When Barb and I came to Westmont and Santa Barbara in 1994, our hope and prayer was that it would be a place where we and our three daughters could flourish. We haven’t been disappointed. The college and the surrounding community have been extraordinary gifts of grace beyond anything we could have imagined or anticipated. Our combined nearly 50 years of service to Westmont brought many long days and nights and plenty of challenges, but the rewards have been innumerable. For me as a professor, I especially cherish all those times when in a classroom or in my office or in a far-away European city, I saw a student (or two or three) awakened to some goodness or beauty or truth, the very things, I would say, which constitute the kingdom of God. Those are serendipitous moments that allow a teacher to keep believing that what you do matters. But over the years I came to see them as more than that; they are in fact holy moments, instances when we experience a heightened awareness of God’s loving presence and a deeper realization of who we’re intended to be as the people of God. I am eternally grateful that thanks to Westmont students and colleagues, those moments broke into my reality frequently. 1 Column Content Background Color White Heading...