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Pepperdine Welcomes New Faculty

Graziadio School of Business and Management

Larry W. Cox, associate professor of entrepreneurship, comes to Pepperdine having served as director of the nationally recognized Entrepreneurship Center at Ball State University’s Miller College of Business. Under his leadership, the Entrepreneurship Center established a new venture generation program, the Nascent 500 Business Plan Challenge, and an entrepreneurship apprenticeship program. Previously he was director of the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which ranked in the top 50 nationally by EntrePoint.com and Entrepreneur Magazine during his tenure. Cox holds a Ph.D., M.A., and B.S. from University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

James Dilellio, practitioner faculty in decision sciences, has primary areas of research interest in applied mathematics, computation, and statistical methods associated with materials, satellite navigation, signal processing, and mathematical finance. He most recently served as a senior manager at The Boeing Company, and previously held key engineering appointments at Raytheon Company and The Aerospace Corporation. Dilellio taught at the Northwestern University and the University of Akron. He earned a Ph.D. and M.S. degree from Northwestern University, and holds an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Kevin Groves, associate professor of organizational theory, served as an assistant management professor at California State University, Los Angeles and director of the PepsiCo Leadership Center. He is actively involved in a range of empirical research projects that address leadership and organizational behavior topics, including charismatic/transformational leadership, leadership competencies, emotional intelligence, managerial thinking styles, executive development, and succession planning. His paper “Measuring and Developing the Emotional Intelligence of Leaders” is forthcoming in the Journal of Management Development. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. from Claremont Graduate University and a B.A. from Eastern Washington University.

Charles P. Leo, practitioner faculty of applied behavioral science, has more than 25 years of executive-level management experience in the areas of human resources management, employment law and policies, strategic planning, and organizational development. Leo has had significant consulting assignments advising more than 250 organizations throughout the country in both the private and public sectors. In addition, he is a principal in the L& S Human Resource and Employment Law Consultancy Group. He earned a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Stephen Rapier, practitioner faculty in marketing, is executive vice president of the Artime Group, an advertising and branding firm in Pasadena, California and chief architect of an integrated approach to marketing communications that includes brand development, strategic messaging, media planning, marketing planning, public relations, and market research. He has provided strategic consultation for a variety of clients, among them 3M Unitek, Rose Hills, Utility Trailer, Affinity Internet, and GBC Motorsports. Rapier has taught at Claremont Graduate University, University of Southern California, and California State Universities. He holds a B.S. degree from Cal State, Long Beach, and an M.A. degree from Claremont Graduate University, where he is completing his doctoral studies.

Don Rudkin, practitioner faculty in accounting, is a former managing partner for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, who retired from the firm in 2005 and was invited back as a senior executive. He has more than 20 years of valued service with Deloitte, including responsibilities for human resources, marketing, quality control, and operations. Rudkin earned a B.A. degree from California State University, Northridge, and an M.B.A. from California State University, Long Beach.