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News and Events

News & Events Recap

September 2006

  • Pepperdine began construction on the University’s first ever sponsored Habitat for Humanity house in Ventura County.  An official Site Blessing ceremony was conducted with the Saravia family, the recipients of the future home.

  • Andrew Benton, president of Pepperdine University, announced the formation of a new Alumni Leadership Council (ALC) as an effort to better connect the 80,000 Pepperdine alumni that are spread out domestically and internationally. Benton named Bob Clark (GSBM '79) as its head. Robert Katch (SC '84) was named vice president.

  • The Pepperdine community attended the annual Founder’s Day celebration officiated by Provost Darryl L. Tippens. Christopher Parkening, distinguished professor of music, gave the invocation followed by moving performances by the Seaver College Concert Choir under the direction of Milt Pullen.

  • The Frederick Weisman Museum of Art launched “Photos and Phantasy,” an exhibition that highlighted the many diverse ways that fantasy and photographic technology inform contemporary art. 

  • Samuel A. Alito, united states supreme court justice, spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at Pepperdine University’s School of Law. Justice Alito gave his thoughts on the Constitution and issues facing the Supreme Court and also answered questions from the student body.  Justice Alito also attended the 9/11 memorial service at Heroes Garden.

  • Senator John Kerry spoke about the role of faith in public life to a standing-room-only audience in Smothers Theatre as part of the 2006–2007 Distinguished Dean’s Lecture series.

  • Pepperdine commemorated the fifth anniversary of September 11, 2001, with a special prayer service led by President Benton in Stauffer Chapel and a memorial service at Heroes Garden.  Deena Burnett, wife of Graziadio School alumnus Tom Burnett who died on United flight 93, was a featured speaker at the formal memorial service.  In the evening, a special 90-minute program was held in Stauffer Chapel that featured an audio and video presentation of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem was held in Stauffer Chapel.

  • 1,282 Pepperdine students, faculty, and staff members volunteered over 3,846 hours of service at the 18th Annual Step Forward Day, Pepperdine University’s largest service event.  Alumni chapters in Seattle, Denver, San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego and Los Angeles also “stepped forward” by organizing numerous service projects in their respective communities.

  • The 2006 National Champion Men’s Tennis Team was honored in front of students, faculty, and staff at a special convocation.  Andrew Benton, president of Pepperdine University, and John Watson, director of athletics, presented head coach Adam Steinberg and his team with their championship rings and unveiled the championship banner in Firestone Fieldhouse.

  • Pepperdine University’s Communication Division won several prestigious design-related awards. The awards include the prominent 2006 Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Circle of Excellence Program's Silver Medal, for Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business Report, in the category of web-based or electronic HTML external audience newsletter. In addition, the division won four highly selective 2006 Graphic Design USA awards in the categories of announcement and invitation.

  • Dan Caldwell, distinguished professor of political science at Seaver College, was selected for the "faculty spotlight" in September’s bimonthly newsletter distributed to 2,000 academics nationwide by Foreign Affairs magazine.

  • Pepperdine University was named the most beautiful campus by the Princeton Review.

  • Dennis Torres, director of real estate and adjunct professor of negotiation and dispute resolution at the Graziadio School of Business and Management, was a keynote presenter at the National Society of Hispanic MBAs' Leadership, Education and Diversity (LEAD).  He discussed "The Art of Negotiation."

  • Cyndia Clegg, distinguished professor of English at Seaver College, presented a plenary paper titled, "Print in the Time of Parliament" at the Jacobean Book Conference at Queen Mary, University of London.

  • Todd Bouldin, visiting assistant professor of religion and social science, was announced as the new director of the Pepperdine Voyage: a Lilly Endowment Program on Vocation.

  • Mike Jordan, professor of journalism, published a two-part series on the 20th anniversary of the landmark media law case, Press-Enterprise II v. Superior Court, in California Publisher magazine.

  • Ed Rockey, professor of business at the Graziadio School of Business and Management, was featured as a workplace expert and quoted extensively in a cover article on stress management in the July issue of Training and Development magazine.

  • Linnea McCord, associate professor of business at the Graziadio School of Business and Management, presented "Essential Ethics for Survival and Success in the 21st Century" at the September meeting of the Institute of Management Consultants' (IMC) Southern California Chapter.

  • Ken Starr, dean of the School of Law, was the featured speaker at the California Club's Executive Forum Kickoff Luncheon.  He spoke on "Reflections on the Roberts Court."

  • David Davenport, distinguished professor of public policy at the School of Public Policy, discussed "Higher Education: Diversity of Everything But Ideas” at the California Club.

  • Tomas E. Martinez, professor of psychology, presented on the topic "Mental Health Needs of the Latino Elderly" at the "Promising Practices: Shaping the Future for Mental Health Needs and Aging" conference sponsored by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.  Dr. Martinez also served on a panel presentation at the International Latino Behavioral Health Institute. He presented with a mental health team on "Working Through Grief and Loss with a Latino Family.”  

  • James Q. Wilson, professor of public policy at the School of Public Policy, discussed "War and the Mass Media" at his annual lecture at the Ronal Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley.

  • Ginger Rosenkrans, assistant professor of advertising, wrote a chapter on "Online Advertising Metrics" that has been published in the 2007 Handbook of Research on Electronic Surveys and Measurements (Idea Group Reference). The chapter explains common online advertising metrics used to measure effectiveness.  Rosenkrans also published research titled, “Online Banner Ads and Metrics Challenges,” in the September issue of the International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising.

  • Lou Cozolino, professor of psychology at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, authored a new text titled, The Neuroscience of Human Relationships: Attachment and the Developing Social Brain.  In association with the text, Cozolino presented "The Neuroscience of Human Relationships" at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.

  • Gary Stager, adjunct professor of education at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, was the keynote speaker at Australia's Expanding Learning Horizons Conference, held in Lorne, Victoria.

  • Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California, signed The California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) at a special ceremony on Pepperdine's Malibu campus.  The bi-partisan bill is regarded as historic in California and proponents while members of the business community and environmentalist groups alike cite it as positioning California to lead an international effort to reduce the effects of global warming.