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News & Events Recaps

February 2008

  • Stephen D. Davis, Distinguished Professor of Biology and the 2008 recipient of the Robert Foster Cherry Award Recipient for Great Teaching, will present his Cherry Award lecture, titled "Undergraduate Research: Celebrating the Spice of Science," on Monday, Feb. 11, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Smothers Theatre on the Malibu campus. In honor of Davis's award, the Natural Science Division also will present the "Celebration of Science, Scholarship, and Students Symposium". Six of his distinguished alumni, former faculty, and colleagues - Drs. Stephanie Fabritius, Anna Jacobsen, Brandon Pratt, Frank Ewers, Dwayne Simmons, and Gary Tallman - will each present the "one big idea" in science on which they are currently focused and its implications for the scientific community.
  • Distinguished author and analyst Steven Hayward will speak at the School of Law on Thursday, Feb. 7, to discuss the results of the Super Tuesday primaries. Hayward will participate in a dialogue with School of Law dean Kenneth Starr, School of Public Policy acting dean Robert Kaufman, and School of Law professors Ed Larson and Douglas Kmiec. Steven Hayward is a F.K. Weyerhaeuser Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. He is an illustrious author who studies the environment, law, political economy, and the presidency. He has written several books, including Churchill on Leadership, The Real Jimmy Carter, and The Age of Reagan.
  • The Pepperdine University chapter of the Delta Delta Delta Fraternity, and the Pepperdine Panhellenic Council will present a lecture titled Kristins's Story: A Story of Acquaintance Rape and Depression on Monday, Feb. 11, at 8:30 p.m. in Elkins Auditorium on the Malibu campus. Kristin's Story, a proactive, co-educational rape education program, is open to the public and aims to raise awareness about the unspoken concerns surrounding acquaintance rape, depression and suicide among college students. Kristin Cooper, a Baker University student and member of Alpha Chi Omega, committed suicide on New Year's Eve, 1995. Kristin's Story is the story of a young woman's acquaintance rape and subsequent suicide as told by her mother, Andrea Cooper. Cooper, a member of Delta Delta Delta and a graduate of Florida State University, has been giving similar presentations over the past ten years. The presentation at Pepperdine is funded by a grant from the Alpha Chi Omega Foundation and the Delta Delta Delta Foundation.
  • The School of Public Policy presents John B. Taylor, the Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics at Stanford University, in a lecture titled 'The Untold Story of International Finance in a Post 9/11 World' on Tuesday, Feb. 12. Taylor is the Bowen H. and Janice Arthur McCoy Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and former Under Secretary of International Affairs for the United States Treasury. From his vantage point as head of the international division at Treasury for four years, Taylor provides an intimate look into the years that followed 9/11, depicting the White House situation room, the meetings of the G7 finance ministers, and cities around the world in a tour of crises and successes. His story is a testament to the determination of global financial leaders during the war on terror.
  • Andrew K. Benton, president of Pepperdine University, has been named chair of the Board of Directors at the American Council on Education (ACE), the major coordinating body for all the nation's higher education institutions. Benton assumed his role on Monday, Feb. 11, during ACE's 90th Annual Meeting in San Diego, California. Benton will serve a one-year term as ACE board chair. He succeeds Ricardo R. Fernández, president of Lehman College, The City University of New York. Before becoming ACE board chair, Benton served as the board's vice chair from 2007-08.
  • The Pepperdine University School of Public Policy, in conjunction with the Republican Jewish Coalition, will present an expert panel discussion on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. on Pepperdine University's Drescher Graduate Campus in Malibu. The discussion, titled "Radical Islam: The Struggle within the Islamic World," is open to the public and free of charge. The event seeks to create awareness and understanding within the Pepperdine and local communities about the Islam religion and the influences behind the radical Islam movement. A noted panel of experts will discuss how moderate Muslims can prevail over radical Islamists worldwide.
  • The Licata Lecture Series at the School of Public Policy will host Stuart Epperson of Salem Communications on Thursday, Feb. 14, at 12 noon in the Drescher Campus Auditorium. The lecture, titled "Freedom and the Fairness Doctrine," is open to the public and free of charge. Epperson is chair of Salem Communications Corporation, the leading U.S.
    radio broadcaster focused primarily on religious and family-themed programming with 100 radio stations including 67 stations in 24 of the top 25 markets. He is the founder and the first president of the Winston-Salem Rescue Mission, a shelter for the homeless; the founder of Salem Pregnancy Support Center; the founder of One Kid At A Time Mentoring organization; and serves on the board of the Piedmont Opera Theatre. In 1984 and 1986 he was the Republican nominee for U.S. Congress (NC-5) and in 2005 was named one of the "Top 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America" by Time magazine.
  • Homecoming 2008 comes to Pepperdine University's Malibu campus from Friday, Feb. 15, through Sunday, Feb. 17. The celebration, themed Catch A Wave, will bring alumni back to Pepperdine as they relive their college days, rekindle old friendships, and network with new friends on the beautiful Malibu campus. The event is also open to the public.
  • Pepperdine University has earned a Top 25 ranking on the list of "Top Peace Corps Volunteer Producing Colleges and Universities." This honor is given to higher education institutions with the most alumni currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers. Pepperdine ranked 21 among small colleges and universities, which includes institutions with fewer than 5,000 undergraduates. There are currently 15 undergraduate alumni and two graduate alumni from Pepperdine serving in the Peace Corps. Volunteers in the Peace Corps serve in countries ranging from Asia to Central America and from Europe to Africa. In each of these countries, volunteers work with governments, schools, and entrepreneurs to address complex needs in education, health and HIV/AIDS, business, information technology, agriculture, and the environment.
  • Dyron Daughrity, Seaver College assistant professor of religion, has recently released a new book titled Bishop Stephen Neill, From Edinburgh to South India (Peter Lang Publishing; 2008; $77.95). The book chronicles the ecumenical activities of Bishop Stephen Neill, who was one of the most gifted figures of world Christianity during the twentieth century. Described as a "much-tempted, brilliant, enigmatic man," the bishop's writings reveal little about the scholar himself. Through interviews and archival research, Daughrity's book answers many of the questions surrounding this distinguished Christian statesman's conflicting life.
  • Starting fall 2008, Pepperdine University will begin admitting a select group of business-track undergraduate students into a new program in which they earn both a bachelor's and MBA degree in only five years. High-performing freshmen and students in their junior year of studies enrolled Seaver College will be eligible, as well as candidates transferring from community colleges or other universities into Seaver College programs. Students will receive their Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Business Administration, International Business, or Accounting from Pepperdine University's Seaver College and either their Master of Business Administration (MBA) or their International Master of Business Administration (IMBA) from the Graziadio School of Business and Management.