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News & Events Recap

April 2010

  • Assistant professor of religion Dyron Daughrity authored a new book titled, The Changing World of Christianity: The Global History of a Borderless Religion. The book explores the hidden depths of Christianity across the world.
  • Student Amelia Clark defended her honors thesis on Friday, Apr. 23, as the final speaker in the Natural Science Seminar Series. Her presentation was titled, "Evaluating Resistance to Herbivory in Island and Mainland Populations of Toyon."
  • Tony Cason conducted the Pepperdine University orchestra as they performed their annual spring concert on Thursday, Apr. 22, in Smothers Theatre, Malibu. The concert featured Poulenc's Concerto in D Minor for Two Pianos and Orchestra with Pepperdine students Rebecca-Lynn Stankis and Ian Cheung, co-winners of the University's 2010 Thomas M. Osborn Concerto Competition.
  • The Pepperdine Libraries hosted John K. Roth, the Founding Director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights at Claremont McKenna College, for a lecture exploring the question, "Is God Dead?" on Thursday, Apr. 22.
  • Three graduating students in the computer science program at Seaver College presented the penultimate lecture in the Natural Science Seminar Series series for the 2009-10 academic year on Wednesday, Apr. 21. Christian Dimpfl, Anandi Hira and David Vega presented, "Implementing a Real-Time Collaborative Coding Environment," about a software application they authored called Cahoots.
  • Men's golf returned to the top of the leaderboard as Pepperdine won the 2010 West Coast Conference Championships by five strokes on April 20, while the women's golf team continued its dominance on the same day at the WCC Championships as they won their ninth consecutive title by a total of 32 strokes.
  • OnTuesday, Apr. 20, Pepperdine’s Intercultural Affairs Office (ICA) and the Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture (EMC) screened a preview of Princess Kaiulani, a challenging new film by director Marc Forby, who answered questions after the screening. Princess Kaiulani is the true story of a Hawaiian princess' attempts to maintain the independence of the island against the threat of American colonization.
  • Milton Pullen, Director of Choirs, conducted his final concert at Pepperdine before he retired in May on Saturday, Apr. 17, as the Pepperdine Concert Choir and Chamber Singers performed a sold-out Choral Masterworks Concert in Smothers Theatre, Malibu.
  • The Graziadio School of Business and Management honored its graduating students at a commencement ceremony on Saturday, Apr. 17. Carl J. Schramm, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree, while David M. Bowman (MBA '98), Vice President and General Manager of Boeing Global Mobility Systems, received the Distinguished Alumni Award.
  • For 24 hours straight, from 5 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 16, to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Apr. 17, Pepperdine University hosted its second annual Relay for Life event at the Stotsenberg Track, Malibu. Participants walked a path lined with luminaries to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and raise funds to fight the deadly disease.
  • Pepperdine University School of Law hosted international scholars for a symposium titled, “Does the World Still Need U.S. Tort Law? (Or Did it Ever?),” on Friday, April 16, examining the 21st century United States tort law and ask whether the U.S. tort system has anything to offer the world to make it a better place.
  • The School of Public Policy (SPP) held its 2010 commencement ceremony at Alumni Park on Friday, Apr. 16. Angela Hawken, associate professor of public policy, presented the commencement address. Diane Pregerson Glazer and Guilford Glazer, cofounders of the Diane and Guilford Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies at Pepperdine University, each received the Honorary Doctor of Laws award, while SPP alumnus Cathryn J. Kingsbury, principal lobbyist of the Livingston Group, was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
  • The Pepperdine men and women's tennis teams wrapped up their regular seasons at home on Thursday, Apr. 15 and Friday, Apr. 16, as the Waves took on Saint Mary's and Long Beach State in an effort to extend recent winning streaks into the postseason.
  • Pepperdine University School of Law's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution was named the number one dispute resolution program by U.S. News and World Report for the sixth consecutive year.
  • Art created by seniors graduating from the Fine Arts Division went on display from Thursday, Apr. 15, through Saturday, May 1, at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art on the Malibu campus. Eleven graduating art majors showcased their capstone work in the eXIst exhibition, including paintings and sculptures.
  • Seaver College graduate Laura Skandera Trombley returned to Pepperdine on Thursday, Apr. 15, to discuss and sign her new book, Mark Twain’s Other Woman: The Hidden Story of His Final Years. The renowned Mark Twain scholar and President of Pitzer College presented her work in Malibu's Payson Library, as part of the Alumni Author Series.The Graziadio School of Business and Management's 2009-10 Dean's Executive Leadership Series continued with a presentation by the founding CEO of Agilent Technologies, Ned Barnholt, on Thursday, Apr. 15, at the Silicon Valley Center at Techmart, in Santa Clara, CA.
  • The Los Angeles Times calls Tony-nominated vocalist Susan Egan "a high-voltage performer who dominates a stage with a galvanizing presence," and on Wednesday, Mar. 14, she dominated the stage of Smothers Theatre, Malibu, with her cabaret act.
  • Volume 39 of Expressionists: Magazine of the Arts, Pepperdine's student-run undergraduate literary and arts magazine, debuted with a gala on Wednesday, Apr. 14, at the Weisman Museum of Art, Malibu.
  • The gala was hosted by the Humanities and Teacher Education Division in conjunction with the Creative Writing Program to celebrate this year's collection of some of the best student fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and photography. The magazine, edited by student Alex Ashford, was distributed "hot off the press," and the authors read their work, while the artists had their art displayed.
  • The Seaver College Natural Science Division continued its lunchtime seminar series with a lecture from biology student, Iolana Kaneakua, on Wednesday, Apr. 14. Kaneakua presented "Post-fire Adjustments in Xylem Water Transport and Mechanical Strength in Hollywood (Hetermoles arbutifolia)."
  • Carl J. Schramm, president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, presented "Exporting U.S. Entrepreneurship" on Wednesday, Apr. 14, about applying America's model of entrepreneurship in developing nations. The following Saturday, Apr. 17, Schramm presented the commencement address at the Spring 2010 Graziadio School of Business and Management graduation ceremony and received an honorary doctorate of laws from the business school.
  • In honor of Earth Day and to celebrate April as a month of environmental awareness, Pepperdine explored spiritual attitudes to protecting the planet with an Environmental Justice Chapel that posed the question: how should a person's faith direct their attitude to the environment? The student-led service in Stauffer Chapel, Malibu, on April 14, explored faith-based views on environmental justice, and offered practical information and tips about how to protect resources.
  • To expose today's issues surrounding self-worth and the media, Pepperdine's Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture, along with Pepperdine's Intercultural Affairs Office, hosted a screening of The Souls of Black Girls on Tuesday, Apr. 13 in Elkins Auditorium on the Malibu campus. After the screening, director Daphne Valerius lead a discussion about the film and her motivations behind creating the cinematic documentary.
  • The Pepperdine Fine Arts Division presented a jazz ensemble performance on Monday, Apr. 12, conducted by Brian Scanlon, who directs the jazz ensemble program and teaches saxophone.
  • The award-winning classical saxophone quartet from the Netherlands the Amstel Quartet took to the Smothers Theatre stage on Sunday, Apr. 11, as part of the Stotsenberg Recital Series at Pepperdine.
  • Pepperdine University and the Ventura County Community Foundation hosted the 2010 Nonprofit Leadership Institute on Friday, Apr. 9, and Saturday, Apr. 10, featuring keynote speaker Heather McLeod Grant, the co-author of Forces for Good: Six Practices of High Impact Nonprofits. The event will take place at the Villa Graziadio Executive Center, on the Drescher Graduate Campus.
  • The School of Public Policy held an unveiling ceremony on April 8 for Malibu artist and photographer Robert I. Weingarten, who unveiled an original art print, Flags, 9/11 as a tribute to Pepperdine's annual dramatic display of American flags to honor the nearly 3,000 lives lost on 9/11. The artistic rendering displays the flag commemoration as photographed on September 11, 2009, set against historic photographs taken on September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center in New York City.
  • Pepperdine senior Miranda Ayim was awarded her highest honor yet, when the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Assocation named her as the nation's top Division I-AAA women's basketball scholar-athlete. The organization released its annual 10-member Scholar-Athlete teams for men and women's basketball on April 7.
  • David R. Gater, professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Virginia Commonwealth University, presented, "Metabolic Syndrome in Spinal Cord Injury: Fat Gone Wild!" on April 7 as part of the Seaver College Natural Science Seminar Series.
  • The Center for Sustainability, Volunteer Center, Office of Intercultural Affairs, and the student-led Green Team hosted Pepperdine Earth Day on April 7. Josyln Plaza, Malibu, was full of specialized booths to celebrate sustainability and educate students about Pepperdine’s efforts to be more earth-friendly.
  • One pair of suspenders, a suspicious wife, a jealous Spaniard, a couple of conniving servants, and a master of the house who happens to resemble the bellboy at a local hotel add up to mayhem and misunderstanding in A Flea in Her Ear, which was performed by students in the Pepperdine Theatre Department from Tuesday to Saturday, Apr. 6 to 10.
  • Romantic comedies typically dominate the silver screen in early spring, but Pepperdine’s Center for Entertainment, Media and Culture offered thrills on April 6, with a screening of the new film, In My Sleep. Director Allen Wolf presented his debut feature film and discussed his work in a post-screening Q&A.
  • The Student Alumni Organization and the Student Government Association joined forces to present a week of music events for graduating Seaver College seniors from Monday, Apr. 5, to Friday, Apr. 9. Wavestock was a week of fun, freebees and fellowship for the Class of 2010, and each night featured a different music genre and activities for seniors.
  • The Mercedes Matter Retrospective Exhibition at Pepperdine's Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art drew to a close on April 4 after a successful three-month stay in Malibu. The national tour of paintings by avant-garde artist Mercedes Matter, featured over 40 oil paintings and drawings created between 1921 and 1985.