Blog Posts by Westmont

Santa Barbara-based Lit Moon Theatre Company’s production of “Hamlet,” directed by Westmont Professor John Blondell, received the top award for drama at the 13th Montreal Fringe Festival in June.

Called the Centaur Award, the honor is accompanied by an invitation to play at the Centaur Theater, Montreal’s major English-language theater, in October.

Director of Admissions Joyce Luy was honored with the Guidance Professional of the Year Award at the National Association of Christian College Admissions Professionals (NACCAP) annual conference at Seattle Pacific University in June.

Luy received a standing ovation when she was given the award, which is normally given to a high school counselor.

“Joyce was always the champion for the high school counselor,” said Dr. Janet Miranda of Trinity Christian Academy in Dallas. “How much we appreciate her out here in the trenches.”

Westmont has joined the Santa Barbara Book Council, Public Library System and the libraries of UCSB and City College in celebrating reading with “Santa Barbara Reads!”

Throughout August and September, Santa Barbara will be reading T.C. Boyle’s “The Tortilla Curtain,” a novel about the American Dream that deals with themes of illegal immigration, social discrimination, human dignity and racism.

Westmont has received a gift of $420,468 from the Volentine Charitable Remainder Unitrust, established by the late Myatt W. and Mary Genevieve Volentine of Santa Barbara.

The unitrust distribution will fund the Myatt and Mary Genevieve Volentine Endowed Scholarship at the college.

“We are so grateful for the Volentines’ steadfast giving and for their keen foresight in setting up this provision to benefit deserving students,” President Stan D. Gaede said. “Whenever someone provides student scholarships, they provide for the future.”

Three hundred and fifty fledgling writers will gather at Westmont College for the 30th Santa Barbara Writers' Conference from June 21-28.

Famed poet, playwright and mystery writer Ray Bradbury, who has been involved in every Santa Barbara Writers’ Conference, will again be the opening speaker for the weeklong event. Local authors Sue Grafton, Julia Child and Gayle Lynds, along with journalist Sander Vanocur and actress and writer Fannie Flagg, are among the more than 20 authors scheduled to speak at the conference.

Five Westmont students received awards during the Student Research Symposium held April 16 on campus.

The students presented results of research conducted during the 2002-03 academic year in the humanities, social sciences, and natural and behavioral sciences. The winners were chosen based on the excellence of their research.