Westmont News

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  • Get Spaced Out at Monthly Star Party

    October 15, 2024

    Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope takes aim at Saturn and a supermoon at this month’s free public stargazing event on Friday, Oct. 18, beginning about 7 p.m. and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. The college hosts a monthly star party on the third Friday of each month in conjunction with the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit.

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  • Rocks of Remembrance

    October 7, 2024

    On the morning of March 27, 1989, Westmont students Lisa Bebout, Patty (Hallock) Crosby, Megan (Harter) Adams, Alan Voorman and Garth Weedman drove in Voorman’s bright yellow Toyota Corolla from their camp in Ensenada, Mexico, to a nearby village. As members of the Potter’s Clay Construction Team, they were renovating a dilapidated house there. But an oncoming car suddenly jumped the divider and landed on top of Voorman’s vehicle. Fellow students in two cars behind them screeched to a halt and piled out to rescue their friends as ambulances rushed to the scene.

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  • Former Provost Offers a Hopeful Middle

    October 7, 2024

    Polarization in our culture and politics has led to division, tension and hostility in our churches, workplaces and even our families. Shirley Mullen, former Westmont provost and history professor, encouraged the Westmont community to instead claim the powerful, redemptive potential of the courageous middle.

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  • Westmont Ranks Among Premier National Colleges

    September 24, 2024

    For two decades, U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges list has ranked Westmont as the top Christian liberal arts college in California and the Western U.S. Westmont remains one of the top Christian liberal arts colleges in California, listed among 10 other liberal arts schools. Overall, it is one of only two nationally ranked in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. In the 2025 edition of U.S. News, Westmont appears at No. 108 (tied) among all national, not regional, liberal arts colleges.

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  • Beebe to Join Global Church in Korea

    September 20, 2024

    Westmont President Gayle D. Beebe will be a delegate at the Fourth Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization on Sept. 22-28 in Incheon, South Korea. He has served as a college president for more than 25 years (18 at Westmont) and received his invitation through the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities. Beebe joins about 5,000 delegates from around the world, including thousands more attending virtually, making it the largest representation since the movement began in 1974.

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  • Stargazers Catch a Glimpse of Saturn

    September 19, 2024

    The planet Saturn will be the star of the show on Friday, Sept. 20, from 7:30-10 p.m. at the Westmont Observatory. “If you haven't seen this unique planet and its rings through a telescope before, I highly encourage you to come out and join us,” says Jen Ito, assistant professor of physics and director of the observatory. “Saturn is my favorite planet to see through a telescope."

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  • Lunar Event Canceled Due to Poor Weather

    September 9, 2024

    The public is invited to join Westmont’s astrophysics students to learn more about the moon on NASA’s International Observe the Moon Night on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at the Westmont Observatory.

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  • Study Finds Immediate Benefit to Churchgoers

    September 2, 2024

    Regular weekend attendance to a religious service creates an immediate increase in positive emotions as well as a decrease in negative ones, according to a new study of U.S. adults. Researchers found there was no change in the emotional well-being of non-regular attendees.

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  • 400 Warriors Arrive at Westmont

    August 19, 2024

    About 400 new incoming students, including the Grotenhuis Nursing cohort of 24, arrive at Westmont to begin their first week of Orientation, Aug. 21-25, and the start of the fall semester, Aug. 26. Watch the Orientation video here

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  • Exhibition Offers Glowing ‘Night Visions’

    August 15, 2024

    Duncan Simcoe, a Southern California artist and former chair of the College of Architecture, Visual Arts and Design at California Baptist University in Riverside, offers his signature limited-palette paintings on dark construction-grade tar paper in “Night Visions: The Black Drawings of Duncan Simcoe, 2014-2024” from Aug. 29–Nov. 9 in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. Meet the artist at a free, public opening reception on Thursday, Aug. 29, from 4-6 p.m.

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  • Stargazers to Enjoy Summer Viewing

    August 13, 2024

    Westmont’s monthly stargazing event features a triangle asterism, a globular cluster and a waxing moon on Friday, August 16, from 8-10:30 p.m. and lasting several hours at the Westmont Observatory. Along with the college’s powerful Keck Telescope, members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit bring their telescopes to share with the public.

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  • Jarrett to Lead ICP

    July 30, 2024

    Iyree Jarrett ’22 is the only student to have appeared on the cover of the Westmont magazine twice. She was featured as a student-athlete who best exemplified leadership and as the star guard for the National Championship winning women’s basketball team.

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  • Golf Classic Supports Student Scholarships

    July 17, 2024

    The Westmont Golf Classic, a charity golf tournament started in 2008 to raise funds for student scholarships, returns Friday, Oct. 4, at the Glen Annie Golf Club, 405 Glen Annie Road in Goleta. Registration is $200 per golfer and includes: 18 holes of golf with cart; tri tip BBQ dinner, on-course games, raffles and awards. Additional dinner guests are $50 each. To register, or for more information, please visit westmont.edu/golf-classic.

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  • Cellist Returns to Perform at MAW

    June 25, 2024

    Westmont alumnus and local resident Tim Beccue ’18 has returned to campus as a fellow of the Music Academy of the West. Each summer since 2016, Westmont has housed 140 exceptional young classical musicians for the academy, which provides live events through Aug. 3. Visit musicacademy.org for a full calendar of concerts.

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  • Storytellers Shine at LEAD Conference

    June 21, 2024

    Westmont’s Lead Where You Stand Conference delivered inspirational stories, helpful advice and insightful conversation for the 173 attendees with the goal of “Pursuing the Greater Good in Challenging Times” June 5-6 at the Montecito college. It featured keynote speakers Marcus ‘Goodie’ Goodloe, Dr. Charity Dean, Matthew Luhn, Gayle D. Beebe, David Brooks, Jeff Schloss and Kim Denu.

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  • Senior Engineers Drop Final Project

    June 10, 2024

    “Dropping in three, two, one.”

    Then a drone, flying 150 feet high, released a plastic, hexagonal safety pod housing a blinking computer chip, amusing dozens of people gathered to watch one of two final presentations by the engineering design team on Lovik Field at Westmont.

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  • College Honors Its Employees of the Year

    May 30, 2024

    Westmont honored a number of employees for their outstanding contributions at the May 9 Faculty and Staff Appreciation Brunch, an annual ceremony that recognizes individual work anniversaries and accomplishments. President Gayle D. Beebe and members of the college’s executive team selected the recipients from a peer-nominated pool. An endowment set up by the late Bruce and Adaline Bare funds the awards; he was a longtime college trustee. Westmont Human Resources hosted the brunch.

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  • ‘Godspell’ Director Earns Praise

    May 28, 2024

    Mitchell Thomas, professor of theater arts, won a coveted Indy Award for Directing for his role in staging “Godspell.” The May 20 event was the first time the Santa Barbra Independent has hosted the awards since the pandemic.

    Thomas was most recently awarded an Indy for directing “Pride and Prejudice” in 2019.

    The jazz band Helios also won an Indy for its live performance in “The Capulet Black-and-White Ball,” John Blondell’s version of “Romeo and Juliet.” Helios is lead by saxophonist Simon Blondell, the son of John. 

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  • A Celebration of Student Scholarships

    May 28, 2024

    Westmont was well represented at an annual scholarship awards celebration on May 20 at the UC Santa Barbara Multicultural Center. Seven future Westmont students were honored with $5,000 scholarships through the Program for Effective Access to College (PEAC). Six of the students plan on taking advantage of Westmont’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) fast-track program, earning two degrees in four-and-a-half years, while one will major in computer science.

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  • Recent Grads to Serve in Army

    May 24, 2024

    Two recent Westmont graduates, who served with UC Santa Barbara’s ROTC Program while students, have been commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army. Jacob Bailey ’24 of Whitefish, Montana, and Jared Noh ’24 of Glendale will continue their service in the Army after the summer.

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  • Local Artists Awarded at ‘TBH’

    May 21, 2024

    A large crowd gathered inside and out for the opening of the annual juried exhibition of local artists, “[TBH]...To Be Honest,” at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. Los Angles gallery owner Walter Maciel juried the exhibition of 45 works, selecting the winners for top cash prizes May 16. The Tri-County Juried Exhibition is open through June 15.

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  • Three Alumni Earn Fulbright Awards

    May 14, 2024

    Three Westmont alumni, Kenna Brase ’22 of Foothill Ranch, Simeon Michelson ’24 of Nashville, Tennessee, and Elizabeth Potter ’22 of Cheney, Washington, have won prestigious Fulbright Scholarships to teach English outside the United States. Brase will serve in Turkey, Michelson in Azerbaijan and Potter in Thailand.

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  • Commencement Offers Promise of Joy Everywhere

    May 7, 2024

    (Above: Student Awardees Eden Lawson, Alex Armstrong, Zach Hauw, Logan Thompson, Anneline Breytenbach and Katherine Knapp)

    The gray skies and light drizzle were no match for the warm hearts and sunny disposition of the 320 members of Westmont’s class of 2024 and their loved ones. The ceremony, replete with prayer and songs of thanksgiving, offered a stark contrast to other college graduations across the country that have been canceled or marred by violent protests over the Israel-Hamas war.

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  • College President Reflects on Crucible Moments

    May 7, 2024

    College presidents are highly visible and vulnerable, serving on the frontlines to respond to events both on and off campus, inspiring faculty, staff, students and other constituencies, and upholding the ideals of the academy. Some do it well, and some don’t. The presidency of an institution of higher education has been deemed by some as the toughest job in our nation because they continually face stress-inducing events, which may become life-altering, transforming crucibles.

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  • ‘TBH’: Exhibition Shines Light on Local Talent

    May 3, 2024

    (Above: Nina Warner's painting "Shot House, Kharkiv, 2022")

    The exceptional talent of local artists will be on full display at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art for its annual Tri-County Juried Exhibition May 16-June 15. An opening reception for “[TBH]...To Be Honest,” featuring this year’s juror Walter Maciel, a Los Angeles gallerist, is May 16 from 4-6 p.m. Maciel will announce his award winners at 5:15 p.m.

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  • Celebrating Outstanding 2024 Grads

    May 1, 2024

    Each year before Commencement, Westmont’s annual Academic Awards Celebration reminds us of the joy of accomplishment and the opportunity we have to excel and fulfil the full range of gifts and abilities God has given us.

    In the ancient world as now, excellence speaks to those who have persevered, who faced adversity, and who have risen above every challenge to cultivate the gifts God has given them,” said President Gayle D. Beebe. “It is also an opportunity to honor those who work so hard and so well.”

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