Beginning in fall 2016, Westmont College will award scholarships covering 85 percent of tuition to 30 applicants each year. An extraordinary gift from a generous donor will fund the new Augustinian Scholarship and Honors Program.
By 2019, 120 Augustinian Scholars will benefit each year from significant financial assistance and challenging coursework.
“In the fifth century, Augustine made the finest defense ever for the enduring presence of thoughtful Christians in every society,” says President Gayle D. Beebe. “We seek to educate a new generation of Augustinian Scholars to engage every sphere of society with skill, savvy and competence while making a winsome defense for their faith.
“We’re committed to making a Westmont education affordable for all students and families, and we deeply appreciate this incredible gift that will make a difference for so many students,” he said.
Augustinian Scholars will benefit from Westmont’s rigorous liberal arts curriculum and Christ-centered education. The honors program features specially designed leadership classes, opportunities to serve as student leaders and gain hands-on experience, semester-long study abroad opportunities, training in spiritual formation and residence with other Augustinian Scholars on campus in the senior year.
The criteria for Augustinian Scholarship candidates include applying early action to Westmont, earning excellent high school grades and test scores, demonstrating an aptitude for leadership and professing a desire to grow in the Christian faith.
Westmont also announces a 38 percent increase in financial aid for students enrolling in fall 2016, making the college more affordable for many applicants.
“Thanks to substantial support from our many friends, we’re able to offer additional scholarship assistance to incoming students,” Beebe says. “We continue to seek ways to help bright and committed students afford the cost of college.”
Aurelius Augustine, who lived from 354–430 A.D. in Northern Africa, served as bishop of Hippo and published numerous works about the Christian faith that continue to inspire believers today.
Recognized as the most significant Christian thinker of his time, Augustine created an influential and compelling theological system. He wrote The City of God in response to Roman leaders who blamed Christians for the sack of Rome in 410 A.D.
Excavating the history of the Roman Empire, he argued that Christians had not contributed to the demise of Rome. Instead, he identified them as the moral thread holding the empire together.
— Scott Craig is the manager of media relations for Westmont College.