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News and Events

News & Events Recaps

October 2005

  • Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management was among the top executive MBA programs ranked in the Financial Times and BusinessWeek. 

  • The Pepperdine community was saddened by the passing of Olaf H. Tegner on October 2, at his home in Palos Verdes after an extended illness. He was 87. Pepperdine held a memorial service on October 7 in Smothers Theatre.

  • The No. 6-ranked water polo team defeated top-ranked USC 5-4 on October 1 at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool for the first game of the season. In its second game of the day, the water polo team defeated Whittier College, 17-13.

  • Otis Baskin, professor at the Graziadio School, coauthored Effective Leadership in the Family Business (Family Enterprise Publisher, 2005) with Craig Aronoff. This is their latest collaborative effort, which has already produced six books and numerous other publications. Professor Baskin lectures and consults frequently in the field of family business. He presented "Effective Ownership Strategies" last month at the annual meeting of the Family Business Network in Brussels, Belgium.

  • Alexander C. Diener, assistant professor of geography in the International Studies and Languages Division, presented a paper titled "Homeland Construction, Transnationalism, and Kazakh Hegemony in the Republic of Kazakhstan" at the Central Eurasian Studies Society Conference at Boston University.

  • From the School of Public Policy, Dean James R. Wilburn and Professor Gordon Lloyd coauthored a book published by Scrivener Press titled Business and Religion: Conflicts and Trends in Business Ethics.  Dean Wilburn's chapter is titled "Capitalism Beyond the End of History: Missing Elements in Teaching Business Ethics."  Professor Lloyd's chapter is "The Archbishop of Canterbury: On the Facts and Values of Religion and Globalization."

  • Phillip B Thomason, professor of Spanish in the International Studies and Languages Division, was invited by the Trade Commission of the Embassy of Spain to participate in the 2005 Trade Mission Project. Participants in the program represent select U.S. institutions of higher learning in meetings with directors and presidents of some of the most prominent public and private educational institutions in Spain. The process serves as a familiarization of opportunities for foreign students to study in Spain.

  • Pepperdine’s 2005 Faculty Conference was regarded as one of the most significant conferences in Pepperdine’s history.  The annual event brought together three distinguished individuals—one of the world’s greatest physicists, Dr. John Polkinghorne; one of America’s most distinguished educators, Dr. Lee Shulman; and one of the country’s celebrated poets, Dr. Julia Kasdorf.

  • On October 10, Dr. Stephen Weathers, coeditor of the anthology Shadow & Light: Literature and the Life of Faith, spoke as part of the Seaver Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series. He presented “The (Other) Good Confession: ‘I Was Wrong.”  Dr. Weathers received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Abilene Christian University and his Ph.D. in English from Florida State University.

  • Alexander C. Diener, assistant professor of geography in the International Studies and Languages Division, published an article titled "Problematic Integration of Mongolian-Kazakh Return Migrants in Kazakhstan" in Eurasian Geography and Economics Vol.46, No.6, 2005.

  • Otis Baskin, professor of management at The Graziadio School, was a featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Society of International Business Fellows in Miami, Florida, on October 7.  Dr. Baskin's topic was "Effective Leadership in the Family Business.”  Other speakers included Marilyn Carlson Nelson, chairman and CEO of Carlson Companies, and Moises Naim, editor of Foreign Policy magazine.

  • Pepperdine marked the official opening of basketball season on October 14. Dubbed “Super Madness,” the celebration included food by In-N-Out Burger and D’Amore’s Pizza, music by KDAY radio station, and prizes by Apple Computer. Other attractions included a surf simulator, sumo wrestling, the final game of the Black Student Union’s (BSU) annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament, and a time trial motocross rider running an obstacle course.

  • The 2005 recipients of the Howard A. White Award for Teaching Excellence were announced October 7, during the University Faculty Conference. The award, named in honor of Pepperdine’s fifth president who served the University as teacher and administrator for almost 30 years, recognizes up to ten full-time faculty members each year who have distinguished themselves as exceptional teachers. The 2005 honorees in group one are Dr. Douglas Kmiec, Professor of Constitutional Law and Caruso Family Chair in Constitutional Law, School of Law; Dr. Gordon Lloyd, Professor of Public Policy, School of Public Policy; Dr. Priscilla MacRae, Professor of Sports Medicine, Seaver College; Dr. Farzin Madjidi, Professor of Leadership, Graduate School of Education and Psychology; Dr. Marshall Nickles, Professor of Economics, Graziadio School of Business and Management; Mr. Milton Pullen, Professor of Music, Seaver College; Dr. Christopher Soper, Professor of Political Science, Seaver College.The 2005 honorees in group two are Dr. Kendra Killpatrick, Associate Professor of Mathematics, and Dr. Regan Schaffer, Assistant Professor of Management, both of Seaver College; and Dr. Ariff Kachra, Assistant Professor of Strategy, Graziadio School of Business and Management.

  • The Fine Arts Division presented a concert by the Pepperdine University Orchestra on October 13. Pepperdine’s new orchestra director, Tony W. Cason, made his debut. The concert featured soloist Mitchell Newman, adjunct faculty violin instructor and member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

  • N. Lincoln Hanks, assistant professor of music, and The Concord Ensemble performed a program of renaissance vocal music by Dutch composer Jan Pieterzoon Sweelinck at St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico on October 7.

  • The School of Public Policy’s Distinguished Lecture Series continued with Roger Williams, Secretary of State for Texas, who spoke on "Texas State Policy: A Discussion on Hurricane Relief, Immigration, Electoral Policy and Politics." The lecture took place on October 20.

  • Pepperdine’s Center for the Arts presented consummate entertainer, author and speaker Art Linkletter on October 1 at Smothers Theatre. Opening for Linkletter was jazz vocalist Karrin Allyson. For more than 60 years, Linkletter has lifted audiences’ spirits performing in such popular television and radio shows as House Party, People Are Funny, and Kids Say the Darndest Things (which was revived recently on CBS-TV with Bill Cosby), based on his best-selling book of the same title.

  • The courtyard entrance to the McConnell Law Center at the School of Law officially became the Gerald and Joan Garner Plaza, a beautiful memorial to Gerald’s life and a symbol of the enduring friendship of Joan and the Garner family. The Garners became involved with Pepperdine when son their son, Craig enrolled at the School of Law in 1992.  Since then, the entire family has partnered in the University’s progress through providing vital support to Pepperdine.

  • The work of Kathleen Eldridge, associate professor of psychology at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, was cited in the article, "The Mend of the Affair," in the Sept./Oct. issue of Psychology Today. The article cited research data that was co-authored by Professor Eldridge and published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, which found disclosures of extramarital affairs to be correlated with better outcomes in couple’s therapy.

  • Ginger Rosenkrans, assistant professor of advertising, had her research published in the Fall 2005 issue of the Journal of Interactive Advertising. The journal is published by Michigan State University and the University of Texas at Austin. Her research was made possible by two Seaver Dean Grants, one Seaver Research Council Grant and the Ventura County Star. The study, “Online Auctions as Advertising Revenue in the Media Mix,” investigated the effectiveness of the Ventura County Star’s local online auction format by the advertising revenue generated from local auctions for seven months compared to concurrent revenue generated from online banner ads during the same time frame. In addition, it examined local online auctions page impressions to investigate how much traffic was increased to the site.

  • Paul J. Contino, professor of Great Books, has published an essay titled, "This Writer's Life: Irony and Faith in the Work of Tobias Wolff," in the October 21, 2005 issue of Commonweal magazine.

  • On October 11, Jack McManus, professor of education at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, was elected the new chair of the University Faculty Council. The UFC also elected Steve Davis, distinguished professor of biology, as vice-chair and Susan Helm, associate professor of nutritional science, as recording secretary.

  • The Center for Faith and Learning and University Libraries hosted a book review panel on Dr. Thomas Reilly's The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Rebellion and the Blasphemy of Empire on October 20. The book was reviewed by Joel Fetzer, associate professor of political science, and Mike Sugimoto, assistant professor of Asian studies, followed by comments from Dr. Reilly and audience questions.

  • The season opener for the women's swimming and diving team took place when they hosted the fifth annual Malibu Invitation Swim Meet at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool. The Waves will hosted the women from Loyola Marymount, men and women from Cal Lutheran and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

  • Pepperdine announced that it will sponsor a trip to help the victims of Louisiana, New Orleans from December 17 to 23. Volunteers will be participating in various work projects in Mississippi, New Orleans, and the surrounding cities, depending on the need of the area.

  • Seaver Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series hosted Dr. Elaine Richardson, associate professor of English and applied linguistics at Penn State, who presented "Lil Kim, Hiphop Womanhood, and Speak in the Truth” in Smothers Theatre. Dr. Richardson's lecture was sponsored by the Seaver Board of Visitors and Seaver Parents Council and hosted by members of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society.

  • The third installment of the Graduate School of Education and Psychology’s Diversity Speaker Series presented Jennifer Abe-Kim, associate professor of psychology at Loyola Marymount University, who spoke about “Struggle, Juggle, and Plunge: Journeying with Spirit at the Margins” at the West Los Angeles Graduate Campus. Dr. Abe-Kim spoke to students, faculty, staff and guests about the role faith plays in influencing life choices and commitments, and how her profession is tied to serving the community.

  • Christin Wismann, a senior applied vocal music major from Camarillo, was one of the top four winners in Western Region finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions at USC. The 11 finalists were chosen from over 100 applicants in separate district auditions held in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Bernardino and Tucson. Wismann was awarded a $1,000 “Special Encouragement Award” in front of a large audience at USC’s Bovard Auditiorium, which included 25 cheering Pepperdine students who came to support her. Wismann is the third recent Pepperdine finalist in the Western Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions, following Jessica Rivera and Jessica Tivens, who were both finalists in 2002.

  • Robert C. Chandler, professor of communication, accepted an invitation to join the national board of The Integrity Institute, based in Olympia, Washington. It is a significant voice for organizational and corporate ethics and regulatory compliance policies, practices, and normative guidelines. Professor Chandler was invited to join the board because of his national reputation on organizational integrity and employee ethics, including his scholarship into organizational ethical misconduct disasters.

  • The Seaver Bookstore collected contributions made toward the Hurricane Katrina Fund, which totaled $2,006. One hundred percent of these donations was forwarded to the American Red Cross to help residents of the Gulf Coast rebuild their homes and lives.