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News & Events Recaps

January 2005

  • Pepperdine senior Kelsie Villahermosa was one of six national finalists in a vocal competition sponsored by the National Opera Association (NOA). The finals were held in New York on Jan. 8, at the NOA’s 50th Anniversary Convention.  More than 120 applicants from universities and conservatories across the nation were considered before the six finalists from the scholarship division (under 24) were invited to New York.
  • Jack Scott, distinguished professor of higher education, was re-elected to another term in the California State Senate. He will be the chair of both the education committee and the budget committee on education.
  • Dr. N.T. (Tom) Wright, a leading and New Testament scholar and Bishop of Durham in the Church of England, presented three addresses at Pepperdine, focusing on “The Challenge of Following Jesus in the Twenty-first Century.” The events launched the inaugural Frank Pack Distinguished Christian Scholar Lecture Program as well as the University's 2005 Distinguished Lecture Series.
  • Pepperdine had the best acceptance rates in its region for students who applied for the Teach for America program. Five out of nine Pepperdine students were accepted into this competitive program which accepts less than 30 percent of applicants nationwide.
  • Henry Price, professor of music and director of the Flora Thornton Opera Program, attended the National Opera Association’s 50th Anniversary Convention in New York. Professor Price, a member of NOA’s Board of Directors and Governor of the Southwest Region for the organization, presented excerpts from Marc Blitzstein’s recently reconstructed opera, “Sacco and Vanzetti.” He also served as co-chair of the NOA national vocal competition held at the convention and presented a lifetime achievement award to Beverly Sills (in absentia) at the Golden Anniversary Banquet.
  • Mercedes Fisher and Paul Sparks, professors at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, and alumnae Bonnie Coleman & Cheri Plett, published a chapter in B. H. Khan's (Ed.) new book Flexible Learning: Designing Community Learning In Web-based Environments, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
  • Dan Caldwell, distinguished professor of political science, joined the Chairman's Advisory Council of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. 
  • Pepperdine co-sponsored the “Many Hands Benefit Concert” on Jan. 21, which featured the hit band “Ten Shekel Shirt.” All proceeds went towards tsunami relief efforts in Southeast Asia.
  • Professor David Myers, an internationally known psychologist from Hope College, gave an illustrated lecture on “The Scientific Pursuit of Happiness” as part of the 2005 Dean of Seaver College’s Distinguished Lecture Series. Myers’ lecture was based on one of his best-selling books, The American Paradox.
  • The 2005 Dean’s Executive Leadership Series at the Graziadio School of Business and Management kicked off with featured speaker Dr. Charles Kerns, author of the new book “Value-Centered Ethics: A Proactive System to Shape Ethical Behavior.”  Dr. Kerns shared practical strategies for ethical leadership in the workplace, including identifying and managing the most common ethical dilemmas that can set business professionals down the wrong path.
  • Gary Cobb, professor of music, was recently notified that his review of a new CD entitled “Friendly Amendments” has been published in the new issue of The Tracker, one of the most respected journals in the field of organ music. The CD includes music by many of America's finest university composers.
  • The Financial Times announced its seventh annual ranking of full-time MBA programs which, for the first time, included the Graziadio School of Business and Management. The business school debuted with a ranking of 55 among all U.S. programs and 92 in the world.  As part of the 2005 rankings, the Graziadio School was also named one of the top 10 programs worldwide in organizational behavior, based on alumni recommendations.
  • In December, six graduate students from the School of Public Policy spent three weeks in Tbilisi, a city in the former Soviet Union, conducting research on key Georgian policy issues, including education reform and developing effective self-rule. This visit, sponsored by the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, was the first step in developing a cooperative relationship among the Pepperdine, UCLA communities and Georgian scholars.
     
    Pepperdine’s 2005 Battle of the Bands raised $540 for the “One Cause, One Hope, One World” tsunami relief effort. President Andy Benton, one of six judges, awarded “The Sindicate” with the first place prize of $500, “Soundmind” took second place and “Climbing Ivy” came in third.
  • The Intercultural Affairs Office sponsored the Summit on Leadership and Diversity. Designed to provoke thought and confront conflict, more than 40 student leaders attended the summit to address hard-hitting issues involving race, gender, socioeconomics and ecology. A grant from the James Irvine Foundation also helped make the event possible.
  • John Daniel House, a 28-year-old sailor, was among 31 troops killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq Wednesday, Jan. 26. The transport helicopter crashed in bad weather near the Syrian and Jordanian borders. John worked for Pepperdine University's CPO department (now Facilities Management and Planning) in 1998. His wife, Melanie, and newborn son, John Chase House, live in Hawaii where John was based.