GAYLE D. BEEBE, PH.D.
President
We’re excited to embark on a new academic year, our 89th. We look forward to celebrating our 90th anniversary next fall and feel profound gratitude for the ways God continues to guide, sustain and expand Westmont’s mission. While giving thanks for a wonderful season of milestones, we remain mindful of the strong headwinds challenging higher education.
At Warrior Welcome, we joyfully greeted more than 370 new students, including the second highest number from Santa Barbara County. More than 100 new student-athletes have enrolled, with the first para-athlete and 18 members of the inaugural STUNT team, the only one on the Central Coast. Our overall enrollment on and off campus, 1,334, represents the highest numbers we've seen since 2017.
We’re equally grateful to recognize our exceptional new faculty and staff joining the Westmont community this semester. Five new tenure-track professors bring a shared commitment to integrating faith with academic excellence. They include Kristen Wood (engineering), Jarrett Walbolt (kinesiology), returning professor Stephen Owusu (economics and business), Demetrius Tucker (English) and alumnus Gregg Ten Elshof ’92 (philosophy).
Our nursing program continues to flourish in partnership with Cottage Health. This fall, we welcomed 40 new nursing students, 31 in the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) cohort and the first nine in the Master's Entry Program in Nursing (MEPN) program. Currently, 144 students are studying nursing, and we’ve served a total of 298 students through the program. Cottage Hospital recently shared that they’ve hired 58 Westmont nursing graduates, a testament to how this initiative directly supports local healthcare needs.
Our first nursing cohort to graduate during the summer term honored 19 new registered nurses at a traditional
pinning ceremony Aug. 20 at Montecito Covenant Church. Nursing graduate Ilyssa Glick offered an inspiring reflection about how the cohort found their “why” in life. We look forward to officially dedicating the new Westmont Downtown | Keith Center on Anapamu Street on Thursday, Nov. 19, at a community open house.
Westmont has formally joined the Academic Flourishing Project under the leadership of Carmel Saad, chief diversity officer and professor of psychology. In our first monthly report, Westmont achieved an extraordinary 78% participation rate, far outpacing all the other institutions. We look forward to diving deeper into this data later in the fall.
LEAD Where You Stand, our annual leadership conference, examined Leadership, Human Flourishing and Artificial Intelligence, bringing together a distinguished lineup of leading thinkers, bestselling authors and researchers June 4-5 at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. About 350 people attended the event, which equipped executives, educators and business leaders to navigate a rapidly shifting technological and cultural landscape.
CATLab’s expansive partnership with an event-ticketing company took the spotlight at the sixth annual Impact Conference on July 31. Student innovators demonstrated ticketing solutions for the college using software from Webconnex, a company co-founded by Eric Knopf ’05. Keynote speakers included Alison Lee of the Rithm Project and Charles Ryu, founder of Freedom Bridge.
A grant of nearly $100,000 from the Network for Vocation in
Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) funds a strategic, institution-wide program encouraging students to explore potential careers early in their college experience. It will fund a versatile, one-unit course delivered by qualified staff members outside of the Career Resource Center, expanding the center’s reach and capacity to serve students.
Our successful summer research program involved 37 students from seven departments in hands-on academic exploration with their professors. Mark your calendars for the Celebration of Summer Research on Friday, Oct. 16.
This summer, Conference Services hosted 86 different groups, including 19 Westmont camps and retreats. Two successful new offerings, Engineering Design Innovation and Science by the Sea Camp, introduced young adults to campus while giving them a rigorous taste of STEM majors and research careers. In its 10th year, Trailhead enrolled 46 young adults this summer, supplying them with tools for advancing in faith, self-knowledge and vocational direction.
Construction continues on the new facility housing the Martin Institute for Christianity and Culture and the Dallas Willard Research Center. The institute recently received a $460,000 Institutional Impact Grant from Wake Forest University for their Enculturing Character Project, which will weave intellectual, moral and spiritual formation into the fabric of Westmont’s campus life.
Facility improvements have also transformed our athletic spaces this summer. Serving as the training site for the Qatar World Cup team yielded a complete resurfacing of the soccer field on Thorrington Field. Major upgrades to the tennis complex and a new golf practice facility are also taking shape.
Westmont continues its steady rise among the nation’s premier institutions, climbing six spots to No. 109 (tied) among National Liberal Arts Colleges in the 2027 U.S. News & World Report rankings. For more than two decades, Westmont has held its position as the No. 1 Christian liberal arts college in California and the Western U.S. and remains one of the top two nationally ranked members of the CCCU. This recognition reflects our steadfast commitment to offer a rigorous academic experience rooted in our Christian mission, equipping students to flourish academically, grow spiritually and lead lives of purpose.
Beyond overall institutional strength, these latest metrics demonstrate our deepening commitment to student success and social mobility. We achieved a 35-spot surge in Top Performers on Social Mobility, alongside marked gains in Pell Grant graduation rates, graduate earning power and top-tier rankings for our engineering and economics programs. Accompanied by national honors from Forbes, Fiske, Money Magazine, Niche and College Raptor, and a remarkable 93% career or graduate school placement rate for our Class of 2025, these results demonstrate the enduring power and value of a Westmont education.
A historic chapter in Warrior athletics has opened as our new STUNT program begins its inaugural practices. The timing of this expansion aligns exceptionally well with national developments, following the NCAA’s decision to recognize STUNT as a championship sport and its official adoption by the PacWest Conference. We’re eager to build a program that broadens student-athlete opportunities and deeply reflects Westmont's commitment to developing leaders on and off the field.
The vision of athletic director Rob Ruiz and dedication of head coach Ariana Johnson have made Westmont the
premier destination for STUNT on the Central Coast, and we look forward to supporting this team in person as they embark on their historic run. You can watch a television news story about the STUNT team on News Channels 3-12.
We give thanks for the remarkable generosity of our Westmont community and the successful conclusion of our 10-year Forward in Faithfulness campaign. We’re now transitioning into a period of discernment before establishing priorities for our next 10-year campaign.
As we look toward the future, we remain anchored in our core priorities and strategic aspirations. We hope to grow enrollment to 1,500 students by 2027 and 1,800 by 2032 while adhering to the cap of 1,200 on our main campus and expanding downtown and moving further into nontraditional programs. We continue to innovate our curricular and co-curricular offerings while ensuring we remain aligned with our Christian mission and liberal arts identity. We continue to grow our endowment to secure Westmont's long-term financial foundation. We’re also working to thoughtfully engage with AI, navigating the ethical, pedagogical and operational implications of emerging technologies.
Upcoming Events
Oct. 13: Book release of “Leadership and the Liberal Arts”
Oct. 16: Celebration of Summer Research
Oct. 16: Boersma Tennis Complex Dedication & Ribbon Cutting
Oct. 16-18: Homecoming for alumni in class years ending in 1 and 6
Oct. 16: Wallace Emerson Society Luncheon
Oct. 17: 15th Annual Westmont Golf Classic at Santa Barbara Golf Club
Nov. 19: Westmont Downtown Open House
Dec. 5-6: Christmas Festival at Granada Theatre
Feb. 26, 2027: 22nd annual President’s Breakfast featuring Arthur Brooks
April 2-4, 2027: Spring Parent and Family Weekend
April 3, 2027: Spring Sing at the Santa Barbara Bowl
June 3-4, 2027: 13th annual LEAD Where You Stand conference featuring David Brooks
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As I continue in my 20th year as president of Westmont, I'm incredibly grateful for God’s extraordinary faithfulness to this college community. Through seasons of transition, growth and opportunities to innovate, His providence has consistently guided our steps and anchored our mission. Serving our extraordinary students alongside such dedicated faculty, staff, and leadership remains one of the great privileges of my life. Thank you for your prayerful support for Westmont College.
Blessings,
Gayle D. Beebe, Ph.D.
President