Westmont News

Sandra Richter, who has taught Old Testament at Asbury Theological, Wesley Biblical and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminaries as well as Gordon and Wheaton Colleges, is the new Robert H. Gundry professor in biblical studies at Westmont.

The ringed-planet Saturn will be the focus of this month’s free, public viewing Friday, Aug. 18, beginning about 8 p.m. and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. This summer has featured some of the best views of Saturn’s rings in nearly 15 years.

A three-day challenge match with a goal of $100,000 for Westmont student scholarships raised nearly five times that amount. Learning, Calling, Community and You, which launched May 9, brought in a total of $485,329 after a group of generous trustees matched donations. The campaign featured stories and videos of Westmont students.

Thirty high school students have arrived at Westmont to participate in Trailhead: Seeking God’s Call, a new youth theology institute led by the Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts, through July 8.

The third annual Westmont Academy for Young Artists (WAYA), an intensive two-week program for local musicians ages 10-18, is Aug. 7-18 at Westmont.  Tuition costs $1575 with a $25 application fee. Scholarships are available at wayamusic.com.

Jupiter rises into view during the monthly public viewing of the starts on Friday, June 16, beginning about 8 p.m. and lasting for several hours at the Westmont Observatory. This may be the final chance to see the planet with the college’s eight-inch refracting telescope during this summer’s viewings in Montecito.

Several young Westmont alumni have earned awards for academic achievement, to conduct research, and to serve globally and explore new career opportunities.

Westmont hosts 32 high school basketball teams from the state of Washington to San Diego in two separate tournaments June 23-25 and June 30-July 2 in Murchison Gym. The 44th annual High School Summer Varsity Basketball Tournament games are played on Fridays from 1-11 p.m., Saturdays from 8 a.m.-11 p.m. and Sundays from 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

A Westmont student has won a national science research award and six students presented their research from last summer to a regional section of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

Westmont kicks off its annual youth summer sports camps Monday, June 19, beginning with Sports Skills, which helps develop the motor skills of co-ed campers from ages 5-10, and girls soccer.

Nearly 5,000 family members and friends soaked in the pageantry of a Westmont Commencement that honored 300 graduates (103 with honors) during a drizzly morning May 6 at Carr Field. Paul Delaney, Westmont English professor, dubbed the occasion “making memories in the mist.”

The Westmont College Choir and Chamber Singers will visit Ventura and Los Angeles before flying to Northern Italy and Austria. The free performances will be Sunday, May 7, at 7 p.m. in First Presbyterian Church of Granada Hills, and Monday, May 8, at 7 p.m. in First United Methodist Church of Ventura.

Tremper Longman III, prolific author, popular speaker and beloved religious studies professor, is retiring from Westmont to be closer to his children and grandchildren on the East Coast.

A record 85 Westmont students will take part in 27 individual, new pieces of theater, dance and film at the Westmont Fringe Festival on April 20 and 23 at 7 p.m., April 21 at 8 p.m. and April 22 at 3 p.m. at various locations in and around Westmont’s Porter Theatre.

Carol Houston, who serves the Watts community as senior pastor of Bethel Unspeakable Joy Church, speaks at Westmont’s Commencement Saturday, May 6, at 9:30 a.m. on Carr Field. President Gayle D.

Westmont’s Spring Sing, a student-performed variety show and competition between residence halls, celebrates its 56^th anniversary on Saturday, April 1, at 6:30 p.m. at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

Fourteen graduating art majors will offer the capstone art projects, which span painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, performance and video, April 6-May 6 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. A free, public opening reception for “As of Yet Unknown” is Thursday, April 6, from 4-6 p.m.

The month of April features several free concerts with select ensembles of Westmont students and faculty. For more information, please call the music department at (805) 565-6040.

The Choral Masterworks Concert, featuring selections by Georg Philipp Telemann, Thomas Linley Jr. and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is Sunday, March 26, at 3 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 305 East Anapamu Street. Admission is $10, students are free. For more information, please contact the music department at (805) 565-6040.