options for graduate school. “We take our technical competence and the foundation of our Christian liberal arts education and put them together to love people well in the name of Jesus,” says Dan Jensen, director of Westmont engineering. “That’s engineering at Westmont.”
In recent years, gifts from donors have established the Fletcher Jones Foundation Center for Engineering on campus and an endowed chair: the James R. and Eleanor S. Allder chair in science and technology, which Jensen now holds.
Revitalizing Deane Chapel
The college’s impressive music program engages more than 125 students in 50 courses and eight ensembles, including orchestras, choirs and smaller groups. The department also serves the local community by joining performances of the Santa Barbara Symphony and educating local musicians through the Westmont Academy for Young Artists.
Historic Deane Chapel serves as a concert hall and music classroom. The four Arts and Crafts buildings that once housed the prestigious Deane Preparatory Boarding School (1912-1934), include Deane Chapel, Santa Barbara County Historical Landmark No. 16. All music classes, choir rehearsals and performances on campus occur in two former Deane School buildings. But the chapel offers just 1,144 square feet of usable space. Westmont donors, including the Hind Foundation and the Alice Tweed Tuohy Foundation, fund renovations to restore historic features and improve the chapel’s functionality and capacity.
These improvements will expand the multipurpose nature of Deane Chapel, creating a larger recital hall, recording space, lecture hall, rehearsal space and spacious classroom. Updated technology will allow instructors teaching music theory, history and appreciation to incorporate the latest digital materials in their classes. Much-needed upgrades include new lighting, audio-visual enhancements and storage. Reorienting the room will allow for more efficient use of space.
Music lovers are welcome to support this work, which will expand seating capacity from 80 to 120 attendees and help Deane Chapel serve as the venue for a chamber series.
For more information and to make a gift of
any amount to communicate your support
for Westmont’s mission and vision, visit westmont.edu/donate.
To learn more, contact Reed Sheard, vice president for college advancement.
This is a story from the Spring 2025 Westmont Magazine