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News and Events

News & Events Recaps

March 2005

  • The annual School of Law Dinner was held at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles and featured an address by former Solicitor General Theodore Olson.
  • Robert C. Chandler, Ph.D., Blanche E. Seaver professor of communication and chair of the communication division, addressed the Disaster Recovery World Conference. The subject of his address is “Initiating Business Continuity Planning for Terrorism Threats Facing Every Organization.” The presentation is drawn from Chandler’s 2004 book Terrorism: How Can Business Continuity Cope?
  • The Black Law Students Association hosted a screening and discussed the movie “The Road to Brown.” The film portrays the legal battles and preparation leading up to the ground breaking Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954. The movie was followed by a discussion led by School of Law professor Christine Goodman, an expert on race and the law.
  • Mark Roosa, dean of libraries, was named to the UCLA Senior Fellows Program for 2005 following a nationwide competition conducted by the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.
  • The California Newspaper Publishers Association (CNPA) awarded a $4,000 research grant to Mike Jordan, professor of journalism, to lead a study of the free press-fair trial dilemma increasingly causing conflict in U.S. courtrooms and newsrooms.  Results of Jordan's research project will be presented in conjunction with next year's 20th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court Case, Press-Enterprise v. Superior Court II, which established the public and press' First Amendment right to attend all phases of criminal trials.
  • Mercedes Fisher, professor at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, and alumna D. Silverberg presented their paper entitled “Effective E-Learning Communities” at the Institute for Educational Technology. This was during the Italian National Research Council’s first “International Conference on Methods and Technologies for Learning” in Palermo, Italy, in March 2005.
  • Khalil E. Jahshan, executive director of the Washington, D.C. internship program, taught a seminar at the U.S. State Department's Foreign Service Institute on the history of peacemaking in the Middle East. Professor Jahshan also participated in a panel at George Washington University to discuss recent developments in Israel and Palestine.
  • The Edwin Mellen Press recently published a book entitled Homeland Conceptions and Ethnic Integration among Kazakhstan's Germans and Koreans by Alexander Diener, assistant professor of geography.  The book focuses on the interactive nature of place, power and identity in the former Soviet Republic.
  • Stan Warford, Frank R. Seaver professor of natural science, recently completed a computer science textbook. Jones and Bartlett Publishers have just released the 600-page book, titled Computer Systems, in its third edition. University students throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia have used previous editions of the book.
  • The Natural Science Division hosted a seminar by Dr. Darrel Falk from Point Loma Nazarene University.  Dr. Falk discussed his recent book, Coming to Peace with Science, which addresses evolutionary biology from the perspective of a devout Christian. Dr. Falk's book has been well received by both scientists and theologians.
  • Pepperdine’s TV 26-produced The Robby Mooring Show, won first place in studio production at the 2005 Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts Student Video Competition. The show’s producers were Jon Schmidt and Hood Whitson. The director was Bri Dellinger and hosts were Robby Mooring and Drew Hoff.
  • John F. Fitzpatrick, superintendent in residence at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, was selected to represent the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accreditation Commission in China by co-chairing the accreditation of two international schools in Beijing and Tianjan.
  • The Dean’s Executive Leadership Series at the Graziadio School of Business and Management presented Dan Carrison, author of Business Under Fire, on Wednesday, Mar. 16 at the Drescher Graduate Campus.
  • In response to the Southeast Asia tsunamis in late December, Seaver College students organized a student-led tsunami relief campaign, entitled “One Hope, One Cause, One World.” Their fundraising activities were coordinated by student leaders in the Pepperdine Volunteer Center, Student Government Association, and the Student Programming Board.
  • Karen Martin, Frank R. Seaver Chair of biology in the natural science division, was awarded a research fund from California Sea Grant to monitor the spawning of California's grunion population from San Diego to Monterey Bay as part of an effort to evaluate the effects of human activities on sandy beaches.
  • Samer Rabadi, deputy director of Amnesty International's Western Region, addressed the Pepperdine community. Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights and it strives to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.   
  • The Seaver Dean’s Office continued its Distinguished Lecture Series with Dr. Carrie Haslett, the Joan Whitney Payson Curator of Modern Art at the Portland (Maine) Museum of Art. Titled “American Masters and their European Muses: 1870-1950,” the lecture took place in Smothers Theatre.
  • The Graziadio School of Business and Management welcomed Newport Beach Trial Lawyer Gregory M. Hatton. Mr. Hatton spoke about California's notorious Unfair Competition Law [“UCL,” California Business and Professions Code Section 17200, et. seq.].
  • KABC radio show host Al Rantel hosted his nightly show live on Mar. 24 in Elkins Auditorium.  Rantel is a well-known political show host and discussed various controversial and important political issues that are pertinent to today's current events.
  • Robert deMayo, associate dean and professor of psychology at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, passed the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) examination to become a diplomat in clinical psychology. ABPP is a non-profit professional organization with multiple specialty boards that certify practitioners in psychology through a peer review process. The certification is recognized by universities, hospitals, health service systems, agencies and the public as a valuable professional credential.
  • Mercedes Fisher, professor in the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, and alumna D. Tucker published their article “Quality Issues of Group Work and Leadership Emergence in E-learning: Case Study” in the Journal of Educational Technology Systems.
  • World-renowned cinematographer Dante Spinotti participated in a question and answer session on Mar. 24 as part of an illustrated lecture on his films by Dr. David Kaminsky.  Dante Spinotti has been the cinematographer for such well-known films as L.A. Confidential and The Insider. 
  • Khalil E. Jahshan, executive director of the Washington, D.C. internship program, spoke on recent Arab-Israeli developments at the National Council on US-Arab Relations before a group of CENTCOM officers heading to the Gulf. Professor Jahshan also taught a seminar at the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State on the situation in Palestine and the peace process.
  • Two Pepperdine University Fine Arts Division performance ensembles, the Women's Choir and Collegium Musicum, performed a concert for the community. The 23-member Women's Choir, conducted by Milton Pullen, presented works by Stephen Paulus, J.S. Bach, Rene Clausen, and Moses Hogan. The latter portion of the program, titled “The Poet Sings: Music of Henry Purcell,” was performed by the 18-member Collegium Musicum. This group of singers and instrumentalists, directed by N. Lincoln Hanks, is dedicated to the study and performance of Western classical music composed before 1650.
  • James Q. Wilson, Ronald Reagan professor of public policy, concluded the annual spring lecture series at the School of Public Policy. He spoke on the topic, “Questions Raised by Alexis de Tocqueville About Civil Society.” This was the final lecture in a series on the influence of European thinkers on America. Earlier lectures in this year's series featured discussions of Adam Smith and Karl Marx.
  • The Graduate School of Education and Psychology presented “A Leadership Conversation with Mr. Michael Kuan.”  Michael Kuan is a top business venture capitalist and a leading corporate consultant in China. He currently serves as chairman of the Shanghai Technology Park.
  • School of Law dean Ken Starr was elected chair of the Association of American Law Schools’ section for the Law School Dean. The position will enable Dean Starr to raise Pepperdine's profile among law school deans and legal education in general, and to serve his fellow deans in their efforts to improve legal education.
  • Rick Cupp, associate dean at the School of Law, was elected chair-elect of the Association of American Law Schools’ (AALS) section on Torts and Compensation, and will serve as chair in 2006-07. He was selected to speak at a joint session of the sections on evidence and torts at next year's AALS annual meeting, discussing product liability litigation.
  • MtvU broadcasted the documentary of Pepperdine students, Colby Peterson’s and Chris Meyer’s trip to Japan during Spring Break.  MtvU broadcasts to 725 universities reaching 6.4 million college viewers. 
  • Pepperdine’s TV 26 celebrated its success with the TV 26 Red Carpet Premiere in Elkin’s Auditorium.  The cast and crew of the campus television programs attended the event to screen excerpts of many campus shows including “The Randumb Show,” which celebrated its 10th anniversary.
  • Pepperdine’s head men’s volleyball coach, Marv Dunphy received his 400th career win with the team’s victory over University of the Pacific.