Westmont Receives $75 Million Gift
An anonymous donor has given $75 million to Westmont, the second largest gift ever for a national liberal arts college. Westmont Chancellor David K. Winter announced the gift on Friday, Oct. 27.
“This is momentous news,” Winter said. “It will enable us to move to an entirely new level of effectiveness in accomplishing our mission as a liberal arts college deeply rooted in the historic Christian faith. By providing the support needed for our strong and distinctive academic program, this gift allows us to build and endow the facilities that will enable us to secure our place among the finest liberal arts schools in the nation.”
The anonymous donor wishes to be recognized only as a friend of the college who believes in its mission. “Our society and the world need leaders with deep personal character and Christian commitment in addition to a broad liberal arts education,” the donor said. “I have been very impressed with Westmont students and graduates and believe that these young men and women will make a difference in the world.”
“We are thankful for what has been accomplished in the past, but we have long desired the resources that would enable us to contribute more significantly to the needs of our society and world,” said David Eaton, chair of the board of trustees. “It would be impossible to express the level of gratitude we feel for this friend who has demonstrated confidence in the future of Westmont and made all this possible.”
Westmont belongs to a small group of classic liberal arts colleges in the nation that focus solely on educating undergraduates in a residential setting. Founded in 1937, the relatively young institution has been limited by a modest endowment and an incomplete campus. The college is entering the final stage of a six-year process to gain approval for new facilities, including another science building, an art center, a chapel, a residence hall and a track/soccer field. Westmont reached its ultimate enrollment of 1,200 students on its Montecito campus in 1987 and will not grow larger.
Previously, the largest gift to Westmont was $10 million donated in 2000 during the last capital campaign.
( Campus photos are at: http://blogs.westmont.edu/public_affairs/press-kit/ )