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News and Events

News & Events Recap

February 2010

  • Pepperdine Coach Marv Dunphy won his 500th career match as the No. 1-ranked Pepperdine men's volleyball team knocked off No. 5-ranked Cal State Northridge in four games (39-37, 30-27, 26-30, 30-28) in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action on Friday, Feb. 26.
  • Pepperdine University was named to the 2009 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.
  • The Graziadio School of Business and Management hosted "Winds of Change," a one-day event for Christian academics to discuss how various worldviews—including Christianity—influence basic assumptions and the thought processes behind academic disciplines. The conference took place on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Villa Graziadio Executive Center in Malibu.
  • La Bohème is one of the world's most popular operas and on Thursday and Saturday, Feb. 25 and 27, the walls of Smothers Theatre rang with the sounds of Giacomo Puccini's tragic opera as students in the Flora L. Thornton Opera Program at Pepperdine performed the work.
  • The Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture and the Pepperdine chapter of International Justice Mission joined forces to screen the powerful documentaries When the Night Comes and As We Forgive on Thursday, Feb. 25, in Elkins Auditorium, Malibu, followed by a post-screening discussion.
  • The Office of Intercultural Affairs (ICA) and the Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture (EMC) at Pepperdine University teamed together to host the author, screenwriter, and film producer Antwone Fisher on Tuesday, Feb. 23. The film Antwone Fisher, which he wrote based on his life and autobiography, was screened, in Elkins Auditorium on the Malibu campus, after which Fisher answered questions and sign autographs.
  • The Next Twelve, a student group at the School of Public Policy, hosted Pepperdine graduate Mark Hiepler (JD '88) on Monday, Feb. 22, for a presentation titled, "Beyond Success: Pursuing Life With a Mission."
  • As part of a five-year strategic plan, Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management announced the establishment of a Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence and named as director Charla Griffy-Brown, associate professor of information systems and technology management.
  • Pepperdine University's Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics hosted "The Role of the Church in Doing Justice," on Friday, Feb. 19 at the School of Law in Malibu, California.
  • Rhonda and Douglas "Jake" Jacobsen, both professors at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, joined the faculty at Pepperdine for a semester-long appointment as distinguished visiting scholars. As codirectors of the Religion in the Academy Project, a major research initiative funded by the Lilly Endowment, Rhonda and Jake used the time to complete their third jointly written book entitled, The New Soul of the American University.
  • Stephen P. Hubbell, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA, presented "Unified Neutral Theory of Biological Diversity" as part of the Natural Science Seminar series. The lecture examined the tropical rainforests and the twin riddles of rarity and diversity on Wednesday, Feb. 17, in the Keck Science Center on the Malibu campus.
  • Ken Starr, Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean of the Pepperdine School of Law, was named the 14th president of Baylor University. The appointment is effective June 1.
  • Italian guitarist Emanuele Buono, Gold Medalist of the 2009 Parkening International Guitar Competition, returned to Pepperdine University for a recital in Raitt Recital Hall on Sunday, Feb. 14. The performance was part of Pepperdine's 2009-10 Stotsenberg Recital Series.
  • Harry the Dirty Dog, a musical based on the book that has delighted young and old alike for over 50 years, came to the Center for the Arts on Saturday, Feb. 13, at Smothers Theatre, Malibu.
  • The No. 7-ranked Pepperdine men's volleyball team knocked off USC for the second time this season, going on the road on Friday, Feb. 12 to sweep the No. 2-ranked Trojans 30-28, 30-28, 30-26 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.
  • For the past decade, the Multicultural Theatre Project at Seaver College has created a safe, artistic platform for students and the Pepperdine community to explore difference. This year, the Multicultural Theatre Project presented three showings of "The JAZZ AGE" from Thursday to Saturday, Feb. 11 to 13 in Raitt Recital Hall on the Malibu campus.
  • TAO: The Martial Art of Drumming, which has riveted literally millions of spectators worldwide, brought its explosive taiko drumming and innovative choreography to Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 11.
  • The 2009-10 W. David Baird Distinguished Lecture Series at Seaver College continued into the new year with a presentation from John Paul Lederach titled, "The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace," on Thursday, Feb. 11, in Elkins Auditorium, Malibu.
  • Ten of Pepperdine's greatest female student-athletes have been named to the West Coast Conference's 25th Anniversary Team, created in honor of the 25th season that the WCC has sponsored women's athletics.
  • The Seaver College Natural Science division seminar series continued with a talk by Chad Nelsen, the environmental director at the Surfrider Foundation, and Ph.D. candidate in the UCLA department of environmental biology. Nelsen presented his lecture, "Beaches at Risk," about California's policy on shoreline armoring and its impact on beach ecology and recreation, on Wednesday, Feb. 10, in the Keck Science Center on the Malibu campus.
  • Cited by Acoustic Guitar as "unquestionably one of the most gifted artists of our time," Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel brought his exuberant stage presence to the Smothers Theatre stage at Pepperdine University on Tuesday, Feb. 9, and Wednesday, Feb. 10.
  • Pepperdine University Libraries and the Center for Faith and Learning hosted a review of the latest book by Ronald C. Highfield, Great is the Lord: Theology for the Praise of God, on Monday, Feb. 8. The professor of religion introduced his book in Malibu's Payson Library, after which professors Donald Marshall and Christopher Doran reviewed the work.
  • The Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture (EMC) at Pepperdine hosted a screening of the British film, Exam, followed by a Q&A with its director, Stuart Hazeldine, on Tuesday, Feb. 9, in Elkins Auditorium, Malibu.
  • Pepperdine University Libraries hosted "Girls in the Curl"—an event celebrating female surfers on Saturday, Feb. 6 on the university’s Malibu campus. Highlights of the program included a lifetime contribution presentation to former world champion surfer Linda Benson, panel discussions on women in surfing, film screenings, a photo contest, and appearances by female surf legends Gidget (Kathy Kohner Zuckerman), Linda Benson, and Shelley Merrick.
  • In its 17th year of showcasing the exuberance and talent of students, Dance In Flight returned to Pepperdine University from Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 4 to 6. This tour de force of dance, including jazz, hip-hop, tap, ballet, modern, ballroom, and world dance, will take place in Smothers Theatre.
  • The Office of Intercultural Affairs (ICA) at Pepperdine hosted a performance of "Our Voice – A Celebration of Black Women in Music" on Friday, Feb. 5, in the Raitt Recital Hall, on the Malibu campus.
  • In celebration of Black History Month, Pepperdine University Libraries hosted a series of lectures every Thursday in February, beginning on Feb. 4 with Stewart Davenport, associate professor of history, who discussed "American Slavery in Global Perspective." On Thursday, Feb. 25, David G. Holmes, the Blanche E. Seaver Professor in Humanities, ended the series with a lecture on the significance of Barack Obama's election as the 44th President of the United States of America.
  • Pepperdine hosted a panel of Hollywood agents, managers, and producers on Thursday, Feb. 4, to discuss what every screenwriter should know about the current market. "Screenwriting: The Business Side" was hosted by the MFA Program in Writing for Screen and Television and the program's student writing club, Courier 12, on the Malibu campus.
  • The Seaver College Natural Science division weekly seminar series hosted a talk by Timothy Garrow, a nutritional science scholar at the University of Illinois. Garrow presented, "Nutritional, Biochemical and Physiological Aspects of Betaine-Homocysteine Methyltransferase (BHMT)," on Wednesday, Feb. 3, in the Keck Science Center on the Malibu campus.
  • Pepperdine University School of Law hosted the Honorable Anthony M. Kennedy, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, for the fourth annual William French Smith Memorial Lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 3 in the Henry J. and Gloria Caruso Auditorium.
  • The Center for Entertainment, Media and Culture (EMC) screened the film White Rainbow on Tuesday, Feb. 2, followed by a conversation with the filmmakers Dharan and Linda Mandrayar, who are both Pepperdine alums.
  • Pepperdine hosted the second annual Career Week from Monday, Feb. 1 to Friday, Feb. 5, across its five campuses located in Southern California. Students and alumni had the exclusive opportunity to enjoy over 40 programs and workshops exploring professional skills development, career exploration, and job search strategies.