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Professor Emeritus Glenn Webb Conferred Order of the Rising Sun
Glenn Webb, Professor Emeritus at Pepperdine and former director of the Institute for the Study of Asian Cultures, was conferred the Order of the Rising Sun by His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Akihito of Japan November 15 in Los Angeles, Calif. First presented in 1875 by Emperor Meiji, the decoration is the second most prestigious after the Order of the Chrysanthemum.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Webb was selected for contributing to the advancement of Japanese studies and promoting mutual understandings and friendship between Japan and the United States.
"Glenn is deserving of the highest honor," says W. David Baird, Dean Emeritus of Seaver College and Howard A. White Professor of History. "He has spent a lifetime studying Japanese culture and history and is recognized as one of the world's greatest masters of the tea ceremony."
Baird continues, "Pepperdine was fortunate that Glenn spent the last 15 years of his career on the faculty here at Seaver College, directing the Center for Asian Studies and Pepperdine's own tea house. Hundreds of students learned the discipline and beauty of tea from him and his wife, Carol. I suspect their lives, and their eyes, have never been the same since."
A statement on the website of the Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles reads, "The true legacy of Dr. Webb's career is found in the large number of students he has touched–in both Japan and America–during his 50 years of teaching,"
As the director of the Institute for the Study of Asian Cultures, Webb invited many leaders of Buddhist groups, including the Los Angeles Zen Center and the Jodo and Nichiren Temples, to speak at Pepperdine. He also invited the Bukkyo University in Kyoto to bring its students for visits to Pepperdine's Malibu campus, promoting the cultural exchange between Japan and the United States. Even after his retirement in 2004 and his move to Palm Desert, Webb has continued to maintain a strong connection with Bukkyo University in Kyoto and Los Angeles, in which he serves as academic advisor and visiting professor.
As Professor Emeritus, Webb maintains a relationship with Pepperdine University, and both he and his wife have been actively involved in the Urasenke Tankokai Los Angeles Association since they moved to Southern California. After serving as a president for 12 years, Webb is now the association's honorary president.
For more information, contact Claudia Arnold at (310) 506-4546.
