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News & Events Recap

May 2009

  • Pepperdine Libraries and Friends of the Adamson House partnered to present a lecture and docent training session exploring Frederick H. Rindge as an artist and patron of the arts. The event took place on Sunday, May 31, in the Kresge Reading Room of the Payson Library on the Malibu campus.
  • The Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University announced the launch of a re-tooled and expanded entrepreneurship emphasis for full-time and fully employed MBA students. The new direction will help MBA students translate a creative vision into a real business that both produces wealth and allows them to express their personal values.
  • The Parkening International Guitar Competition once again captured the attention of the classical music world from Thursday, May 28, through Saturday, May 30, at Pepperdine's Smothers Theatre. The event attracted 15 standout competitors representing 10 countries to vie for the world's largest prize purse among guitar competitions.
  • A public reception was held on Saturday, May 23, to meet the artists of the new exhibition at the Pepperdine University Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, On Location in Malibu 2009: Paintings by the California Art Club.
  • Psychology students in the Graduate School of Education and Psychology celebrated 2009 graduation on Saturday, May 23, in Alumni Park, Malibu. Her Excellency Maureen Mwanawasa, former first lady of the Republic of Zambia, gave the commencement address, and the recipient of this year's Distinguished Alumnus Award for the Psychology division is Dr. Neva Chauppette, graduate of the Doctor of Psychology program at GSEP.
  • Pepperdine University School of Law celebrated commencement on May 22 in Alumni Park on the Malibu campus, as Barbara A. Jones (JD '89), a partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award, and Gary A. Haugen, the founder, president, and CEO of International Justice Mission, gave the commencement address.
  • The Graziadio School of Business and Management invited three high profile entrepreneurs to participate in a May 19 panel discussion on the relevant issues facing those who own their own business. The panel included famed entrepreneur Petter Adderton, former founder and CEO of Boost Mobile, Amp'd Mobile, and current founder and CEO of Agency 3.0.
  • The Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Boys Choir came to Pepperdine on Saturday, May 16, to perform a special concert of classic and sacred songs in Stauffer Chapel, Malibu. The concert included a repertoire of well-known favorites including "Route 66," "Who Will Buy?" (from the musical Oliver!), and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
  • On Saturday, May 16, popular pizzaria D'Amores in Camarillo, California, in partnership with the Ventura County Waves, donated 20 percent of Pepperdine alumni purchases to the Rescue Mission Alliance of Oxnard.
  • Paola Lorenzi, assistant professor of Italian and director of the Italian Language program at Seaver College, published a new book, Italia: Civiltá e Cultura, a comprehensive guide of historical and cultural development on the Italian peninsula for advanced students.
  • The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) named Pepperdine men's volleyball star Paul Carroll National Player of the Year for 2009. The lofty distinction capped off a prolific four-year career at Pepperdine for the Australian native.
  • Charla Griffy-Brown, associate professor and discipline lead of information systems at Pepperdine's Graduate School of Business and Management lead a lunchtime discussion entitled "Women, Technology & Entrepreneurship in Japan" on Thursday, May 14, at the San Francisco State University Downtown Campus.
  • Stuart Love, professor of religion at Seaver College, stepped across academic boundaries into the realm of social science in order to write his latest book, Jesus and Marginal Women: The Gospel of Matthew in Social-Scientific Perspective.
  • The Graziadio School of Business and Management's Dean's Executive Leadership Series ended for the semester with a presentation by General Motors' chief environmental officer, Elizabeth A. Lowery, on Tuesday, May 12, at the Drescher Graduate Campus in Malibu.
  • Pepperdine's Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics hosted Fred Gray, the former attorney to Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Friday, May 8, at the School of Law, Malibu. Gray's lecture explored "How the Civil Rights Movement Led to the Election of Our President."
  • Thomas J. Stipanowich, the academic director of Pepperdine's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, was named the William H. Webster Chair in Dispute Resolution, a new endowed chair at Pepperdine University School of Law. "This chair adds new luster to the Straus Institute and to Pepperdine University," said Stipanowich.
  • Portfolio of Creative Work, an exhibit featuring paintings, illustrations, and photography from members of the Pepperdine Public Affairs team, went on display at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Malibu, from Tuesday,
    May 5, through Friday, May 8.
  • The 66th annual Bible Lectures were held at Pepperdine University, bringing thousands of devoted Christians to the Malibu campus for the four-day event from May 5-8 to participate in the event themed, "The Lord of Creation: The Preeminence of Christ in Colossians."
  • The Pepperdine Center for the Arts presented the Pacifico Dance Company for a colorful journey through Mexican music and dance on Sunday, May 3, in Smothers Theatre, on the Malibu campus.
  • Pepperdine women's head basketball coach Julie Rousseau was named as an assistant coach to the 2009 USA Women's World University Games Basketball Team according to a release today by USA Basketball. Rousseau, who has spent five seasons at the helm of the Pepperdine women's basketball program, will coach with her first USA Basketball team in the summer of 2009.
  • Pepperdine and its School of Public Policy joined many across the nation in mourning the May 2 passing of Jack Kemp, former congressman and U.S. cabinet secretary, a longtime friend of the University, and the namesake of the university's Jack F. Kemp Institute for Political Economy. The Institute's inaugural conference and dinner, originally scheduled for May 13 in Washington, D.C., was postponed until fall 2009.
  • The Frank R. Seaver College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences held its 2009 commencement ceremony at Alumni Park on Saturday, May. 2, on the Malibu campus. John Lasseter, director (Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Cars) and chief creative officer for Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, addressed the graduates. Sam Schmidt ('86, MBA '87), former Indy Racing League driver, founder of Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation (paralysis-related research funding and student scholarships) and Sam Schmidt Motorsports (auto racing team), was honored as the Distinguished Alumnus.
  • The Pepperdine University Libraries and Malibu's "One Book, One City," presented a lecture by Greg Mortenson, Nobel-prize nominee and co-author of Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace, One School at a Time, on Friday, May 1, at Smothers Theatre. A panel discussion followed Mortenson's lecture on May 21, in conjunction with One Book, One City Malibu, with panelists Diana Hiatt-Michael, Mirwais Azizi, and Jeff Lee.
  • A dedication ceremony took place on Friday, May 1, to mark the fruition of ambitious conservation plans made by Pepperdine University in 2000, when the university offered to dedicate for preservation a 72.7-acre property known as Little Las Flores Canyon, located approximately eight miles from the Malibu campus.