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News and Events

News & Events Recaps

April 2006

  • The Pepperdine Voyage presented a one-day retreat for Pepperdine students, faculty, and staff titled “The Screenwriter: Creator and Cultural Leader” at Villa Graziadio on the Drescher Graduate Campus. Randall Wallace, screenwriter of Braveheart, We Were Soliders and Pearl Harbor, was the keynote speaker at a special faculty dinner. Students and staff later joined the retreated where they had the opportunity to meet and speak with participating industry professionals including producer Ken Wales (Christy, Revenge of the Pink Panther, East of Eden) and television writers Joan Johnson (The Wild Thornberrys, Rugrats, Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye), Gary Johnson (Doc, Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye), and Thom Parham (Jag, Touched By An Angel). Business consultant and writer David Hutchens held a session on "Metaphors That Transform,” and Provost Darryl Tippens spoke on "Storytelling as a Divine Vocation." Author Christopher Riley (The Hollywood Standard) and Spencer Lewerenz, both from the Act One Writing Program, discussed "The Heart of the Character Driven Story" and "Does it Look Like a Movie?"

  • Michael Zakian, director of Pepperdine’s Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Seaver College, spoke on “How to Look at Art” at the Pasadena Museum of California. The educational program was one of two presented by the California Art Club for its 95th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition.

  • Bruce Herschensohn, senior fellow of the Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy, was featured as an expert in a film titled The Tank Man, presented by Frontline, on PBS. The film investigates the mystery of the man who stopped the tanks in Beijing, 1989, and explores the haunting memories of his actions.

  • Herschensohn also spoke on “The War Against Islamic Terrorism” at a luncheon hosted by the Westlake Village Republican Women Federated at the Westlake Village Inn.

  • The Seaver College Fine Arts Division held this year’s Senior Art Exhibition titled "Twelve is Connected to the Following Things…" in the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art on the Malibu campus. 

  • Seaver College’s Business Administration Division invited students to hear Richard Gast, president of Richard Gast and Associates, speak on strategies for success and career development. Gast has over 30 years of recruiting experience, working with such companies as General Electric, Pepsi, Washington Mutual, Raytheon, Miller, and Black & Decker. 

  • Pepperdine School of Public Policy (SPP) students presented their final projects on education reform at the Capstone Education Policy Fair. More than 12 aspects of education reform—from Alexis de Tocqueville's view on American education to testing in inner-city schools—were covered at the Policy Fair.

  • The Beverly Hills Bar Association, in conjunction with Pepperdine Law Review, presented "Balancing Career and Family," at the Pepperdine University School of Law. The groundbreaking day-long symposium, which addressed the legal and social issues working parents face, featured twenty nationally recognized specialists in the fields of law, medicine, psychology, sociology, education and aging. Calista Flockhart, a single parent and star of the hit television show "Ally McBeal," delivered the keynote address. In addition, Senator Joe Dunn, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, discussed legislation impacting the family.

  • The Pepperdine community celebrated the Graziadio School of Business and Management commencement in Firestone Fieldhouse. Thomas V. McKernan, president and CEO of the Automobile Club of Southern California, received an honorary doctorate. Distinguished Alumni Marco G. Maimone, founder and president of Marco's Auto Body, Inc., and his wife, Lillian C. Maimone, CEO, were also be honored.

  • The Pepperdine School of Law's Institute on Law, Religion and Ethics; The Christian Legal Society; and The J. Reuben Clark Law Society hosted a dialogue between an evangelical Christian and a Latter-day Saint. Kenneth Starr, dean of the School of Law, gave the introductory remarks.

  • Joel Fetzer, associate professor of political science at Seaver College, and Christopher Soper, director of the Center for Faith and Learning at Seaver College, discussed “Muslims and the State in the United States, Britain, France, and Germany” at a two-day symposium hosted by DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. The symposium, titled “Roman Catholicism and Islam as Transcivilizational Political Phenomena,” brought together experts on religious politics in the contemporary world to compare the political roles of Catholicism and Islam today.

  • Pepperdine University Provost Darryl Tippens published a new book titled Pilgrim Heart: The Way of Jesus in Everyday Life. The work examines discipleship as a particular way of life, guided by a set of simple, but powerful, daily practices known to the earliest disciples and the saints through the ages.

  • N. Lincoln Hanks, associate professor of music at Seaver College, and his vocal sextet "Concord" recently completed a weeklong residency at Syracuse University. Hanks and the members of the ensemble conducted performance-practice clinics and master classes with several of the Setner School of Music choirs, voice students, and Syracuse community groups. The residency ended with a public concert given by Concord titled "The Palm Tree, the Crossbar – Music for Holy Week from the New World."  This program of Spanish colonial music was a culmination of Hanks' research into the music liturgy and its performance in Renaissance Latin American missions and churches. The concert took place at Syracuse University's Hendricks Chapel.

  • The Pepperdine Student Alumni Organization (SAO) debuted its new, annual program, "Hang Ten Dinners." More than 30 local alumni opened their homes to 90 students and 10 faculty/staff during a total of twelve
    dinners. These numbers exceeded SAO's goals and expectations.

  • Angela Hawken, assistant professor at the School of Public Policy, worked as the lead economist on a newly released UCLA study that reports that California taxpayers save nearly $2.50 for every dollar invested in nonviolent drug offenders eligible for substance abuse treatment under the state's Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000 (SACPA), or Proposition 36. For offenders who completed their equired drug treatment, nearly $4 was saved for each dollar expended.

  • Pepperdine University hosted the law school premiere of the stirring new documentary film, Abused, at the School of Law. A panel discussion with legal experts and the film’s executive producers followed the screening.

  • Seaver College senior and men’s basketball player Keith Jarbo received the first Athletic Director's Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement and Community Service at a reception held in the Jones Trophy Room on Pepperdine's Malibu campus.

  • Fifty students from Animo Leadership Charter High School, a low-income high school in Inglewood visited the Malibu campus. Their visit was hosted by Pepperdine students from the Master’s in Teacher Education (MAETC) program at Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP), and students from the Latino Student Association (LSA) at Pepperdine.

  • Author David McCullough and Pepperdine President Andrew Benton addressed an audience of nearly 600 at the 30th annual Pepperdine Associates Dinner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. The Pepperdine Associates, generous friends and supporters of the University, gathered at the elegant black-tie dinner to celebrate and honor Pepperdine University as a "Dream in the Making."

  • The Pepperdine community celebrated the School of Public Policy graduation at Alumni Park. Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz), a friend of Pepperdine for many years, received an honorary degree. After representing Arizona for four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, he was elected to his first U.S. Senate term in 1994 and was re-elected in 2000. Kyl serves on the Senate Finance Committee, where he chairs the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, and on the Judiciary Committee, where he chairs the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security.

  • The Pepperdine University Fine Arts Division presented its annual Masterworks Concert, featuring the Pepperdine choirs and orchestra, in Smothers Theatre on the Malibu campus. Milton Pullen, director of choirs, and Tony Cason, director of the University orchestra, conducted the concert. A highlight of the program was a performance of Theodore Dubois' The Seven Last Words of Christ by the Pepperdine Concert Choir, Seaver College Singers, and Pepperdine University Orchestra.

  • Pepperdine students, faculty, and staff were invited to join Kathryn Linehan as she guided participants through "Stretch and Strengthen With Scripture" in the Tennis Pavilion on the Malibu campus. Lisbeth Scott, lead vocalist for major films including The Chronicles of Narnia and The Passion of Christ, performed live music. The class followed the FORM (Faith-Ordered Rotational Movement) method.

  • The Pepperdine community celebrated Seaver College commencement at Alumni Park. Robert M. Creson, president of Wycliffe Bible Translators was honored as the Distinguished Alumnus. Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman of the board and CEO of General Electric Company, delivered the commencement speech.

  • The Pepperdine School of Law Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution was named the nation’s number one dispute resolution program again this year by US News & World Report. The Straus Institute has held the top ranking five years out of the previous seven.

  • Vance Walberg, who built winning programs at Clovis West High School and Fresno City College during the past 17 years, was named the new men’s basketball coach at Pepperdine.

  • The Graduate School of Education and Psychology's Superintendent Advisory Council hosted a "Key Strategies for Successful Administrative Advancement" seminar at the West Los Angeles graduate campus. Presenters included search consultants from The Cosa Group as well as former and current superintendents. Thirty guests attended the seminar and learned more about resume building, application forms, placement files, letters of recommendation, self-assessment, and making career moves.

  • Gary Stager, adjunct faculty member at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP), has been named a finalist by the Association of Educational Publishers for the 2006 Distinguished Achievement Awards. Stager is editor-at-large and writer for District Administration, a monthly magazine with a distribution of 100,000 school leaders. The award ceremony will be held in Washington D.C. in June.

  • Pepperdine University participated in the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on the UCLA campus. The Festival of Books is one of the country's top literary events.

  • The second annual Miss Malibu Pageant was held in Pepperdine's Smothers Theatere. The city of Malibu chose Michelena Erickson, a junior telecommunications major at Seaver College, to represent the city. Erickson is vice president of her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and an anchor on Pepperdine's TV 26 station.

  • Pepperdine women's tennis team claimed their 4th consecutive West Coast Conference (WCC) Championship title after shutting out Loyola Marymount 4-0 at the Degheri Tennis Center on the University of Santa Clara campus.

  • The No. 2 Pepperdine men's tennis team claimed its 16th consecutive West Coast Conference (WCC) title and 37th overall conference crown, defeating San Diego, 4-1 at the Korth Tennis Complex on Saint Mary's campus in Moraga, Calif.

  • Freshman Jayvie Agojo became the fifth straight Pepperdine player and eighth in the last nine years to claim individual medalist honors as she helped the eighth-ranked Waves capture their fifth straight West Coast Conference (WCC) women's golf championship at Saddle Creek Golf Course in Copperopolis, California.

  • Pepperdine University Center for the Arts presented award-winning fiddle player, world-class dancer, and internationally renowned concert performer Natalie MacMaster in a concert at Smothers Theatre in Malibu.

  • For the fifteenth consecutive year, vocalist and guitarist David Wilcox brought his original songs, wit, and warmth to Pepperdine University’s Smothers Theatre.

  • Christopher Worley, associate professor at the Graziadio School of Business and Management and former director of the Master of Science in Organization (MSOD) program, co-authored a new book on organizational effectiveness. Titled Built to Change: How to Achieve Sustained Organizational Effectiveness (Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint, February, 2006), the book underscores the importance of designing the organization for change which the authors say is "the ultimate competitive advantage in today’s business environment."