Westmont News

The Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge will honor David Newton, Westmont professor of entrepreneurial finance, with one of the 31st Annual Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Awards for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education at the March 7-8 Leavey Summit and Awards Dinner in Pennsylvania. Newton was the only winner this year in the college and university category.

Local college professors, publishers and fans will remember poet William Stafford at a public gathering Saturday, Jan. 26, at 2 p.m. in the Los Padres National Forest. The second annual Remembering William Stafford: A Community Reading will be held at the First Crossing Day Use Area on Paradise Road off of Highway 154 and across the road from the Los Prietos Boys Camp at 3900 Paradise Road.

The event is free and no day use fees are necessary to attend the reading.

Professors will practice what they teach in the Westmont Art Faculty Show on display in Reynolds Gallery Thursday, Jan. 17, through Friday, Feb. 29. An opening reception Jan. 17, 4-6 p.m., is open to the public.

Westmont students will present a fanciful production of Stephen Sondheim’s fairytale musical “Into the Woods.” The family-friendly show will run Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25 and 26 and Feb. 1 and 2 at 7 p.m. with a matinee Sunday, Feb. 3, at 3 p.m. at the Notre Dame School, 33 E. Micheltorena in downtown Santa Barbara. Admission is $12 for adults, $5 for children and $7 for students, and will benefit the choir’s May tour in Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Westmont will connect the past to the present with a free multimedia presentation about the civil rights movement Wednesday, Jan. 16, through Friday, Jan. 18, in Monroe Dining Hall from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. “From Past to Present: A Civil Rights Walk Through in Honor of Martin Luther King Day” will feature posters, writings, artwork, speeches and a continuously running film, “Eyes on the Prize.”

Multiracial people constitute the fastest-growing racial category in the United States. Paul Spickard, professor of history, Asian American studies, and religion at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will discuss “What Are You? Multiracial People Negotiating the Identity Issue” at a free lecture Friday, Jan. 11, at 3:30 p.m. in Kerrwood Hall’s Hieronymus Lounge. Refreshments will be served at 3:15 p.m.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle reaffirmed the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’ 5-0 vote in February approving Westmont’s Master Plan. After a hearing this afternoon, the Santa Barbara County judge denied a petition by opponents who filed a law suit against the county and Westmont in March.

Westmont biology professor Jeffrey Schloss has been awarded two grants to research complex issues related to science and faith. Westmont is one of 20 institutions awarded a $20,000 Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series (STARS) grant. Schloss will study the effects of religious worship on the human bonding hormone, oxytocin.

Professors will practice what they teach in the Westmont Art Faculty Show on display in Reynolds Gallery Thursday, Jan. 17, through Friday, Feb. 29. An opening reception Jan. 17, 4-6 p.m., is open to the public.

Four student venture teams from Westmont’s entrepreneurship class presented their start-up business plans to a panel of outside reviewers, but in the end, one team ran away from the competition. Zipperz LLC, an innovative new trend in the casual shoe industry, claimed first place at the competition in Hieronymus Lounge in Kerrwood Hall Dec. 6.

Four student venture teams from Westmont’s entrepreneur class will present their start-up business plans to a panel of outside reviewers Thursday, Dec. 6, at 5:30 p.m. at Hieronymus Lounge in Kerrwood Hall. The 18th annual Westmont Collegiate Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition is free and open to the public. Networking and refreshments will begin at 5 p.m.

A group of Westmont students brought attention to World AIDS Week by placing hundreds of small signs depicting children on Kerrwood Lawn, Monday and Tuesday Nov. 26-27. The placards represented the 600 children orphaned by AIDS every day.

Ron Enroth, Westmont sociology professor, has been interviewed for a television program which airs on A&E, Sunday, Dec. 2, at 5 p.m.

Westmont students organized a silent auction that raised more than $5,000 for after-school programs for low-income Santa Barbara youngsters. The money from Auction for Eastside Alternatives goes to the Montecito family YMCA, whose territory includes the Lower Eastside.

The Westmont Jazz Ensemble will present an eclectic night of original and traditional jazz in a free recital Friday, Dec. 7, at 5 p.m. in Deane Chapel on lower campus.

The program will include several challenging bebop-era chestnuts, including Miles Davis's "Little Willie Leaps," Bud Powell's "Hallucinations," and Clifford Brown's "Daahoud," as well as a funky version of Herbie Mann's "Memphis Underground" and Mongo Santamaria's foot-tapping Latin-jazz standard, "Come Candela (Eat Fire)."

Westmont’s computer science department has awarded three students National Science Foundation scholarships. Junior Michael Gardner and sophomores Sarah Coburn and Jonathan Tropper each received $6,000.

“The scholarship is a great help, allowing me to continue studying at Westmont,” says Gardner. “It also encourages us to be involved more in the computer science major.”

Westmont biology students will teach local teens during a free, interactive exhibition of research projects Friday, Dec. 7, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in Whittier Science Building, room 102. Biology Bash is limited to the first 20 high school students who sign up.

Westmont’s Third Annual Christmas Festival has sold out. The program will feature traditional and contemporary holiday music performed by Westmont’s Chamber Orchestra and multiple choirs, as well as dance, dramatic readings and visual art. There will be performances at First United Methodist Church, 305 East Anapamu (at Garden Street): Friday, Nov. 30, and Saturday, Dec. 1, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 2, at 3 p.m.

Westmont kicks off the Christmas season with the sixth annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Kerrwood Lawn, Wednesday, Nov. 28. The lights on the 150-foot redwood tree, affectionately known as The Giant Pickle, will glow at 5 p.m.

Westmont professors are visiting local congregations to discuss how they integrate their faith into their work. The new program, Classroom to Congregation, is designed to provide learning opportunities and stimulate conversation at Central Coast churches.

Westmont’s Keck Telescope has provided color photographs of a rare celestial surprise in the northeastern evening sky. Comet 17P/Holmes in the constellation Perseus caught astronomers off guard when it suddenly brightened on October 24.

More than 30 students in a Westmont marketing class have organized an auction to raise funds for after-school programs for low-income Santa Barbara youngsters. Auction for Eastside Alternatives will feature vacation packages, golf outings, artwork, gift certificates and holiday gift ideas and much more on Friday, Nov. 16, from 7 p.m. at Chase Palm Park Center, 236 E. Cabrillo Boulevard. The silent auction ends promptly at 8:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The Westmont Wind Ensemble will give a free concert Wednesday, Nov. 14, 8p.m., at Montecito Covenant Church, 671 Cold Spring Road. Directed by Professor Paul Mori, the group is composed of several ensembles of woodwind and brassplayers. A wind quintet will perform work by Russian composers Anatol Liadov and IgorStravinsky, and an octet will play Ludwig van Beethoven’s Octet for Winds, opus 103.The program will also feature pieces by J.S. Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, and othersperformed by two flute quartets, a brass ensemble and a large ensemble combiningall of the musicians.

Get into the Christmas spirit early this year at Westmont’s Third Annual Christmas Festival. The free program will feature traditional and contemporary holiday music performed by Westmont’s Chamber Orchestra and multiple choirs, as well as dance, dramatic readings and visual art.

The Westmont student dance company, The Windancers, presents “Change” Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 15-17 at 8 p.m. in Porter Theatre. The dance recital will feature original pieces set to contemporary music, followed by a talk-back with the dancers and choreographers. Admission is $10, $5 for students and seniors.

Three intimate concerts on Westmont’s campus next week provide a chance to hear excellent music up close and get to know talented young musicians. Each event is free and open to the public.

The Composers’ Concert Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. in Deane Chapel will highlight original compositions by students. Faculty and students will collaborate in the performances, resulting in an eclectic and exciting evening of new music.

Local radio station KDB (93.7 FM) will be feature American Double on Santa Barbara in Concert, Sunday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. in a performance recorded Oct. 19 at Montecito Covenant Church.

Westmont professor and Santa Barbara author Marilyn Chandler McEntyre has recently released the third of three volumes of poems on the work of Dutch artists, Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Van Gogh. “In Quiet Light,” “Drawn to the Light,” and “The Color of Light,” offer readers reflections on their paintings.

Santa Barbara school board members axed many music programs this year due to budget constraints, following a nationwide trend of focusing on academics while neglecting the arts. Michael Shasberger, Westmont’s Adams professor of music and worship, will speak on “Reading, Writing and Music: Why Music Belongs at the Center of the Curriculum,” Thursday, Nov. 8, at 5:30 p.m. at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St.

Hollywood composer J.A.C. Redford has arranged a piece for Westmont ’s
Chamber Orchestra to be premiered Friday, Nov. 2, 8 p. m. at First Presbyterian
Church, Constance and State Street. The orchestra will also perform Sunday, Nov. 4,
7 p.m. at El Montecito Presbyterian Church, 1455 East Valley Road. These
performances are made possible in part by the generous support of Prudent i al
California Realty.

Acclaimed children's book artists C.F. Payne, Lisbeth Zwerger, and Gregory
Manchess will exhibit work in Reynolds Gallery's "Storytellers: Children's
Book Illustrators," Nov. 3 through Dec. 13. The artists will be available to
sign books at the family-friendly opening reception Saturday, Nov. 3, from 2
to 5 p.m.

The difficult life of author Richard Wright is the subject of a one-man play, “Black Boy,” to be performed by Charles Holt at Westmont’s Porter Theatre one night only, Thurs. Nov. 1, at 8 p.m. A suggested donation of $5 will benefit the student-lead group Racial Equality and Justice (REJ). The actor will hold an open forum in Hieronymus Lounge Friday, November 2, at 3:15 p.m. to discuss the production.

Visiting scholar Araceli Ardón will lecture on “The Caves of Altamira, Spain: A guided Tour of the Oldest Museum in the World” Thursday, Nov. 1, at 3:30 p.m. in Westmont’s Hieronymus Lounge. Ardón is one of the few people in the past three decades who have entered Altamira Cave, famous for its Upper Paleolithic paintings.

Ardón served as director of the Museum of Art in Querétaro, Mexico for eight years before getting the chance of a lifetime.

This month’s public viewing with Westmont’s Keck Telescope will include a free lecture by a world-renowned astronomer from Australia. Martin George, curator at the Launceston Planetarium of the Queen Victoria Museum, will speak on “Astronomy Down Under: Studying the Sky from Australia,” Friday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. in the Carroll Observatory lecture hall.

Six high school choirs will join four college groups for Westmont’s third annual Fall Choral Festival at First Presbyterian Church, Constance and State Street, Friday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The Westmont Theatre Department presents Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre in an acclaimed adaptation by Polly Teale Oct. 19, 20, 26 and 27 at 8 p.m. in Porter Theatre. They will also give matinees Oct. 18, 19, 25 and 26 for invited high school students in the first installment of the Found in Translation: Great Literature in the Theatre program.

President Gayle Beebe has welcomed long-time co-worker Doug Jones to Westmont as vice president for finance. Jones fills a position left vacant when Ron Cronk retired last year after working at the college for 22 years.

Jones was vice president of finance and administration at Spring Arbor University for the seven years Beebe served president there. Jones left his job as controller at Huntington College, his alma mater, in 2000 when Beebe recruited him to Spring Arbor University.

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.

Xuefeng Zhang joined the Westmont faculty this fall as an assistant professor of sociology. The native of China earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Harbin Normal University and his master’s degree in sociology at Nankai University before coming to study at the University of Minnesota in 1997.

Chemist Explains the Importance of Science

Surveys of Americans have revealed an ignorance of science. Educators, like Westmont chemistry professor Niva Tro, frequently call for more science instruction in the schools. Tro will speak on “The Importance of Science Literacy: Why Everyone Needs a Basic Understanding of Science,” Thursday, Oct. 11, at 5:30 p.m. at the University Club on Santa Barbara Street.

Professor Jorge L. A. Garcia will deliver the lecture “Racism as Vice: The Current Philosophical Debate,” Thursday, Oct. 4, at 3:30 p.m., in Westmont’s Hieronymus Lounge.

Chemistry professor Dr. Stephen Contakes, who joined the Westmont faculty this fall, hopes to influence student’s lives inside and outside the classroom. The Lehigh University alumnus is a bioinorganic chemist who focuses on metals in biology.

“The chemistry involved in activities such as thinking and moving contain metals which play a key role in the ways our bodies function,” he says. Contakes does research that replicates in non-natural systems the way these metals act.

Religious studies professor Caryn Reeder, who joined the Westmont faculty this fall, is anxious to begin conducting research on a new topic. She has spent much of the past year writing “The Enemy Within: Biblical and Intertestamental Traditions of Family Violence,” a dissertation she hopes to publish focusing on domestic violence in the Bible and other ancient texts.

“I’m ready to move beyond family violence and get into something more cheerful,” she says.