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Westmont College

Coordinates: 34°26′59″N 119°39′34″W / 34.4497888°N 119.6593305°W / 34.4497888; -119.6593305
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Westmont College
Thumb
College Logo
MottoChristus Primatum Tenens (Latin)
Motto in English
Christ Holding Preeminence
TypePrivate, Christian, liberal arts college
EstablishedOctober 29, 1937
Endowment$70.2 million (2012) [1]
PresidentGayle Beebe
ProvostMark Sargent
Academic staff
92
Undergraduates1,367
Address
955 La Paz Rd
,
Santa Barbara
,
CA
,
USACaliforniaUnited States

34°26′59″N 119°39′34″W / 34.4497888°N 119.6593305°W / 34.4497888; -119.6593305
CampusSuburban, 111 acres (45 ha)
ColorsMaroon & White
   
NicknameThe Warriors
AffiliationsWestern Association of Schools and Colleges; California State Board of Education; NAIA; Christian College Consortium
MascotWarrior
Websitewww.westmont.edu

Westmont College, founded in 1937, is an interdenominational Christian liberal arts college in Santa Barbara, California.[2]

History

Ruth Kerr, owner of the Kerr Mason Jar Company, established the school as the Bible Missionary Institute (1937), later renamed the Western Bible College (1939). During these early years, Ruth and the other founders decided that a liberal arts curriculum was the best direction for the school. In 1940 Dr. Wallace Emerson, the first president, renamed the school Westmont College, named for the fact the school was located at WEST Moreland and VerMONT in Los Angeles, envisioning a Christian liberal arts college that would take its place among the best in the nation.

By 1944, Westmont College had outgrown its facilities in downtown Los Angeles. After a failed attempt to move the campus to Altadena in early 1945 the desperate search for a new campus led Mrs. Kerr and the trustees to the former Dwight Murphy estate in Montecito with its 125 acres (51 ha). Westmont purchased this property and moved to the Santa Barbara area in the Fall of 1945.

Set in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains, Westmont’s wooded and scenic acres provide an environment for a residential college. The campus includes buildings and land from two former estates and the historic Deane School for Boys. The grounds still feature the pathways, stone bridges, and garden atmosphere typical of Montecito, a suburb of Santa Barbara.

While Westmont has sought to preserve and use the original structures, it has also built new facilities, including Voskuyl Library, the restored Westmont Art Center, the A. Nelson Science Building, the Murchison Gymnasium Complex, and the Ruth Kerr Memorial Student Center. In 2008 Westmont broke ground for the construction of the Winter Hall for Science and Mathematics and the Adams Center for the Visual Arts.

In 2006, Westmont received a gift of $75 million from an anonymous donor, the second largest gift ever to a national liberal arts college at the time.[3][4] In September 2009 Westmont was informed that the donor withdrew the pledged $75 million gift which caused the college to put off construction of two new buildings.[5]

In 2008 Westmont and the surrounding Montecito community was devastated by the Tea Fire that burned numerous structures on the campus, including dormitories and faculty housing. Luckily there was no loss of life on the steep and wooded campus which has numerous oaks and eucalyptus trees and semi-arid vegetation.

Westmont emphasizes the intellectual, social, and spiritual growth of students.[6] With approximately 1300 undergraduate students, Westmont attempts to provide a rigorous academic program along with a personalized, residential Christian undergraduate experience.[7][8]

Montecito Tea Fire of 2008

On November 13, 2008 the campus was heavily damaged in the Montecito Tea Fire, which started in the hills near Montecito. No injuries were reported on the campus.[9] The Physics Lab, Psychology Building, Math Building, and many of the faculty homes were destroyed. The Clark residence hall was severely damaged.[10] Clark units which were severely damaged include F, M, and S. A corner of the roof on G suffered minor damage. The Quonset Huts were also destroyed. Much of the campus's foliage and landscaping was burned.

Flames were spotted above upper campus around 5:30 pm on November 13. Students were led to Murchison Gymnasium where they remained until the situation outside was safe. Doors and openings were sealed with masking tape to prevent smoke entry and a ventilation system was activated. The American Red Cross provided blankets and pillows to the hundreds of Westmont students, neighbors, and Preview/Visiting students. In the early morning after the immediate danger had passed, students were allowed to access their cars in certain parking lots and leave the campus. Others remained in the gym until they found a ride off campus. Friends, family, local churches, and other sources provided temporary housing to refugees.[11]

Classes resumed December 1 with the semester ending, as originally planned, on December 19, 2008.[12]

Campus

Westmont College is located a few miles off of U.S. 101 just to the east of Santa Barbara. The city of Santa Barbara is on the central Californian coast and is 100 miles north of Los Angeles and 330 miles south of San Francisco.

The campus itself resides in the hills of Montecito and features 110 acres (45 ha) of hills, gardens, and trees. A small creek runs though the campus. It is often dry during summer and autumn months and typically full during the rainy spring months. It has even flooded campus buildings in El Nino years.

The campus has five on-campus dorms. The two freshman dorms are Page and Clark which are located at the upper corners of campus. Armington is at the lowest point on campus, and is usually the sophomore dorm. Emerson (formerly known as New Dorm and Everest), is at the top of campus and has ocean views in many of its rooms. Van Kampen, the most popular dorm for upper-classmen, is located in the center of the campus and was recently renovated and modernized in the summer of 2006. Some upper classmen students live in the Ocean View Apartments, a college-owned apartment building on the east side of Santa Barbara.

The campus was heavily damaged during the Tea Fire in the Montecito hills, though no injuries were reported on the campus.[13] Westmont is located in a high fire area with limited access via narrow winding roads. As a condition of approval of their Master Plan Westmont agreed to the controversial “shelter in place” also called “stay and defend” procedure in case of a wildfire.[14][15] During the fire, students who were on campus were evacuated to the Gymnasium, which was considered fireproof. The Physics Lab, Psychology Building, Math Building, and many of the faculty homes were destroyed. Two of the residence halls in Clark residence hall were severely damaged, along with the RD cottage.[16] With the recovery phase initiated over the weekend, faculty and staff were allowed back on campus November 17, but the school was scheduled to remain closed to students until December 1.[17]

Academic profile

Westmont is ranked 90th in the U.S. News & World Report "America's Best Colleges 2013" list of liberal arts colleges.[18] In 2012 Forbes ranked Westmont No. 103 out of the 650 best private and public colleges and universities in America.[19] The Templeton Foundation has recognized Westmont as one of the nation’s top 100 colleges committed to character development.[20]

Academic rankings
Liberal arts
U.S. News & World Report[21]90
Washington Monthly[22]170
National
Forbes[23]103

Westmont offers 26 majors, including: alternative major, art, biology, chemistry, communication studies, computer science, economics and business, education program, engineering physics, English, history, European studies, kinesiology, liberal studies, mathematics, modern languages (English, French, German, and Spanish), music, philosophy, physical education, physics, political science, psychology, religious studies, social science, sociology / anthropology, and theatre arts.[24]

The student/faculty ratio is 12 to 1; 96 percent of tenured and tenure-track faculty have earned terminal degrees.[25] The average class size is 18 students.[26] The students come from 25 states, 11 countries, and 33 Christian denominations. The graduation rate in 4 years is 87 percent.

The majors are not impacted, therefore students are able to change majors easily. Students aren't required to declare their major until the end of their sophomore year so as to graduate on time.

The weekly student newspaper is the "Horizon." It can be found online on its website.

Each summer, Westmont hosts a number of summer programs including the Summer Science Program, which teaches astronomy to high school students. The Westmont campus features a 24-inch telescope.

Admissions

For the class of 2015 (enrolled fall 2011), Westmont received 2,319 applications and accepted 1,424 (61.4%).[27] The number enrolling was 332; the yield rate (the percentage of accepted students who enroll) was 23.3%.[27] Of the 56% of entering freshmen who submitted class rank, 40% were in the top 10% of their high school classes; 72% ranked in the top quarter.[27] The middle 50% range of SAT scores for enrolled freshmen were 540-650 for critical reading, 540-650 for math, and 540-650 for writing. The middle 50% range ACT Composite score was 23-29.[27]

Off-campus programs

Off-campus programs are an important part of the Westmont experience with over 60 percent of students participating in a program at some point in their studies. Westmont offers a number of off-campus programs. These programs are run with a faculty member and include the Europe semester, England Semester, Westmont in Mexico, Westmont in Istanbul, and the San Francisco Urban program. Some students choose to participate in semester exchanges at one of the colleges in the Christian College Consortium, such as Gordon College, Houghton College, Seattle Pacific University, and Wheaton College (IL). Additionally, many students participate in other qualifying programs, including semesters in New Zealand, Belize, Washington DC, Chile, Italy, France, and Lithuania. Students receive transferable credit while they live and study abroad in these different programs. Some students work in internships while they are off campus, and many choose Washington DC or the San Francisco Urban program for this purpose.

Student life

Spring Sing

Westmont hosts a popular annual student event entitled Spring Sing, which in past years has been held at the Santa Barbara County Bowl or UC Santa Barbara auditorium. This event is a competition between the dorms with eight minute musical comedy skits. The dorms are further divided by gender into male and female houses (with the exception of the Emerson dorm).

The skits incorporate an average of four or five clips of popular songs with altered original lyrics and original choreography. The lyrics are usually changed to reflect a humorous progression of the skit's main story. The dorm that wins has bragging rights for the next year.

Past sweepstakes winners have been Page men (2012), Van Kampen Men (2011) and Armington Men (2010).

Potter's Clay

Potter's Clay is a popular ministry program that occurs every year in Ensenada, Mexico during Westmont's spring break. Students interact with the local population and churches to help with construction, Vacation Bible School, and medical work.

Student Life Statement

Westmont College, an openly Christian education facility, asks all incoming students, trustees, administrators, faculty, and staff to sign a Community Life Statement.[28] In it a member of the Westmont Community will find a guide regarding what is to be expected of their lifestyle and behavior while at Westmont. While living up to these guidelines might be found difficult, one school administrator explained, "I would say, as with all students, we want to care and love them along the way." [29]

A recent open letter to the college expressed the "doubt, loneliness and fear" that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students have felt while attending the college.[30] After alumni added their support to the letter, a Westmont representative responded saying, "I would love for us to be a safer place to talk about those questions than we are," Also pointed out was the school’s diversity statement, an excerpt of which reads "Westmont does not tolerate racial, ethnic, religious or gender slurs, or other forms of verbal abuse; threatening behavior or threatening messages; the creation of a hostile environment; or any form of harassment." [29]

The same administrator also stated "We're hoping to do a better job of talking to and loving each other and holding true to our scriptural principles."[31]

Athletics

Westmont College teams, nicknamed athletically as the Warriors, are part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, track & field and volleyball.

The men's soccer team won the NAIA national championship in 1972.[32] The women's soccer team has won the NAIA national championships in 1985, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2003.[33] The women's tennis team won the NAIA national championship in 1982.[34] The women's basketball team won the NAIA basketball championship in 2013.

Westmont has several club sports. The equestrian polo team was a runner-up in NCAA polo in 2007 to Texas A&M (12-8) and again in 2012 to the University of Virginia (23-17). They also compete in rugby football, ultimate frisbee, men's volleyball and cheerleading.

Notable people

Alumni

Faculty

References

  1. ^ As of June 30, 2012. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2012 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2011 to FY 2012" (PDF). 2012 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers.
  2. ^ "Best Colleges | Find the Best College for You | US News Education". Colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  3. ^ "Westmont Receives Anonymous Gift of $75 Million. | Business News and Press Releases from". AllBusiness.com. 2006-10-30. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  4. ^ Published on November 3, 2006 (2006-11-03). "Westmont College gets $75 million anonymous gift". Philanthropy Journal. Retrieved 2012-02-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Westmont | Vice President for Academics and Dean of Faculty". Westmont.edu. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  7. ^ "Westmont | About Westmont". Westmont.edu. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  8. ^ "Westmont | About Westmont". Westmont.edu. 1937-10-29. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  9. ^ Fire destroys 80 houses in Montecito Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on November 14, 2008.
  10. ^ [2] Westmont College. Retrieved on November 14, 2008.
  11. ^ Brianna Merrill (Westmont student, eyewitness account)
  12. ^ [3] Westmont College.
  13. ^ Saillant, Catherine; Chawkins, Steve (2008-11-14). "Fire destroys 80 houses in Montecito". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ http://www.westmont.edu/neighborhood/documents/WestmontConditions90-CP-096RV01.pdf
  15. ^ Reilly, Corinne (2009-02-04). "CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS: Wednesday, February 4, 2009". Calfire.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  16. ^ "Tea Fire update from Westmont College". Westmont College. 2008-11-14.
  17. ^ Lerner, Danielle (November 17, 2008). "School still out at Westmont College due to Tea Fire". msnbc.msn.com. Retrieved 2008-11-18. [dead link‍]
  18. ^ "National Liberal Arts College Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "America's Top Colleges". Forbes. 2012-08-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ [4][dead link‍]
  21. ^ "2024-2025 National Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. September 23, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  22. ^ "2024 Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings". Washington Monthly. August 25, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  23. ^ "America's Top Colleges 2024". Forbes. September 6, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  24. ^ "Westmont | Academics". Westmont.edu. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  25. ^ "Westmont College Catalog 2005-2006". Westmont.edu. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  26. ^ http://www.westmont.edu/_news/pages/about_westmont/index.html
  27. ^ a b c d "Westmont College Common Data Set 2011-2012" (PDF). Westmont College.
  28. ^ "Westmont | Human Resources". Westmont.edu. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  29. ^ a b http://www.noozhawk.com/article/020611_westmont_gay_petition/. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. ^ http://westmontlgbt.wordpress.com/. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  31. ^ Chawkins, Steve (16 February 2011). "Gays and Christianity: Gay alumni challenge policy of Christian college in Montecito - latimes.com". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  32. ^ "NAIA - National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics". Naia.cstv.com. 2012-01-14. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  33. ^ "NAIA - National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics". Naia.cstv.com. 2012-01-14. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  34. ^ "NAIA - National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics". Naia.cstv.com. 2012-01-14. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  35. ^ "Priya David". CBS News. April 8, 2008.
  36. ^ "Biography - CA State Senator Bob Huff". Cssrc.us. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  37. ^ Rekers, George Alan (1985). Family building: six qualities of a strong family. Ventura, Calif: Regal Books. p. 15. ISBN 0-8307-1046-9.
  38. ^ Rekers, George Alan (1982). Growing up straight: what families should know about homosexuality. Chicago: Moody Press. p. 162. ISBN 0-8024-0156-2.
  39. ^ Lybarger, Dan. "More than a Game: An Interview with Ron Shelton". Tipjar.
  40. ^ "UM School of Music, Theatre & Dance - Faculty & Staff". Music.umich.edu. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  41. ^ http://www.houghton.edu/president/bio.htm
  42. ^ http://www.nba.com/heat/contact/directory_pfund.html
  43. ^ http://www.nba.com/news/randypfund_resigns_080929.html?rss=true
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