The Hubert Schwyzer Quartet, a unique ensemble of instruments commissioned by Westmont, is taking shape under the hands of master violin maker James Wimmer at his workshop in Santa Barbara. Named for a former UC Santa Barbara philosophy professor and cellist, the quartet will be used by Westmont faculty and students during the school year and loaned to the Music Academy of the West in the summer months.
The National Association of Schools of Music Commission on Accreditation has granted associate membership to Westmont following a four-year review process. NASM, founded in 1924, is an organization of more than 600 colleges and universities that establishes national standards for degrees and credentials.
Westmont’s computer science department awarded scholarships of up to $10,000 to five students. The recipients are first-year students Erick Brownfield and Morgan Vigil, juniors Josh Carver and Toby Lounsbury, and senior Michael Gardner. In addition to financial support, the program includes support for study groups, research experience, participation in conferences and other activities.
Forty-eight music students, three professors and one staff member recently returned from Central America, where Westmont choirs sang and served with locals in Guatemala and Costa Rica. The choirs tour each summer, traveling internationally every third year. Westmont students emceed concerts entirely in Spanish and sang in both English and Spanish.
The Westmont Foundation welcomes four prominent Santa Barbara residents to its board. Brad Frohling, Andria Kahmann, Bill Loomis and Alice Van de Water join the 26-member board whose mission is to cultivate ties between the community and Westmont.
Rick Pointer, Westmont professor of history, has been selected as the first recipient of the newly established Fletcher Jones Foundation Endowed Chair in Social Science. The Fletcher Jones Foundation created the chair to rotate among deserving faculty within the social science division. Pointer will occupy the chair for the next four years, beginning in fall 2008.