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News and Events

News & Events Recaps

November 2008

  • During the week of November 17-22, the Pepperdine Volunteer Center coordinated events for the National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, including a Lego House building competition in the student snack shop, The Sandbar; a week long canned food and blanket drive; Thanksgiving Youthfest; Pepperdine women's basketball team prepared Thanksgiving dinners for homeless individuals throughout Los Angeles County; Students were also asked to "Fast for a meal," donating their Waves CafĂ© points to the Los Angeles Mission; and in Simi Valley, California, Pepperdine volunteers were able to dedicate three homes they've been working on all semester with Habitat for Humanity.
  • For the first time in its history, CBS's 60 Minutes aired a third profile on the same subject. Rex Lewis-Clack, a 13-year-old musical savant and Malibu resident, was first profiled by the celebrated news magazine when he was only 7. He completed the filming for his third profile, which aired on CBS on Sunday, November 23.
  • Francesca Marie Smith, a graduate of the Seaver College master's program in communication, was chosen as the 2008 recipient of the James L. Golden Outstanding Student Essay in Rhetoric. Smith was selected for her paper, entitled White Man's World, Black Woman's Power: Condoleezza Rice's Enactment of Presidentiality at the 2000 Republican National Convention.
  • A Campus Recreation event brought together 28 members of the Pepperdine community to also seek "God in the Wilderness," during a weekend of camping, hiking, and personal reflection in the wild beauty of Joshua Tree National Park, California, from Nov. 14 to 16.
  • Jessica Hammons, a senior political science major from Yucaipa, California, organized two fall convocation events to raise awareness, an evening workshop on Oct. 27 to explore Pepperdine's recycling program, and a discussion about wider environmental justice issues on Monday, Nov. 17.
  • On Saturday, November 15, the Boone Center For the Family hosted an educational symposium,"The Predictors of Success in Wealth and Values Transfer," to address this issue. The event, which took place at the Drescher Graduate Campus in Malibu, brought in 28 family businesses to learn from experts the best practices in succession planning.
  • Over 100 students from 12 different local Southern California high schools spent the day at Pepperdine University on Saturday, Nov. 15 for the second annual Math Day, sponsored by the Natural Science department. Top students took home scholarships and prizes totaling over $10,000.
  • In a letter to Pepperdine faculty and staff Tuesday, Nov. 11, President Andrew K. Benton reported on how the University is handling the current worldwide economic crisis. "What we know is manageable," he said. "It is what we don't know and can't control that is of greatest concern."
  • Ted McAllister, Edward L. Gaylord Chair at the School of Public Policy, spoke about America's identity crisis at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) Regional Leadership Conference on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Stanford University. His talk, titled "The Acids of Modernity: Can the West Defend Itself?" was part of the ISI 2008 conference themed "America in the Clash of Civilizations."
  • Edward Shafranske, doctor of psychology program director, gave the opening talk, "Drawing Upon Spirituality in PsychoOncology: Opportunities and Challenges," at the Seventh Annual PsychoOncology Symposium at the Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle, Washington. The symposium, "Beyond the Diagnosis: Understanding and Responding to Patients' Spiritual Needs in Cancer Care," was held on Friday, Nov. 7, 2008.
  • As social action and justice intern at the Pepperdine Office of Intercultural Affairs, Kelly Noland organized a convocation event called, "Amazing Grace: Closing the Education Gap in America," for students at Pepperdine to learn more about Teach for America.
  • Gary Green, team physician for Waves athletics and the Pepperdine Student Health Center, will serve as chair for a summit of the world's leading anti-doping experts and scholars on Monday, Nov. 10, in Beverly Hills, California.
  • Third-year law students Daniel Himebaugh and Genus Heidary defeated 18 teams, including Belgrade University and New York University, and took second place in the Foreign Direct Investment International Moot Competition on Nov. 2, in Boston, Massachusetts.
  • Los Angeles organization HerShe has taken on a "fairy Godmother" role to many girls in foster care. For the last three years, Pepperdine University has been the site of "Camp Cinderella," HerShe's two-week camp for young women in foster care who have been victims of neglect and abuse.
  • Nine athletes took their places in the Pepperdine University history book during the first Hall of Fame induction ceremony to take place in eight years. Coaches, friends, families, professors and staff came together to honor some of Pepperdine's most extraordinary athletes at the dinner and ceremony held on Nov. 2 at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills, California.
  • The Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) held its annual Celebration of Excellence event on Thursday, Oct. 30, in recognition of the 2008-09 student scholarship recipients and in appreciation of donors and friends of GSEP.