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News & Events Recap

December 2010

  • The spirit of the holidays was alive and well at Pepperdine as a number of newly-launched service initiatives extended the scope of service to broader avenues of generosity, including the annual Santa Run gifting drive to Mexico, the Salvation Army Shopping Spree, the Angel Tree gift drive for children of incarcerated parents, the Union Rescue Mission’s annual “Christmas Store,” and donation of time and resources at the Union Rescue Mission/Hope Gardens.
  • The Pepperdine men and women’s basketball teams each faced California State Polytechnic for their final home games of 2010 on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 20 and 21, in Firestone Fieldhouse, Malibu. Vocalists Debby Boone and John Davidson, accompanied by the 14-piece Dick Parent Orchestra, performed their holiday show "Christmas Memories" on December 17, along with selections from their own recordings, interspersed with personal reminiscences.
  • The School of Law's Geoffrey H. Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law at Pepperdine held a reception on December 15 to officially launch the new microfinance program in partnership with the Los Angeles Union Rescue Mission.
  • The Pepperdine student-produced, feature-length film Life is Not a Musical: The Musical premiered in Malibu’s Elkins Auditorium on December 11. The film, co-written by seniors Zane Miller and Paul Casey, tells the story of everyman Tom, who finds his life unraveling around him. Taking a job as a maintenance worker in a theater, the singing and cheeriness of the theater community begin to get to him.
  • The Graziadio School of Business and Management honored its graduating students at a commencement ceremony on December 11, in Firestone Fieldhouse on the Malibu campus. Craig R. Barrett and Barbara McConnell Barrett both presented the commencement address and was each awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree, while T. Kendall Hunt (MBA ’79), chairman and CEO of VASCO Data Security International, Inc., received the Distinguished Alumni Award. Dan Sanders (’10) presented the student address.
  • The Center for the Arts hosted performances by renowned folk music renaissance man John McCutcheon on December 7, and folk troubador Al Stewart on December 10.
  • The Pepperdine University Choir performed a collection of Christmas melodies on December 9, as the Fine Arts Division presents the annual choir Christmas concert. Ryan Board, director of choral activities, conducted the choir as it performed seasonal classics.
  • Pepperdine’s gospel choir Genesis performed a concert of seasonal songs on December 7, in Elkins Auditorium, Malibu. Genesis Gospel Choir was established in 2003 as part of the Seaver College Student-led Ministries.
  • The Seaver College Natural Science Division concluded its lunchtime seminar series in 2010 with a lecture by R. J. Dolbi, visiting professor of mathematics at Seaver College. Dolbin presented a lecture titled, "Partitians, Young Diagrams, and Ballot Numbers," on December 7, in the Keck Science Center, Malibu.
  • The Pepperdine Fine Arts Division presented a jazz ensemble performance on December 6, conducted by Brian Scanlon, who directs the jazz ensemble program and teaches saxophone. The group performed a program of jazz classics including “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’” by George and Ira Gershwin, “Secret Love” by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster, and “Boonies Blues” by Dominic Spera, among others.
  • Revelations and insightful teen group discussions were filmed for nonprofit Kind Campaign’s first documentary film, Finding Kind, which offers tangible ways that we can all find kindness in everyday interactions. The Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture screened the film on December 6, and hosted a Q&A with the Kind Campaign’s founders, Pepperdine alumni Lauren Parsekian and Molly Stroud .
  • The Pepperdine University community kicked off the 2010 Christmas holiday season with several events held on the Malibu campus: on December 2, all are welcome to attend the second annual Town Square Christmas tree lighting at the Joslyn Plaza. The celebrations continued on December 3, with a night of music around the Christmas tree as students host a Christmas Coffeehouse in Joslyn Plaza featuring performances by Seaver student Kylie Hughes before President Andy Benton and Vice President Jeff Pippin—along with a troupe of staff and alumni who will make up the one-time band President Benton & Friends—performed some rock 'n' roll and holiday classics.