Skip to main content
  • Current Students
  • Parents & Families
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Staff

Footer quick links

  • Request Info
  • Plan a Visit
  • Apply Now
  • About
    • Calendar for Events
    • Campus Departments
    • Campus Map
    • Chapel
    • College Profile
    • Community Commitments
    • History of Westmont
    • Institutes & Centers
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Our Commitment to Diversity
    • Ridley-Tree Museum of Art
    • Westmont Magazine
      • Request Info
      • Plan a Visit
      • Apply Now
    • Visit
  • Academics
    • Academic Services
    • Augustinian Scholars Program
    • Experience Opportunities
    • Global Education
    • Majors and Programs
    • Office of the Provost
    • Our Approach
    • Outcomes
    • Voskuyl Library
      • Request Info
      • Plan a Visit
  • Admissions & Aid
    • Affording College
    • Apply to Westmont
    • Visit Westmont
    • Transfer Students
    • Returning Students
    • International Students
    • Our Commitment to Diversity
    • Admitted Students
    • Fall Orientation
    • Prospective Parents
    • Meet your Counselor
    • Confirm your Place
    • Words of Warriors
      • Request Info
      • Plan a Visit
      • Apply Now
    • 9th-11th Grade Students
  • Student Life
    • Student Spotlights
    • Words of Warriors
    • CATlab
    • Living on Campus
    • On Campus Activities
    • Off Campus Activities
    • Our Commitment to Diversity
    • COVE Career Center
    • Ministries
    • Chapel
      • Request Info
      • Plan a Visit
      • Apply Now
  • Giving
    • Why Give?
    • Where to Give
    • How to Give
    • Giving Societies
    • Contact Us
      • Give Today
  • Athletics
  • APPLY TODAY

Westmont Magazine

  • Magazine Home
    • Feature Stories
    • Westmont News
    • Alumni Stories
    • Faculty News
    • Past Issues

SUMMER 1999

Westmont Magazine A Willing Volunteer

When a job needs to be done, Dick Archer steps forward. He says he has led successful businesses, boards, and fund-raising drives simply because no one else volunteered. A founding member of the Westmont Board of Advisors, he is taking a leading role in fund raising for the college. He believes in giving up to 25 percent of his time in service to others, and volunteering for Westmont fits with his commitment to Christian education.

After serving in the Navy at the end of World War II, Dick attended the University of Southern California on the G.I. Bill, and also sold insurance for his father. After graduating with a degree in business administration, he joined the family firm in Los Angeles and worked with the elder Archer until his death in 1959. Dick continued as president and CEO for 13 years, then sold the business to Frank B. Hall & Company, Inc., a firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Although he expected to remain in Southern California, he ended up as chairman and chief executive officer of Frank B. Hall & Company, Inc. Moving to New York City, he ran the company for over three years and spent half his time on the road. The pressure and demands of the position took their toll on his health, which led to his resignation as CEO.

“My failure to stay with the Hall job was the making of my life,” Dick relates. “I thought I was indestructible, but the pressure brought me to my knees. I returned to Los Angeles, looking for meaning in my life. Fortunately, I was surrounded by Christians, including my brother and sister-in-law, and I came to the Lord. From that time on, my life has been more fulfilled and more productive.”

He continued to work with Frank B. Hall as a consultant and general manager of the western division, and then became vice chairman of the board and later president of Emett & Chandler Companies, Inc., which was successfully merged and restructured into Jardine Insurance Brokers, Inc. Today he works as an independent consultant.

Over the years, he has served on many corporate and non-profit boards and has been actively involved in numerous professional and community organizations.

His commitment to service led Dick to join the board at Loyola Marymount Uni-versity, which he chaired for four and a half years. He also took on the task of raising money for a $5 million school at Calvary Church in Pacific Palisades and later helped the congregation with a $2.2 million expansion.
He considers all this “the Lord’s work,” adding,  “the Lord puts you in these places and you just do what has to be done.” His wife, Jean, shares this commitment.

Dick became interested in Westmont when he moved to Santa Barbara. “There’s such a broad spectrum of needs in the world,” he notes. “You can’t meet them all; you need to pick your spot. I believe a successful society is an educated one, and we need leaders who are well prepared to face the future. Westmont has an added dimension; we also need people to evangelize the world, and Westmont graduates do that in all kinds of ways.”

Dick sees two challenges at Westmont: raising money and raising awareness of the school’s excellence. “I love the challenge of fund-raising; it yields great benefits for both the giver and the recipient.  All the people I have persuaded to give have come back and thanked me for the rewards and satisfaction they have received.”

Donate Now

Footer links menu

  • Request Info
  • Plan a Visit
  • Apply Now

Footer Utility menu

  • Employment
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Emergency Info
  • Feedback

955 La Paz Road
Santa Barbara, CA 93108 

805-565-6000

Contact Us

 

Social media menu

©2021
Westmont College - All rights reserved