Westmont News

Religious believers who embrace accountability to God (or another transcendent guide for life) experience higher levels of three of the four variables of psychological well-being – mattering to others, dignity and meaning in their lives, though not happiness – according to a study from researchers with Baylor University, Westmont College and Hope College.

The Westmont Music Department holds its 10^th annual Instrumental Guild Competition with six finalists performing for college scholarships on Saturday, February 26, at 7 p.m. in Deane Chapel.

The Westmont College Festival Theatre and John Blondell, Westmont’s award-winning director and professor of theater arts, stage “The Miser, or the School for Lies,” Moliere’s funny, highly theatrical on-the-verge-of-the-absurd comedy Feb. 25-26, March 3-5 at 7:30 p.m., and March 5 at 2 p.m., all in Westmont’s Porter Theatre. Tickets are $10 for students and seniors, $15 for adults, and may be purchased online at westmont.edu/boxoffice.

Westmont’s 33^rd annual Mathematics Field Day, featuring seven Southern California high schools, is Saturday, Feb. 12 from 1-5:15 p.m. in Winter Hall. The awards banquet begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Global Leadership Center. The event, co-directed by Westmont mathematics professors Anna Aboud and Russell Howell, features student teams from Cate, Dos Pueblos, La Cañada, Oaks Christian, Providence, San Marcos and Santa Barbara.

Westmont announces the appointment of Kimberly Battle-Walters Denu as the college’s new provost beginning August 1, 2022.

Westmont senior Lexy Gillette, a double major in physics and chemistry, will attend the University of Oxford in the fall after earning the prestigious John and Daria Barry Foundation Scholarship. The award, given to about 10 students a year from select institutions, covers tuition, fees and living expenses, also provides a stipend and research and travel allowances for at least two years. Lexy, who will pursue a doctorate in inorganic chemistry, is one of the first few recipients in the natural sciences.

The Westmont women’s polo team, fresh off a 15-1 victory over cross-town rival UC Santa Barbara, rides into United States Polo Association Regionals on Friday, February 25, in Los Osos. The Warriors will face Stanford, who they beat earlier this season, Cal Poly, UC Davis, USC, UCSB, Oregon State, Montana State and Idaho State.

Michael Lewis, bestselling author of blockbuster books such as “Moneyball” and “The Blind Side,” speaks with Westmont president Gayle D. Beebe at the 17th annual President’s Breakfast Friday, March 4, 2022, from 7 a.m.- 9 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Tickets cost $125 each and go on sale Friday, Feb. 4, at 9 a.m.

Westmont presents Aaron Copland’s great 20th century American opera “The Tender Land” January 28 and 30 at 7 p.m. at Center Stage Theatre in Paseo Nuevo. Purchase tickets, which cost $15 for general admission, $10 for seniors or military, at the Center Stage box office at centerstagetheater.org. Please visit the Center Stage website to view the latest COVID-19 requirements.

A national study examines the link between perceived relationship with God and mental health from a sample of more than 1,600 Americans. The research suggests that religious believers who relate to God in an uncertain or anxious manner are more likely to experience symptoms of psychological distress, including anxiety, paranoia, obsession and compulsion.

Westmont College has received $20,000 toward scholarships for four students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from Edison International, the public utility parent company of Southern California Edison. The company has awarded this grant to Westmont every year since 2013.

Santa Barbara artist Marie Schoeff explores a profound yet unpretentious relationship with nature and spirituality in a new exhibition at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art from Jan. 13-March 26. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, there will not be an opening reception for “Marie Schoeff: Amplifying the Between." 

The Westmont Jazz Ensemble highlights the work of Chick Corea, who died earlier this year, in a concert Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 8 p.m. in Deane Chapel. The performance is free and open to the public. As per the county requirement for all indoor events, masks will be required. Any outside guests will be asked to present either proof of vaccination or a negative test result from the past 72 hours. For more information, please call (805) 565-­6040.

Marianne D’Emidio-Caston, who served the local education community for more than three decades, received the Westmont Education Department’s 2021-22 Excellence in Education Award.

D’Emidio-Caston, who most recently directed student teaching at Antioch University Santa Barbara, spoke to Westmont education students, encouraging them to find a trusted long-term professional partner to “grow with and, more generally, to do teaching with.” 

The rubber meets the road for Westmont’s engineering students who, as part of their coursework, will race foot-long remote control cars on a short, oval racetrack in front of Kerrwood Hall on Monday, Dec. 6, from 11:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. The students have created the cars from kits with hundreds of parts for their Machine Design course with Dan Jensen, director of the engineering program.

The 17^th annual Westmont Christmas Festival appears for the first time at Santa Barbara’s famed Granada Theatre on Saturday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 5, at 3 p.m. Tickets, which cost $20 each, go on sale Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 5 p.m. at westmont.edu/festival.

The Westmont Festival Theatre offers uplifting songs of joy and love in “You Will Be Found: Hope Songs” Nov. 19-20 at 7:30 p.m. in Porter Theatre. “We all could use a little hope right now,” says Mitchell Thomas, director of the event. Tickets to the all-ages fundraiser, which cost $15 for general admission, $10 for students, may be purchased at westmont.edu/boxoffice.

Elizabeth Gardner, Westmont assistant professor of communication studies, examines a protest by children and adolescents in South America on Thursday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. in Westmont’s Global Leadership Center. The Paul C.

The second installment of NEXUS: Readings by Black and Indigenous Playwrights features “The Thanksgiving Play” by Larissa FastHorse with excerpts from Suzan Lori-Parks’ “365 Days/365 Plays” on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Westmont’s Porter Theatre. The event, which will include a post-reading discussion, is free and open to the public. Guests will be required to show proof of vaccine or a recent negative COVID-19 test and wear a mask while indoors on campus.

Westmont’s annual Fall Choral Festival, featuring about 125 students from five California high school choirs, returns for a live performance Friday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. in Hahn Hall at the Music Academy of the West. The concert is free and open to the public. Due to Covid-19 we are asking all guests RSVP here in advance here. 

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art, which moved from the confines of the Reynold’s Gallery to its current home in the Adams Center for the Visual arts more than a decade ago, reveals the enormity of its holdings in “Academic, Barbizon, and Impressionist Artists: Highlights from the Permanent Collection” from Nov. 11- Dec. 18 in the museum. A free, public opening reception will be held Thursday, Nov. 11, from 4-6 p.m. at the museum.

It is difficult to imagine life without our personal devices. Today’s digital technologies are designed to captivate our attention and encroach on our boundaries, shaping how we relate to time and space, to ourselves and others, even to God.

The Westmont Festival Theatre returns for the first time since March 2020 to stage a new play, “Kitty Hawk or Kill Devil,” which explores what it means to live in proximity to greatness, October 22-23, 28- 29, 30 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, October 30 at 2 p.m., all in Westmont’s Porter Theatre. Tickets, which cost $15 general admission and $10 for students, are available online at westmont.edu/boxoffice. The play contains passionate language by Ohioans about Ohio.

The Westmont College Orchestra returns to the stage for live, in-person performances of the Fall Orchestra Concert on Friday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 24, at 3 p.m. in Hahn Hall at Music Academy of the West. Tickets, which cost $10 for general admission (students are free), may be purchased at westmont.edu/music or at the door. For more information, please contact the music department at (805) 565-6040 or email music@westmont.edu.

The Westmont Latinx Student Union (LSU) club has been using social media and in-person meetings to bring attention to National Hispanic American Heritage Month, celebrating the cultures of various Hispanic and Latin countries.

Geoffrey Moore, a bestselling author, speaker and adviser, whose work focuses on the market dynamics caused by disruptive innovation, speaks at a Mosher Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership luncheon on Friday, Nov. 5, from 12-1:30 p.m. in the Simmons Center of Westmont’s Global Leadership Center. A limited amount of in-person tickets, which cost $100 per person, are available for purchase at westmont.edu/mosher-event.

Beloved local educator Michelle Hughes has co-edited a new book that offers ways to reframe obstacles to teaching as opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Graduates of the Westmont class of 2020 will finally be able to walk across the stage on Carr Field to get their diplomas during Commencement.

More than 30 Westmont students presented their findings on 21 posters at the 2021 Celebration of Summer Research on Sept. 24 around the Winter Hall third floor atrium.

Dr. Rob Hughes ’04 has wanted to direct student health services at Westmont since he worked in the Health Center as a student. Now, more than two decades later, he accepted this position following Dr. David Hernandez’s retirement at the end of spring.

Ronald See, a researcher at the forefront of creating experimental models of drug relapse and addiction, speaks at a free, public lecture, “Lost in the Weeds? A Neuroscience Perspective on Cannabis,” on Thursday, Oct. 7, at 5:30 p.m. in the outdoor patio of Westmont’s newest downtown Santa Barbara building, 29 W. Anapamu.

Read about the natural bond between dogs and artists in a new book, “Santa Barbara Artists and Their Dogs,” and see portraits of them in an exhibition through Dec. 18 in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art’s downstairs gallery. The Art Council of the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art created the book, which will be available for purchase for $32.33 (including tax) Sept. 24-25 from 12-8 p.m. and Sept. 26 from 12-4 p.m.

With great appreciation, Westmont announces two major gifts totaling more than $15 million, the two largest cash gifts in college history.

The Westmont Festival Theater launches the first of three staged readings that explore diversity, equity and inclusion Saturday, September 25, at 7:30 p.m. in Porter Theatre. The series of readings, named, NEXUS: Readings from Black Playwrights, will include a post-reading discussion, and is free and open to the public.

Recent college and university annual rankings continue to affirm Westmont as one of the top Christian liberal arts colleges in the nation.

Four new tenure-track professors have joined Westmont’s faculty this fall: Ben Carlson (physics), Dan Jensen (engineering), Gewnhi Park (psychology) and Alastair Su (history).

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum focuses its attention on the college’s talented art faculty in “Sight & Insight: Westmont College Studio Art Faculty Exhibition” Sept. 2- Oct 30. The public is invited to a free, opening reception on Thursday, Sept. 2, from 4-6 p.m.

Westmont co-hosts Santa Barbara Sending mission conference featuring 20 speakers exploring topics related to medicine, business, education, women, refugees and more Sept. 15-18 at Westmont’s Global Leadership Center. Tickets, which cost $50 for general admissions and $10 for students, may be purchased at sbsending.com.

About 410 new students, who include 58 new transfers, begin their journey at Westmont Thursday, Aug. 26, moving into residence halls and enjoying several days of welcoming activities during Orientation.

“I rarely drink coffee,” says Tiffany Gong ’23, a behavioral neuroscience student at Westmont, who is the subject and the researcher examining the impact of acute caffeine on cortisol and melatonin levels.

Carol Velas, who has served as a registered nurse for 35 years, will direct Westmont’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program, which begins in January 2022 pending approval by the California Board of Registered Nursing. The former senior manager for state licensing and accreditation at Chamberlain University in Chicago, Velas helped design Westmont’s nursing program, serving as a consultant for the initial feasibility study.

The Lilly Graduate Fellows Program has selected Westmont alumna Olivia Stowell ’19 as one of 10 Lilly Graduate Fellows nationwide. The prestigious fellowship supports outstanding students who want to explore the connections within Christianity, higher education, and the vocation of the teacher-scholar as they pursue graduate degrees in humanities and the arts. Stowell, who earned a Master of Arts from Villanova, enters the doctoral program in Communication and Media at the University of Michigan this fall.

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art invites visitors to explore the diverse expressions and meanings of abstract art through the exhibition, “Towards a 21st Century Abstraction,” on display from July 8-August 14. Artists and visitors are welcome Monday through Friday between 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

In a new book of poetry, Paul J. Willis takes his readers on a path through California’s coastal redwoods and giant sequoias in the Sierra, weaving in adolescent practical jokes and sharing unexpected epiphanies. Slant Books published the latest book by the Westmont professor of English and former Santa Barbara poet laureate.

“Soul Care in African American Practice” by Barbara L. Peacock (InterVarsity Press, 2020) has won the annual book award from the Martin Institute for Christianity and Culture and the Dallas Willard Research Center (MIDWC) at Westmont College. She will speak in chapel on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 10:30 a.m.

Kerrwood Lawn in the late 1960s

A Stately Sight to Generations of Warriors

Amid a global pandemic and dire nursing shortage, Westmont’s proposed Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) arrives just in time to meet a great need not only in the Santa Barbara community but in California. The program, run in partnership with Cottage Health, received unanimous approval for its feasibility study from the California Board of Registered Nursing’s (BRN) Education Licensing Committee (ELC) in April and awaits further approvals.