Westmont News

Men’s soccer has been a NAIA Scholar Team for five straight years. Pictured: senior midfielder and 2019-20 NAIA Scholar-Athlete Nick Ruiz.

Four Westmont professors from different disciplines examine how the new coronavirus has forced us to adapt our daily lives in unexpected ways in a talk, “Plagues, Pandemics and Perseverance,” on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 10 a.m. The pre-recorded presentation, sponsored by Westmont’s Voskuyl Library, features Marilyn McEntyre (humanities), Paul Willis (English), Helen Rhee (religious studies) and Lisa DeBoer (art) and are available online at youtube.com/westmontTV.

The Westmont Music Department continues its popular Friday Concert Series with its first Alumni Spotlight recital, featuring alumna Sarah Shasberger Pfister ’12 and the Carnevale String Quartet from Bulgaria on Friday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. Listen to the free recital at vimeo.com/showcase/westmontmusic.

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

Westmont’s class of 2024 is the most academically talented in the college’s history. It’s also among the most diverse with 39 percent of the 375 new and transfer students identifying as Hispanic, Asian American, African American, Hawaiian Pacific Islander, Native American, and/or multiracial. Twelve percent are the first in their family to attend college. The average SAT score skyrocketed 40 points to 1260 with a middle range of 1140-1380. The average GPA jumped significantly from 3.88 to 3.98.

The Santa Barbara Symphony and Westmont College have announced a strategic partnership to strengthen their ability to bring music education to local school children while creating a pipeline to provide lifelong musical opportunities in the community. This collaboration includes newly developed innovative virtual and socially distanced curriculum.

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art offers a unique history lesson, blending prints from 16^th to 18^th century Old Masters with a few modern and contemporary works in its latest online exhibition available through Nov. 7. “Making a Fine Impression: Prints from the Faith and Dewayne Perry Collection” includes more than a dozen videos of Westmont experts describing a particular piece in the exhibition, which can be viewed at westmont.edu/museum/fine-impression.

The Westmont Music Department launches its Friday Concert Series with a virtual performance featuring Andrea (flute) and Neil Di Maggio (piano) on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. Listen to the free recital at vimeo.com/showcase/westmontmusic.

Westmont welcomes its new students to a virtual Orientation Aug. 27-29 to learn about the educational program and meet faculty, staff and fellow students. The college has postponed repopulating until the COVID-19 case rate in Santa Barbara County drops below the state-mandated threshold. Classes will begin remotely Aug.

Twelve Westmont art graduates, unable to exhibit their artwork at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum on campus in May due to COVID-19, are displaying their senior projects virtually. “Adjacent: Westmont Graduate Exhibition 2020” is available in-person at the museum only to the artists and their families by prior appointment. Everyone else can see the exhibition, including a virtual tour, online at westmont.edu/museum/adjacent.

Jason Tavarez joined the Westmont community as director of institutional resilience in February 2020 and almost immediately began working to protect the college from the dangers of COVID-19.

My father—Joseph Linden Sargent—passed away almost twelve years ago, yet there’s still hardly a Father’s Day that goes by when I don’t remind myself to call him. That thought usually hits me about dusk, or when I look at one of his watercolors on our walls. He died on his anniversary, nearly two years after my mother’s passing.

The Westmont community celebrates the many ways that God has gifted our students academically by announcing and honoring the Outstanding Graduate Awards in each department. Due to COVID-19, we were unable to publicly announce and honor them during the Academic Awards Convocation, which is typically held prior to Commencement. Here are the Outstanding Graduates of 2020.

Westmont welcomes Tim Loomer, who joins the staff July 1 as director of research, planning and implementation and assistant to the president for board relations. For the past two years, he has served as interim head of school at Providence.

Westmont’s ethnic studies minor, which enables students to examine the cultural, historical, political and social dimensions of a variety of racial and ethnic groups, has been revitalized.

"Treat others with kindness so they have the energy to be kind as well."

Montecito community members joined with Westmont to serve the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, which has distributed 2.25 million pounds of food during the COVID-19 response. Residents dropped off 151 bags of food at the rear parking lot of Montecito Bank and Trust on Coast Village Road on May 9 or asked that donated food be picked up from their homes.

Westmont College will donate 1,000 N95 masks to Santa Barbara Cottage Health’s front-line heroes combating the spread of COVID-19 in our community. Westmont has historically kept a supply of protective masks on campus for its students, faculty and staff to protect them from smoke during wildfires.

Keynote speakers David Brooks, Erin Meyer, Geoffrey Moore and Gayle D. Beebe share insights on effective and purposeful leadership at the 2020 Lead Where You Stand Conference June 3-5 at Westmont’s Global Leadership Center. Tickets to the affordable and transformative three-day conference cost $399 until March 30; $449 after, and may be purchased online at www.westmont.edu/lead. Guests may stay in comfortable rooms on Westmont’s beautiful campus.

Westmont music professors have brought back the popular Select House Concert Series, performing four chamber concerts on Saturdays, March 21, April 25, May 30 and June 20; all at 3 p.m. in homes to be announced once tickets have been purchased.

“Still Dreaming: Race, Ethnicity and Liberal Arts Education,” the 19th annual Gaede Institute Conversation on the Liberal Arts, gathers a national audience to explore how the liberal arts can promote more inclusive teaching, scholarship and institutional practices Feb. 27-29 at Westmont. The plenary sessions are free and open to the public.

The Westmont Music, Theater, and Art Departments join forces for the love of the arts to offer the first Valentine’s Arts Soiree, “A Fairy Tale,” on Valentine’s Day, February 14, beginning at 5 p.m. at Westmont’s Porter Theater. The magical evening includes delicious catered food, a silent auction and a romantic concert by the Westmont Orchestra.