Chapel 1984 - 1985

Prior to sending all of our students out to the world for Spring Break, we take time to pray and as God's protection, provision, and guidance. We will specifically take time in this service to pray for those students going on Potter's Clay in Ensenada, Mexico and Student Ministries Mission's trips all over the globe, as well as those going to Jackson, Mississippi for a special Racial Equality and Justice Reconciliation trip.

Jerry Herbert, director of the American Studies Program (ASP), was born in Los Angeles, served in the U.S. Army as a special agent with Military Intelligence in Uijungbu, Korea, and earned his doctorate in political science from Duke University. Editor of America, Christian or Secular?, he has served on the national board of and is affiliated with the Center for Public Justice and has taught during their summer Civitas Leadership Program. He's also involved with the Mustard Seed Foundation and helps lead a one-week summer institute for the Harvey Fellows Program (www.msfdn.org).Also, as a longtime member and elder at Washington Community Fellowship on Capital Hill, he helped launch the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, just a few blocks away from the ASP campus.

The Office of the Academic Dean, along with the faculty of Westmont, celebrate the achievements of the graduating class. Each academic department extends their highest honors to outstanding seniors in their discipline who have achieved academic excellence.

David Winter- Dr. David Winter was the president and guiding force of Westmont College for 25 years, retiring in 2006. Under his leadership, Westmont has become both a superb Christian liberal arts college and one of the nation's leading undergraduate institutions, based on the findings of such respected organizations as the Carnegie Foundation, U.S. News and World Report and the Templeton Foundation. While president of Westmont, he was named among the 100 most effective college leaders in the U.S. based on a study funded by the Exxon Foundation. He was also a recipient of one of five President Leadership Awards and grants given nationally by the Knight Foundation.

Robert Ohman was the pastor of Carmel Presbyterian Church and was involved in many church committees throughout California.

John Hess earned his Ph.D at USC, MS at Indiana University and BA at Wheaton College in Ill. Jon served as VP and Dean of Students at Westmont College from ’73-’89. From ’89-’99 he focused on executive coaching with focus on intensive life management groups. John Hess is the founder and principle consultant for Burgess & Co. His professional background includes being Senior VP at Westmont; extensive personal executive coaching with CEO’s; and forming and leading small, intensive life-management groups with a spiritual focus. He currently serves as Vice President of Capital Commerce Group, a small investment banking firm in Santa Barbara. For the past three years he has worked with The Executive Committee (TEC), the premier CEO development organization with over 6,000 members throughout the United States and Canada.

Ron Ritchie pursued his undergraduate degree in education, and then in 1966 went on to finish his Th.M. degree at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Ron was called to begin full-time ministry at Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church in Walnut Creek, California. In 1969, he was called to join the staff at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, where he served for some 27 years with his spiritual gifts as a pastor/teacher, evangelist and visionary, and eventually in the role as an elder. In 1997, the Lord called him to join the staff of Fellowship Bible Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado as a pastor and elder. And then, in 2000 the Lord (in concert with a group of godly men and women) encouraged Ron to begin a non-profit organization called Free at Last. This ministry is designed to enable him to use his spiritual gifts within the local church, and to continue both his national and international conference ministry.

Ron Ritchie pursued his undergraduate degree in education, and then in 1966 went on to finish his Th.M. degree at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Ron was called to begin full-time ministry at Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church in Walnut Creek, California. In 1969, he was called to join the staff at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, where he served for some 27 years with his spiritual gifts as a pastor/teacher, evangelist and visionary, and eventually in the role as an elder. In 1997, the Lord called him to join the staff of Fellowship Bible Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado as a pastor and elder. And then, in 2000 the Lord (in concert with a group of godly men and women) encouraged Ron to begin a non-profit organization called Free at Last. This ministry is designed to enable him to use his spiritual gifts within the local church, and to continue both his national and international conference ministry.

Ron Ritchie pursued his undergraduate degree in education, and then in 1966 went on to finish his Th.M. degree at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Ron was called to begin full-time ministry at Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church in Walnut Creek, California. In 1969, he was called to join the staff at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, where he served for some 27 years with his spiritual gifts as a pastor/teacher, evangelist and visionary, and eventually in the role as an elder. In 1997, the Lord called him to join the staff of Fellowship Bible Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado as a pastor and elder. And then, in 2000 the Lord (in concert with a group of godly men and women) encouraged Ron to begin a non-profit organization called Free at Last. This ministry is designed to enable him to use his spiritual gifts within the local church, and to continue both his national and international conference ministry.

Rev. Dr. Harold L. Bussell received an M.A. in Psychology from Santa Clara University in 1974 and a D.Div. in 1980 from Andover Newton Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. He established a drug rehabilitation center in Paris, France in 1968-1970, was a pastor in Saratoga, California from 1970-1976, served as Dean of Students at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts from 1976-1988, and was the Senior Pastor of the First Congregational Church in Hamilton, Massachusetts from 1984-1996. Since 1996 he has been Senior Pastor at El Montecito Presbyterian Church in Santa Barbara, California. He is the author of Unholy Devotion and By Hook or By Crook, as well as numerous articles in a variety of journals, magazines, and newspapers.

Jeffrey Schloss, Ph.D. studied biology and philosophy as an undergraduate at Wheaton College, pursued postbaccalaureate study in field biology at the University of Virginia and the University of Michigan, and received his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Washington University. He has taught at the University of Michigan, Wheaton College, Jaguar Creek Tropical Research Center, and is currently Professor of Biology at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA and Director of Biological Programs for the Christian Environmental Association.He has been a Danforth Fellow, a AAAS Fellow in Science Communication, and a Discovery Fellow. His twofold research interests include ecophysiological strategies of poikilohydric organisms and evolutionary theories of altruistic morality. His most recent project, a collaborative volume with Oxford Press, is Altruistic Love: Scientific & Theological Perspectives.

Jeffrey Schloss, Ph.D. studied biology and philosophy as an undergraduate at Wheaton College, pursued postbaccalaureate study in field biology at the University of Virginia and the University of Michigan, and received his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Washington University. He has taught at the University of Michigan, Wheaton College, Jaguar Creek Tropical Research Center, and is currently Professor of Biology at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA and Director of Biological Programs for the Christian Environmental Association.He has been a Danforth Fellow, a AAAS Fellow in Science Communication, and a Discovery Fellow. His twofold research interests include ecophysiological strategies of poikilohydric organisms and evolutionary theories of altruistic morality. His most recent project, a collaborative volume with Oxford Press, is Altruistic Love: Scientific & Theological Perspectives.

Joy, who has completed a 28 year career as professor of human development and family studies at Asbury Theological Seminary is a distinguished lecturer and author of eighteen books, most of them dealing with relationships, human development and the family. His research in moral reasoning of children continues to take him into parent and school conferences as a consultant and speaker. He has been a frequent guest on Dr. James Dobson's well known radio talk show, "Focus on the Family." But he has also served as a consultant to the Office of Pregnancy Prevention at the US Department of Health and Human Services. In 1993 and 1994 he was called on to work with the Christian Embassy inside the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill as policies on sexual issues were being hammered out. Dr. Joy holds graduate degrees from Southern Methodist University in counseling, from Indiana University in curriculum development, with concentrations in developmental psychology and in English linguistics, and from Asbury Theological Seminary where he prepared for a career in pastoral care and ministry.

Joy, who has completed a 28 year career as professor of human development and family studies at Asbury Theological Seminary is a distinguished lecturer and author of eighteen books, most of them dealing with relationships, human development and the family. His research in moral reasoning of children continues to take him into parent and school conferences as a consultant and speaker. He has been a frequent guest on Dr. James Dobson's well known radio talk show, "Focus on the Family." But he has also served as a consultant to the Office of Pregnancy Prevention at the US Department of Health and Human Services. In 1993 and 1994 he was called on to work with the Christian Embassy inside the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill as policies on sexual issues were being hammered out. Dr. Joy holds graduate degrees from Southern Methodist University in counseling, from Indiana University in curriculum development, with concentrations in developmental psychology and in English linguistics, and from Asbury Theological Seminary where he prepared for a career in pastoral care and ministry.

Ray Stedman was the pastor for 40 years of the Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, and the author of more than 30 books. He and his wife, Elaine, were married at the close of the war, and he began a course of study at Dallas Theological Seminary. He spent summer months working with and learning from both J. Vernon McGee and Dr. Harry Ironside. After graduating in 1950, Ray was called to be the pastor at PBC where he served until his retirement in 1990. Two of his innumerable books made a major impact on the church in the 1970s and 1980s—and continue to add influence in the new millennium. His classic,Body Life, served as a blueprint for a spiritual revolution in the 1970s and began the small-group movement in churches across America! Examining Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 12, and Romans, the book explores the design, purposes, and goals of the early church for today’s church, inspiring a new generation to a passion for the gospel. Authentic Christianity, his study of 2 Corinthians, advocates that the reason individual Christians are so tired—tired of struggling, failing, hanging in, hanging on, working overtime—is that they are carrying a load never meant for their shoulders. The solution? A rediscovery of fresh power and fresh purpose for living—“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

David Winter- Dr. David Winter was the president and guiding force of Westmont College for 25 years, retiring in 2006. Under his leadership, Westmont has become both a superb Christian liberal arts college and one of the nation's leading undergraduate institutions, based on the findings of such respected organizations as the Carnegie Foundation, U.S. News and World Report and the Templeton Foundation. While president of Westmont, he was named among the 100 most effective college leaders in the U.S. based on a study funded by the Exxon Foundation. He was also a recipient of one of five President Leadership Awards and grants given nationally by the Knight Foundation. Upon accepting his call to the ministry in 1972, Dr. Hubbard began studying at the Southern California Bible College and Seminary. He received his Bachelor of Arts and his Bachelor of Theology Degrees on May 17, 1979. He then went on to acquire his Master of Arts in Religion on May 2, 1994, and his Doctor of Philosophy in Religion on May 1, 1995. In October 1982, Dr. Hubbard, along with his wife Rev. Jerri Hubbard, accepted the position of Pastor of the First Baptist Church (later renamed Inner City Baptist Church) in downtown San Diego, California. Instrumental for many years in bringing the homeless and destitute if the inner city area to Christ, Dr. Hubbard envisioned his ministry to be a mainstay in downtown San Diego

John Schneider has a master's degree in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a doctorate in Divinity from the University of Cambridge. He taught Christian theology at Westmont College from 1981-1985, and has taught theology at Calvin College since 1986. He has written three books: Philip Melanchthon's Rhetorical Construal of Biblical Authority: Oratio Sacra (Edwin Mellen, 1990); Godly Materialism (IVP, 1994); and The Good of Affluence: Seeking God in a Culture of Wealth (Eerdmans, 2002), and more than forty articles on a variety of theological subjects. In 2002 he co-taught a Calvin College Summer Seminar with Davis Young on "Natural Science and the Reformed Tradition." Currently he is working on a book that explores Protestant Christian systematic theology in the context of recent evolutionary science.

Robert Ohman was the pastor of Carmel Presbyterian Church and was involved in many church committees throughout California.

Dr. Wilt earned his Ph.D. from The American University in Washington, D.C., and inspired thousands of students during his more than 35 years of active teaching to the college. He continues to serve Westmont by overseeing the on-going research and cataloging of the college’s archives, producing wonderful and inspiring narratives about Westmont’s history, since its founding in 1937.

Wennberg was named teacher of the year at Westmont a record five times (1973, 1982, 1989, 1995 and 2002) and received the faculty research award in 1986. He taught philosophy at Westmont for 37 years and authored several books, including "Faith at the Edge: A Book for Doubters" and "God, Humans and Animals: An Invitation to Enlarge Our Moral Universe".