Short answers, pulled from the story.
Westmont College was founded in 1937 by Ruth Kerr, owner and CEO of the Kerr Glass Manufacturing Company. She established it as the Bible Missionary Institute on the former Westlake School for Girls campus near downtown Los Angeles.
Westmont College moved to Montecito in the fall of 1945 after outgrowing its Los Angeles facilities and failing to secure a new campus in Altadena earlier that year. The college purchased "El Tejado," the former 125-acre Dwight Murphy estate in Montecito.
Campus buildings were destroyed or damaged in fires in 1964, 1977, and 2008. The Tea Fire of November 2008 caused the most destruction, burning the Physics Lab, Psychology Building, Math Building, 15 faculty homes, and other structures. The Thomas Fire of 2017 forced a full evacuation but left campus buildings intact.
In 2006 an anonymous donor pledged $75 million to Westmont, at the time the second largest gift ever to a national liberal arts college. In September 2009, the donor withdrew the pledge, causing the college to defer construction of two planned buildings.
Westmont's student policy forbids gay marriage and all sexual or intimate contact outside of heterosexual marriage. In May 2023, college president Gaylee Bebee sent a letter to the United States Department of Education seeking assurance that Westmont could legally discriminate against students based on sexual orientation. Westmont holds an exemption from certain sections of Title IX.
Westmont College has competed primarily in the Golden State Athletic Conference of the NAIA since the 1986-87 academic year. On the 14th of July 2022, the NCAA notified Westmont of acceptance into the Division II membership process, with the college joining the Pacific West Conference beginning in the 2023-24 academic year.