Westmont College

Westmont is located in a high fire area with limited access via narrow winding roads. Campus buildings were burned in fires in 1964, 1977, and 2008, and the campus has been threatened or partially damaged by fires on multiple other occasions.[10] The campus is routinely used as a staging area for firefighters when fires threaten the Montecito area. As a condition of approval of their Master Plan, Westmont agreed to a controversial "shelter in place" plan, also called "stay and defend" procedure, in case of a wildfire.[11][12] The college has a comprehensive wildfire response plan in place.[13]

The Coyote Fire began on September 22, 1964 in a canyon near Westmont's campus. The fire burned 75,000 acres and over 100 homes. Catherwood Hall, a men's dorm on the Westmont campus, was destroyed.[14]

The Sycamore Canyon Fire began on July 26, 1977 when a kite blew into power lines. Nearly 200 homes were burned, including several homes of Westmont employees, as well as 40 acres of undeveloped college property and part of an athletic field.[14]

On November 13, 2008, the steep and wooded Westmont campus was heavily damaged in the Tea Fire, which started in the hills near Montecito. No injuries were reported on the campus.[15][16] Numerous structures on the campus, including the Physics Lab, Psychology Building, Math Building, and 15 faculty homes were destroyed.[17] The Clark residence hall was severely damaged.[18] The Quonset Huts were also destroyed. Much of the campus's landscaping, consisting of oaks, eucalyptus trees and semi-arid vegetation, was burned.

Flames were spotted above upper campus around 5:30 p.m. on November 13. Students were led to Murchison Gymnasium, where they remained until the situation outside was safe. Doors and openings were sealed with masking tape to prevent smoke entry and a ventilation system was activated. The American Red Cross provided blankets and pillows to the hundreds of Westmont students, neighbors, and Preview/Visiting students. In the early morning after the immediate danger had passed, students were allowed to access their cars in certain parking lots and leave the campus. Others remained in the gymnasium until they found a ride off campus. Friends, family, local churches, and other sources provided temporary housing to refugees.

Classes resumed December 1 with the semester ending, as originally planned, on December 19, 2008.

The Westmont campus was evacuated in December 2017 due to the Thomas Fire. The last week of classes for the semester was cancelled, and final exams were administered as take-home exams. The campus was defended by a volunteer fire brigade, and it became one of the headquarters for CAL FIRE firefighting efforts.[17][19] No campus buildings were destroyed, and students returned to start the spring semester as scheduled on January 8, 2018, only to evacuate again on January 10 because of the threat of mudslides following the fire.[20] The combined risk of fire and mudslide led to a record five evacuations of campus during the 2017–2018 school year, but the campus ultimately suffered minimal damage.[21]

Off-campus programs are an important part of the Westmont experience with over 60 percent of students participating in a program at some point in their studies. Westmont offers a number of off-campus programs. These programs are run with a faculty member and include the Europe semester, England Semester, Westmont in Mexico, Westmont in Istanbul, and the San Francisco Urban program. Some students choose to participate in semester exchanges at one of the colleges in the Christian College Consortium, such as Gordon College, Houghton College, Seattle Pacific University, and Wheaton College (IL). Additionally, many students participate in other qualifying programs, including semesters in New Zealand, Belize, Washington DC, Chile, Italy, France, and Lithuania. Students receive transferable credit while they live and study abroad in these different programs. Some students work in internships while they are off campus, and many choose Washington DC or the San Francisco Urban program for this purpose.

Westmont hosts a popular annual student event Spring Sing, which in past years has been held at the Santa Barbara County Bowl or UC Santa Barbara auditorium. This event is a competition between the dorms with eight-minute musical comedy skits.

The skits incorporate an average of four or five clips of popular songs with altered original lyrics and original choreography. The lyrics are usually changed to reflect a humorous progression of the skit's main story. The dorm that wins has bragging rights for the next year.

Past sweepstakes winners have been Van Kampen Hall Women (2013), Page Men (2012), Van Kampen Hall Men (2011) and Armington Hall Men (2010).

Potter's Clay is a popular ministry program that occurs every year in Ensenada, Mexico during Westmont's spring break. Students interact with the local population and churches to help with construction, Vacation Bible School, and medical work.

• Alvin O. Austin – president emeritus, Le Tourneau University, Longview, Texas[33]
• Greg Bahnsen – theologian, Christian reconstructionist, Presbyterian minister, and Calvinist apologist[34]
• Michael G. Bailey - United States Attorney, District of Arizona [35][36]
• Tiffany Michelle Brissette – former American actress in the sitcom Small Wonder
• Melissa Chaty – Miss California 2007, Finalist in Miss America 2008.
• Priya David – CBS News correspondent.[37]
• Anita Perez Ferguson – former White House liaison for the US Department of Transportation during the Bill Clinton Administration.
• Kristen Flores – founder and CEO of the Feel Good Film Festival, American actress, set and production designer and film producer.
• John Hart – former correspondent and anchor CBS News, NBC News, Christian Science Monitor television.
• Allen Hopkins – sportscaster for ESPN and FSN[38]
• David Allan Hubbard – Third president of Fuller Seminary, Old Testament scholar, Word Biblical Commentary general editor.[39]
• Bob Huff – California state senator for the 29th District[40]
• Chad Kammerer – assistant basketball coach for Miami Heat[41]
• Kristin Olsen – California state assemblywoman[42]
• Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa – Malagasy Olympic sprinter and professional track athlete of the 1970s[43]
• George Alan Rekers – American psychologist and ordained Southern Baptist minister, anti-homosexual activist who was mired in a 2010 scandal involving a young male escort.[44][45]
• Michael Dean Shelton - American socialite and activist, CEO of the Shelton Family Foundation.
• Ron Shelton - U.S. film director of several films, including Bull Durham and White Men Can't Jump.[46]
• Caroline Sunshine – American actress, dancer and singer.
• Joshua Swanson – American theater, film and television and voice-over actor.
• Zak Vetter - American entrepreneur and sustainability educator[47]

• Jerry Blackstone – former music professor, Grammy Award-winning music conductor and director of choirs at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance.[48]
• Ronald Enroth – sociology professor and expert on cults[49]
• Robert H. Gundry – scholar-in-residence, author of Bible reference books, commentaries and articles[50]
• Tremper Longman III – Old Testament professor and scholar[51]
• Shirley Mullen – former history professor and provost, president of Houghton College.[52]
• Randy Pfund – former basketball assistant coach, former Los Angeles Lakers coach, and former Miami Heat executive[53][54]
• Peter W. Stoner – Christian apologist and author of Science Speaks[55]