�鶹��ýӳ��

Ninety-two percent of �鶹��ýӳ�� graduates from the class of 2020 have found a job or are attending graduate school (or planning to attend) despite a national economy sickened by the coronavirus.

The 16^th annual �鶹��ýӳ�� Christmas Festival, “Ris’n with Healing in His Wings,” presents a special online event this year due to the pandemic. The �鶹��ýӳ�� Music Department, led by Michael Shasberger, Adams professor of music and worship, has creatively recorded the 100 members of the �鶹��ýӳ�� Orchestra and College Choir, Chamber Singers and Choral Union throughout campus. The virtual concert, which retells the Christmas story by weaving narration with music, will be posted online Friday, Dec. 4, at 5 p.m.

Rick Pointer, professor emeritus of history at �鶹��ýӳ��, has written a biography of , a little-known reformer and leader.

A national study following more than 12,000 people from adolescence to adulthood showed that positive and caring relationships in the teenage years make a lasting impact on mental health. Warm relationships with parents, friends and teachers are highly effective safeguards against depressive symptoms later in life, as is educational achievement. Teenage romantic relationships, pregnancy and multiple sex partners pose modest risks, while alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use reveal mixed associations.

The �鶹��ýӳ�� Ridley-Tree Museum of Art celebrates its 10th anniversary with a fundraising exhibition, “5x5: Celebrating Ten Years,” which features about 450, five-inch-square works of art from Dec. 3-18. The art will be available for purchase through an online auction at westmont.edu/museum/5x5 that ends Friday, Dec. 18, at 5 p.m.

�±���ٳ��DzԳ�’s talented student musicians and composers will be in the spotlight at the Student Composer's Concert on Friday, Nov. 13, beginning at 7 p.m. westmont.edu/virtual-concert-series.

“There will be a spectacular array of new pieces by composition students at �鶹��ýӳ��,” says Steve Butler, professor of music and an ASCAP award-winning composer.

The team tips off its 2020-21 season against the University of Saint Katherine from San Marcos, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Murchison Gym. Though fans will not be allowed in the gym due to the pandemic, the game will be and available on Roku, Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV.

The Forest Foundation, which has supported the arts and education in California and Illinois since 1963, is donating several sculptures and more than three dozen pedestals and sculptural stands to the �鶹��ýӳ�� Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. Museum officials are working with to create a long-term sculpture exhibition at the Santa Ynez winery.

The �鶹��ýӳ�� Music Department’s weekly Friday night virtual concert series gets jazzy on Nov. 6. The �鶹��ýӳ�� Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of keyboardist Eben Drost, will perform many recognizable standards starting at 7 p.m. at westmont.edu/virtual-concert-series. The concert will be recorded in Deane Chapel with musicians wearing masks and singers standing outside the door when they perform.

Enrico Manlapig, associate professor of economics and business, explores “Decision Analysis and the Common Good” in a live webinar on Thursday, Nov. 19, at 5:30 p.m. at .

Members of the �鶹��ýӳ�� Choir and Choral Union, wearing masks and singing outside, offer a Fall Choral Celebration on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. at westmont.edu/virtual-concert-series.

�鶹��ýӳ�� has received a grant of $1 million from . to help establish the �鶹��ýӳ�� Center for Thriving Communities.

The program is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. The aim of the national initiative is to strengthen Christian congregations so they can help people deepen their relationships with God, build strong relationships with each other and contribute to the flourishing of local communities and the world.

Acclaimed author Jon Meacham addresses “The Architecture of Endurance: Building a Republic that Stands the Test of Time” on Friday, Nov. 6, from 12-1:30 p.m. in a special virtual event from �鶹��ýӳ��. The live broadcast opens with remarks by �鶹��ýӳ�� President Gayle D. Beebe and includes a question-and-answer session with Meacham, presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize winner. The talk is free and open to the public thanks to the gracious support of �±���ٳ��DzԳ�’s Mosher Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership.

The �鶹��ýӳ�� website, which has undergone a five-year overhaul, won the . A select group of independent judges from around the world selected �±���ٳ��DzԳ�’s website for setting the standard of excellence in website development.

Very few �鶹��ýӳ�� students have tested positive for the coronavirus since returning to campus in mid-September, and faculty and staff are finding innovative ways for students to thrive while staying safe.

The �鶹��ýӳ�� Orchestra, masked up, socially distant and with bell covers over their instruments, will perform “An Orchestral Sampler” on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. The event, which is being recorded live outdoors, will be available for free viewing at .

In a time of challenge, conflict and difficulty, the �鶹��ýӳ�� Theater Arts Department stages “small enchantments,” a fairy tale-inspired play of change and wonder on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. at westmont.edu/watchtheater.

“I wanted to work on something with our students that enacted and presented enchantment, hope and possibility for renewed life rather than an immersion in the desperation and uncertainty of the present moment,” says director John Blondell.

Dr. Eric Nelson, director of Counseling and Psychological Services, will share lessons from the pandemic’s unique impact on emotional health in a free, online lecture, “Stress, Loss and Uncertainty Amidst COVID-19: Cultivating a Mindset to Endure Prolonged Global Distress,” on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 5:30 p.m. at .

An interdisciplinary panel of �鶹��ýӳ�� faculty, including Yi-Fan Lu (biology), Tom Knecht (political science), and Meredith Whitnah (sociology), with moderator Kya Mangrum (English) will explore “What Is Race and Racism?" on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. Off-campus attendees can register at to be sent the link to the Zoom event.

Four stellar new professors join the �鶹��ýӳ�� faculty this fall: Katherine Bryant (political science), alumnus Daniel Gee (music), Robert Haring-Kaye (physics) and Blake Victor Kent (soc

Soprano will perform as part of the music department’s Alumni Spotlight on Friday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. Listen to the free concert at .

The �鶹��ýӳ�� Music Department features its talented faculty members in the Friday Concert Series on Oct. 2. at 7 p.m. Listen to the free recital at .

Jana Mayfield Mullen, who began teaching in �±���ٳ��DzԳ�’s history and religious studies departments in 2001, is the new director of Voskuyl Library. She joined the library staff in 2013 and served as co-director for the past year.

Senior Zack Moreau, pictured in 2019, worked with Dr. Allan Nishimura over the summer.

Twenty-seven �鶹��ýӳ�� students adhered to strict safety protocols to work with their professors on research projects during the summer. Due to the pandemic, �鶹��ýӳ�� will skip the annual October symposium, where students present their summer research findings in person.

Men’s soccer has been a NAIA Scholar Team for five straight years. Pictured: senior midfielder and 2019-20 NAIA Scholar-Athlete Nick Ruiz.

Four �鶹��ýӳ�� professors from different disciplines examine how the new coronavirus has forced us to adapt our daily lives in unexpected ways in a talk, “Plagues, Pandemics and Perseverance,” on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 10 a.m. The pre-recorded presentation, sponsored by �±���ٳ��DzԳ�’s Voskuyl Library, features Marilyn McEntyre (humanities), Paul Willis (English), Helen Rhee (religious studies) and Lisa DeBoer (art) and are available online at .

The �鶹��ýӳ�� Music Department continues its popular Friday Concert Series with its first Alumni Spotlight recital, featuring alumna Sarah Shasberger Pfister ’12 and the Carnevale String Quartet from Bulgaria on Friday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. Listen to the free recital at .

Recent college and university annual rankings continue to affirm �鶹��ýӳ�� as one of the top Christian liberal arts colleges in the nation.

�±���ٳ��DzԳ�’s class of 2024 is the most academically talented in the college’s history. It’s also among the most diverse with 39 percent of the 375 new and transfer students identifying as Hispanic, Asian American, African American, Hawaiian Pacific Islander, Native American, and/or multiracial. Twelve percent are the first in their family to attend college. The average SAT score skyrocketed 40 points to 1260 with a middle range of 1140-1380. The average GPA jumped significantly from 3.88 to 3.98.

The and �鶹��ýӳ�� have announced a strategic partnership to strengthen their ability to bring music education to local school children while creating a pipeline to provide lifelong musical opportunities in the community. This collaboration includes newly developed innovative virtual and socially distanced curriculum.

The �鶹��ýӳ�� Ridley-Tree Museum of Art offers a unique history lesson, blending prints from 16^th to 18^th century Old Masters with a few modern and contemporary works in its latest online exhibition available through Nov. 7. “Making a Fine Impression: Prints from the Faith and Dewayne Perry Collection” includes more than a dozen videos of �鶹��ýӳ�� experts describing a particular piece in the exhibition, which can be viewed at westmont.edu/museum/fine-impression.

The �鶹��ýӳ�� Music Department launches its Friday Concert Series with a virtual performance featuring Andrea (flute) and Neil Di Maggio (piano) on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. Listen to the free recital at .

�鶹��ýӳ�� welcomes its new students to a virtual Orientation Aug. 27-29 to learn about the educational program and meet faculty, staff and fellow students. The college has postponed repopulating until the COVID-19 case rate in drops below the state-mandated threshold. Classes will begin remotely Aug.

Twelve �鶹��ýӳ�� art graduates, unable to exhibit their artwork at the �鶹��ýӳ�� Ridley-Tree Museum on campus in May due to COVID-19, are displaying their senior projects virtually. “Adjacent: �鶹��ýӳ�� Graduate Exhibition 2020” is available in-person at the museum only to the artists and their families by prior appointment. Everyone else can see the exhibition, including a virtual tour, online at westmont.edu/museum/adjacent.

Jason Tavarez joined the �鶹��ýӳ�� community as director of institutional resilience in February 2020 and almost immediately began working to protect the college from the dangers of COVID-19.

My father—Joseph Linden Sargent—passed away almost twelve years ago, yet there’s still hardly a Father’s Day that goes by when I don’t remind myself to call him. That thought usually hits me about dusk, or when I look at one of his watercolors on our walls. He died on his anniversary, nearly two years after my mother’s passing.

The �鶹��ýӳ�� community celebrates the many ways that God has gifted our students academically by announcing and honoring the Outstanding Graduate Awards in each department. Due to COVID-19, we were unable to publicly announce and honor them during the Academic Awards Convocation, which is typically held prior to Commencement. Here are the Outstanding Graduates of 2020.

�鶹��ýӳ�� welcomes Tim Loomer, who joins the staff July 1 as director of research, planning and implementation and assistant to the president for board relations. For the past two years, he has served as interim head of school at Providence.

�±���ٳ��DzԳ�’s ethnic studies minor, which enables students to examine the cultural, historical, political and social dimensions of a variety of racial and ethnic groups, has been revitalized.