American historian and bestselling author David McCullough will be the guest at Westmont’s annual President’s Breakfast, Friday, Feb. 10. McCullough will speak about, “The Spirit of 1776 Then and Now,” at 7 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort.
Westmont’s baseball coach was able to make Christmas a little brighter for two families displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Thanks to donations from the Santa Barbara community, Rob Crawford sent gifts and money to the families who have been forced to relocate to Shreveport, La.
Warren Rogers, Westmont physics professor, has been appointed to the prestigious position of fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). Each year, no more than one-half of one percent of the current membership of the society receive this recognition.
The eighth edition of Barron’s “Best Buys in College Education” has listed Westmont among the 260 best buys in college education. The book’s editors select colleges based on tuition rates, size and academic emphasis. Barron’s also factored in percentage of faculty with doctorates, percentage of entering freshmen who graduate, and percentage of graduates seeking advanced degrees.
A magazine focusing on Hispanics in higher education has included Westmont in its 10th Annual Publisher’s Pick List. The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine ranks Westmont among the top colleges “doing a commendable job of recruiting, retaining, educating and graduating Hispanics.”
Westmont continues to make progress attracting and keeping diverse students. Currently, students of color make up 20 percent of the student body. The first-year class diversity population is 26 percent. Hispanics make up the largest diversity group on campus, 9 percent this fall.
Four Westmont students ran over the competition in the 16th annual Westmont Collegiate Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition. The student venture, Polaris Athletic Training Systems Inc., took first place with its high-tech training device for runners and other athletes.