by Gayle D. Beebe, Ph.D. President I love this time of the year when we gather for a special time to relax and reflect with family and friends. When I was growing up, my father would ask each one of us of during the Thanksgiving meal to share three things from the previous year we were thankful for: something that … [more]
Recovery from the Tea Fire continues on campus and in the lives of those most affected by the disastrous conflagration Scorched trees have sprouted new leaves. Plants have reclaimed once ashen under-growth. Hillsides above campus are turning green. Students and Resident Director Mark McCormick and his wife, Nora, moved back into rebuilt structures in Clark Halls at the start of … [more]
The annual info world 100 awards names Westmont to prestigious list of leaders in technology A prestigious information technology list has recognized Westmont for its leadership in cloud-based technology. The annual InfoWorld 100 Awards chose the college as one of 100 IT organizations that have “implemented and integrated technologies in innovative ways in pursuit of concrete business goals.” Westmont is … [more]
Art for Life In its first exhibition of the season, Reynolds Gallery used art to draw attention to the continuing problem of poverty by pairing 36 etchings by Rembrandt of the poor in 17th century Holland with eight oversize, color photographs by South African artist Zwelethu Mthethwa of the poor and marginalized in present-day Mozambique. Admission to the gallery is … [more]
Student ambassadors support at-risk teens in their quest for college Now in its fifth year, the Liberal Arts Ambassador Program sends 22 Westmont students to junior and senior high schools to explain the unique opportunities available through a liberal arts education. The Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts launched this effort to inform young adults of their options for college … [more]
Last year, Westmont received 47 applications from prospective students living outside the United States in countries such as Korea, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Japan, China, Great Britain, Canada, Turkey, Germany, Kenya, Thailand, Nigeria and Singapore. Many of these young men and women come from missionary families. At the same time, Westmont is gaining a greater reputation throughout the world, and more … [more]
While faculty families move into rebuilt Las Barrancas homes, crews put down sod on athletic fields and install a new bridge A huge crane slowly lowered a new, 130-foot steel bridge behind Westmont’s Van Kampen Hall Nov. 20. The bridge, which features a six-foot-wide wooden deck, connects the new residence hall site to the stone pine grove below the dining … [more]
Susan Penksa, professor of political science, spoke at “Building a Strategic U.S.-EU Partnership on Defense and Security Aspects,” a workshop hosted by the British Embassy, Washington, D.C., Oct. 21. Penksa, a Fulbright Scholar to Bosnia Herzegovina in 2007, addressed about 60 U.S. and European policy makers and experts about improving U.S.-EU cooperation in global conflict resolution and crisis stabilization. The … [more]
Writing poetry for his new book and hiking the backcountry help Professor Paul Willis transcend the loss of his home and work English professor Paul Willis was scheduled to read his poetry at Santa Barbara City College the evening of Nov. 13, 2008. He never made it. Instead he sought shelter in Westmont’s gym with other faculty families from Las … [more]
by Melissa Marsted Twelve Westmont College faculty families who lost their homes in the Tea Fire almost a year ago have been given keys to their newly rebuilt homes in Las Barrancas, the faculty housing complex west of campus. The handover in a Nov. 1 ceremony (right) ended a year of significant upheaval, as many of the families had moved … [more]