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News and Events

News & events recap

July 2009

  • Seaver College professor Alexander C. Diener released his latest book, One Homeland or Two?: The Nationalization and Transnationalization of Mongolia's Kazakhs, which focuses on the Mongolian Kazakhs and their efforts to determine where they belong following the fall of the Soviet Union.
  • Prolific Christian scholar and Pepperdine Distinguished Professor Emeritus Richard Hughes explores the emphasis in American culture of being thought of as the modern world's "chosen nation" in his latest book, Christian America and the Kingdom of God (2009). The book, released on July 22, gives Hughes' perspective on the disparity between the Biblical vision of the "kingdom of God" and the values and actions of America as a superpower.
  • Pepperdine University became one of the more than 1,000 colleges that have joined the Yellow Ribbon Program, a federal effort to help military veterans attend college, sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Yellow Ribbon Program is a provision of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008.
  • Pepperdine women's basketball coach Julie Rousseau, an assistant coach for the U.S. World University Games squad, helped the Americans bring back a gold medal in the recently concluded international tournament. The USA won the gold-medal game in early July with an 83-64 win over Russia and went undefeated with a 7-0 record in the tournament, which was held in Belgrade, Serbia.
  • The Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University joined Beacon Economics and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce in sponsoring a new, annual Los Angeles economic forecast conference called, "What's Next LA? The Road to Economic Recovery." The first conference was held on July 28, at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott.
  • Jumpstart, a national early education organization that recruits and trains college students to work one-to-one with preschool children from low-income backgrounds, approached its eighth year of continued growth at Pepperdine University. Through three program areas—school success, family involvement, and future teachers—Jumpstart works to create an environment of life-long learning for children.
  • Economics professor Luisa Blanco gave her expert opinion about the state of the economy south of the border at the Latin American Studies Association Congress held in Brazil at the end of June. The theme of the conference was Rethinking Inequalities, and Blanco shared her thoughts and research as a panel chair and speaker.
  • Christopher Collins, director of convocation and student-led ministries at Pepperdine University, was awarded the UCLA Department of Education Outstanding Dissertation of the Year Award, for his project "Higher Education and Knowledge for Nation-State Development: The Role of the World Bank and U.S. Universities in Poverty Reduction in the Developing World."
  • On July 2, United States President Barack Obama announced his appointment of Douglas W. Kmiec, Caruso Family Chair in Constitutional Law at the Pepperdine University School of Law, as ambassador to the Republic of Malta. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate in September.
  • Richard L. Cupp, John W. Wade Professor of Law at the Pepperdine University School of Law, published the article "Moving Beyond Animal Rights: A Legal/Contractualist Critique" in the San Diego Law Review. A longtime animal law scholar, Cupp discussed the rising significance of animal law in the article and shared his view that expanding rights is not the answer to our appropriately increasing sensitivity regarding animal welfare.
  • Pepperdine University announced three new additions to its 40-member Board of Regents, the governing board of the University. Michelle Hiepler, Dennis "Denny" Lewis, and Danny Phillips accepted the role of helping to shape the direction of the University. "Pepperdine has benefitted greatly over the years from the collective wisdom, will, and generosity of our regents," Pepperdine President Andrew K. Benton said.
  • The School of Public Policy (SPP) at Pepperdine University released its second volume of student-run academic journal Pepperdine Policy Review. The annual publication showcases the best scholarly work of SPP students, and features articles, commentaries, and opinion pieces that address a variety of political issues both nationally and internationally.