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School of Law Celebrates 2008 Graduation
The Pepperdine School of Law celebrates its 2008 graduation on Friday, May 16, at 10:30 a.m. in Alumni Park on the Malibu campus. Kurt L. Schmoke, dean of Howard University School of Law, will give the commencement address. Montgomery "Monty" F. Moran, president and chief operating officer of Chipotle Mexican Grill, will be honored as the Distinguished Alumnus. Herbert Nootbaar, former president of H. V. Nootbaar & Co. and a benefactor of the school, will be honored as well.
About Kurt L. Schmoke
Kurt L. Schmoke is the dean of the Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. Howard University is a private, historically black academic institution of higher learning chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1867, which opened its law school two years later. Notable Howard Law alumni include Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall and former Virginia governor L. Douglas Wilder.
Prior to his tenure at Howard Law, Schomke was a partner at the international law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering from 1999 to 2002. Preceding that relationship he had served three terms as the mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, the first African American to be voted into that office, initially elected in November 1987. Of his many achievements while mayor, Schmoke successfully led a campaign to take Baltimore "The City That Reads" by creating a program promoting education, literacy, and student achievement. Also during his term, Schmoke boosted homeownership in Baltimore, made the city a national model of urban neighborhood revitalization, and created an environment attractive to business growth in the health sciences, tourism, information technology, and biotechnology.
President George H. W. Bush awarded Schmoke the National Literacy Award in 1992, and President Bill Clinton also praised Schmoke's efforts in public housing and economic development and commended Baltimore as one of six Empowerment Zone Cities in 1994.
Schmoke has dedicated much of his life to public service and was on President Jimmy Carter's domestic policy staff, was an assistant U.S. Attorney in Baltimore, and served as Baltimore's chief prosecuting officer.
Schmoke received his bachelor's degree in history from Yale University in 1971, and pursued graduate study at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1976.
Schmoke lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife Patricia.
About Montgomery "Monty" F. Moran
Monty Moran is president and chief operating officer of Chipotle Mexican Grill, a restaurant company specializing in food made from the finest ingredients and prepared using classical cooking methods. Headquartered in Denver, Chipotle was founded in 1993 and is today a public company with more than 730 restaurants nationwide, over 20,000 employees, and over $1 billion in revenues.
Moran assumed leadership at Chipotle in 2005 but his relationship with Chipotle began years earlier when he began negotiating real estate leases for the then start-up business. At that time, Moran was an attorney with the Denver-based law firm Messner & Reeves, where he later became CEO, managing partner, and head of the firm's trial practice group. Prior to joining Messner & Reeves in 1996, Moran was a trial lawyer at the California firm of Morris, Polich & Purdy.
At Chipotle, Moran has dedicated himself to fostering a company culture that recognizes and rewards top performers and prepares them for future leadership roles. This innovative approach has resulted in a more stable workforce, consistently well-run restaurants, and record profits for Chipotle. Moran's focus on a selfless work ethic exemplifies the Pepperdine ideal of servant leadership; he articulates that one must care about a client's problems more than they do themselves.
Moran and his wife Kathryn are teaching their three children the value of "giving back." The family assembles packages for Mothers Without Borders, which provides relief to orphans and widows worldwide. The Morans also contribute to charitable causes that support the environment and conserve wildlife habitats.
Moran received his bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado in 1988, and his juris doctor, cum laude, from Pepperdine School of Law in 1993. His wife Kathryn, is also an alumna of Pepperdine School of Law, Class of 1992. They make their home in Boulder, Colorado.
About Herbert V. Nootbaar
Herbert V. Nootbaar and his wife Elinor are the principal benefactors and namesakes of the Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics, as well as the dean's office, at the School of Law. The institute was inaugurated in 2003 with a lecture by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Since then it has pursued a program of faith-based, scholarly discourse exploring the intersection of religion and real life by some of the most notable thinkers and practitioners in the legal profession. In 1997 Nootbaar suffered a severe, life-threatening accident requiring a long and painful rehabilitation. Seeking the purposes for God's providences in his restoration to health at an advanced age, in 2007 Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar graciously endowed the institute to continue its mission and work long into the future.
Born in 1908, Nootbaar has a vantage point of experience and history that few humans achieve beyond mere longevity. In 1920 his parents moved the family from Chicago to Southern California where he has made his home ever since. Nootbaar remains president of H. V. Nootbaar & Co. of Capistrano Beach, California, an agribusiness consultancy. He has also served as a corporate vice president of Ralston Purina Company, St. Louis; president of the National Grain and Feed Association; and as president of both Taylor Milling Corp. and West Coast Wharf and Storage Co.
Nootbaar is a past president of the San Gabriel Valley Boy Scouts of America as well as the Pasadena Rotary Club. He has served on the boards of the World Affairs Council of Orange County, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, and the South Coast Medical Center. His many philanthropic interests include the Boy Scouts of America, the Pasadena and Laguna Presbyterian Churches, the Pacific Asia Museum, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the Doheny Eye Institute, UCLA, and USC.
Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar reside in Laguna Beach, California.
