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News & Events Recaps

January 2008

  • The fourth annual Frank Pack Distinguished Christian Scholar Lecture Program hosted acclaimed Christian author Lauren Winner on Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. in Smothers Theatre on Pepperdine's Malibu campus. The lecture, titled "Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity," is now available online. Click here to watch. Winner is the author of three books, Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, and Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity. She has appeared on PBS's Religion & Ethics Newsweekly and has written for The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly, Books and Culture, and Christianity Today. Her essays have been included in The Best Christian Writing for the years 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006.
  • 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. This year's homecoming activities will kick off on Friday as participants go "Back to the Classroom" to revisit old professors throughout the day. Also on Friday begins the "Best of Pepperdine," a series highlighting some of the best faculty at Pepperdine as they present on topics of their expertise. Featured faculty members include Dan Caldwell, Distinguished Professor of Political Science; School of Law dean Ken Starr; and Edward Shafranske, professor of psychology at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology.
  • The 31st Annual School of Law Dinner at Pepperdine University will feature The Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States, on the evening of Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008, in the Grand Ballroom at the Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood, California. School of Law dean Ken Starr will report on the school's recent activities, accomplishments, and future goals. Chief Justice John Roberts, who will serve as a judge for the Vincent S. Dalsimer moot court competition earlier in the day, will give the keynote address.
  • The Pepperdine University Fine Arts Division and Theatre Department presents The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman and the members of Tectonic Theater Project at the Helen E. Lindhurst Theatre on the Malibu campus. Time magazine called The Laramie Project "one of the best plays of 2000," and in 2002 the play won the Los Angeles Ovation Award for Best Play. Today it is one of the most produced plays in America. Pepperdine theatre professor George Neilson directs the student cast. The Laramie Project is the 40th show that he has directed for the University.
  • Robert F. Cochran, Jr., the Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law and director of the Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics, has recently released a new book titled Faith and Law: How Religious Traditions from Calvinism to Islam View American Law (NYU Press; 2008; $25.00). Faith and Law includes essays by legal scholars from sixteen different religious traditions. The scholars contend that religious discourse has an important function in the making, practice, and adjudication of American law, not least because our laws rest upon a framework of religious values. The book includes faiths that have traditionally had an impact on American law, as well as new immigrant faiths that are likely to have a growing influence. Each contributor describes how his or her tradition views law and addresses one legal issue from that perspective. Topics include abortion, gay rights, euthanasia, immigrant rights, blasphemy, and free speech.
  • Nationally recognized author Marianne Jennings will give this year's third Seaver College Dean's Distinguished Lecture on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. in Smothers Theatre on the Malibu campus. The lecture, titled "What Makes Really Smart and Good People Do Really Dumb and Unethical Things," is open to the public and free of charge. She is a professor of legal and ethical studies at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. She has authored more than 150 articles in academic, professional, and trade journals, and at least eight textbooks and monographs including her most recent book, The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse (2006). Another work, A Business Tale: A Story of Ethics, Choices, Success, and a Very Large Rabbit (2003), a fable about business ethics, was chosen by the Library Journal as its Business Book of the Year. Jennings's columns have been syndicated around the country, and her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Reader's Digest.
  • Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management announced new full-time masters degree programs in Applied Finance and Global Business designed for non-business undergraduate majors wishing to pursue careers in business. A new part-time M.S. degree in management and leadership has been designed for experienced business professionals who wish to enhance their management and leadership abilities. Applications are now being accepted for classes starting in fall 2008.
  • The 2007-08 Dean's Executive Leadership Series at the Graziadio School of Business and Management continues Tuesday, Jan. 22, with Bruce Rosenblum, president of Warner Bros. Television Group. As president of Warner Bros. Television Group Rosenblum manages the company's portfolio of television businesses including worldwide production, distribution, and broadcasting. Under his guidance, the company is developing new business models for the evolving television landscape including video-on-demand, broadband, and wireless offerings. He began his career as an entertainment attorney, and holds a juris doctor degree from UCLA.
  • The Pepperdine Volunteer Center and the Office of Intercultural Affairs will co-host the annual Week of Peace, Hope, and Justice beginning Monday, Jan. 21, through Friday, Jan. 25 on Pepperdine's Malibu campus. With the theme of "America - A Land of Opportunity," the week's events will focus on issues of injustice within the United States and recognize individuals who strive to create an equitable world for all people. The week kicks off on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a screening of Amazing Grace, a film about the life and work of British abolitionist William Wilberforce. A panel discussion featuring the film's producer Ken Wales and School of Law professor Ed Larson will follow. Don Lawrence of Pepperdine's Intercultural Affairs will read from Dr. King's writings.
  • Alan M. Dershowitz, the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and one of the most well-known criminal defense attorneys in the world, will speak in conversation with Dean Starr on Wednesday, Jan. 23, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in rooms D and E at the law school. The forum will explore issues of law and public policy and will include an opportunity for students to present questions. Dershowitz is a Brooklyn native and a graduate of Brooklyn College and Yale Law School. He joined the Harvard Law School faculty at age 25 after clerking for Judge David Bazelon and Justice Arthur Goldberg.
  • Pepperdine University will celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. with a special film screening and event on Monday, Jan. 21, and a candlelight vigil on Thursday, Jan. 24. The first event will feature a free screening of the film Amazing Grace, about the life of British abolitionist William Wilberforce, at 7 p.m. in Elkins Auditorium on the Malibu campus. A panel discussion featuring the film's producer Ken Wales and School of Law professor Ed Larson will follow. Don Lawrence of Pepperdine's Intercultural Affairs will read from Dr. King's writings. The event is sponsored by the Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics, together with the Office of the Provost, Intercultural Affairs, and student groups the Student Film Society and International Justice Mission.
  • Lewis Hyde, acclaimed author of The Gift, will discuss his book at a lecture on Thursday, Jan. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Pepperdine's Raitt Recital Hall in Malibu. Hyde will be available to sign copies of his book following the lecture. By now considered a modern classic, The Gift is a defense of the value of creativity and of its importance in a culture increasingly governed by money and overrun with commodities. Widely available again after 25 years, the book offers an illuminating view of the world that has been appreciated by artists of all kinds.
  • Men's basketball coach Vance Walberg has resigned his position effective Thursday, January 17, citing personal reasons. In informing Athletic Director Dr. John Watson of his decision Walberg said, "I'd like to thank Dr. Watson and President Andrew Benton for the opportunity to come here. This is a beautiful place. It just comes down to what I need to do personally and what's best for my family. I'd like to thank the entire Pepperdine community for their support. We have a lot of good people here. We've got some really good kids on this team and I wish them well." Dr. Watson said that Eric Bridgeland, in his second year as an assistant coach at Pepperdine, will take over as interim head coach.
  • An innovative conference titled "Character Perspectives: The Role of Character in our Society," will take place on Monday, Jan. 21, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Pepperdine University's Drescher Graduate Campus in Malibu. Presented by the Western Los Angeles County Council–Boy Scouts of America (BSA) of Van Nuys, California, and in partnership with the American Humanics Scholars of Pepperdine University, the conference aims to inspire individuals who will help in the future to shape character through education, law, public policy, and the nonprofit sector. Pepperdine School of Law dean Ken Starr will deliver the keynote address.
  • Dr. Stephen D. Davis, Distinguished Professor of Biology at Pepperdine University, has been named by Baylor University as the 2008 recipient of the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching, the only national teaching award - with the single largest monetary reward of $200,000 - presented by a college or university to an individual for exceptional teaching. Listen to a conversation with Davis about the award.
  • Pepperdine Men's Volleyball 2008 Season Opens:With high hopes for 2008, the No. 2 Pepperdine men's volleyball team begins the regular season on Wednesday, Jan. 9, and Saturday, Jan. 12, with home matches against No. 14 UC Santa Barbara and No. 8 Cal State Northridge. This marks the 25th season as head coach for Marv Dunphy. This season the Waves team may boast the nation's best 1-2 punch in senior setter Jonathan Winder and junior opposite Paul Carroll. For that, the Waves were named preseason favorite by the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF).