News and Events
2007 Featured Stories
Student Leader Veronica Glaze Pursues Activism and the Law
Veronica Glaze knew she wanted to attend law school by the time she entered the third grade. Like her peers, she studied fractions and penmanship, but unlike many other elementary school students, Glaze also dabbled in acting and modeling—a sphere that eventually drew her to law.
Student Spotlight: Thomas Lambert
Thomas Lambert approaches life with a pen in hand and politics in mind. The Seaver College sophomore contributes articles and op-eds to the Connecticut Post and recently completed a semester in Pepperdine's Washington, D.C. internship program. Before heading off to his next adventure (a semester in Pepperdine's London program), Lambert took some time to describe how his time in Washington impacted his life, and how he's taking the reins in his education.
Renowned Real Estate Scholar Shines in the Classroom
This fall, world-renowned real estate scholar Grant Nelson joined the faculty at Pepperdine—the third institution to grant him tenure. He came most recently from UCLA, where he taught real estate finance, advanced real estate transactions, property, and remedies for 17 years. He was also a Faculty Research Fellow of the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate.
Top Speed: Alumnus Jason Nazar Leads a Fast-Growing Internet Startup
During his third year of law school, Jason Nazar (SOL '07) traded evenings in the library for late nights on the phone with a firm in India. Often up and working from midnight to 4 a.m., Nazar labored long hours to bring an idea to fruition: Docstoc, a You Tube-like Web site that places literally thousands of business and legal documents at your fingertips.
From California to South Africa: Alumna Anna Jacobsen Shares Her Passion for Science
When Anna Jacobsen (B '03, SC) was in the fourth grade, she began her first leaf collection to fulfill a class project. Nature became more than just "a sea of uniform green" to Jacobsen after that experience. Today Jacobsen is a professor in the Department of Biology at California State University (CSU) Bakersfield.
Baseball Coach Steve Rodriguez Honored for Contributions to the Community
For his contributions to the City of Malibu, the Malibu City Council recently presented Rodriguez with the Jake Kuredjian Memorial Citizenship Award. Named in honor of a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy who was killed in the line of duty, the award was created to honor outstanding individuals like Rodriguez who give their time for the youth, families, and seniors of Malibu.
Waves Water Polo: All Eyes on the Prize
For college athletes, each season brings a new chance for victory and another shot at the NCAA Championships. The Pepperdine men's water polo team is no exception.
Triumph of the Spirit: Thema Bryant-Davis Empowers Survivors to Overcome Trauma
A young girl waits with dry eyes for a social worker when she realizes her mom will never come. Another captures her stepfather's abuse on her karaoke machine to prove the horror to her doubting mother. Such are the types of stories shared by patients of psychologist Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis. In her capable hands, however, the focus is not trauma but recovery.
Stella Erbes Reflects on Honduras Medical Mission
On May 5, 2007, seven Pepperdine students and I began our journey to Honduras to practice our Spanish skills and serve in hospitals, medical clinics, and schools. The Honduras Medical Mission Program attracts pre-med students from Seaver College (and the former pre-med major in me) who are interested in serving others by using their Spanish skills and medical knowledge.
Kenneth Santarelli Educates the Next Generation of Engineers
Kenneth Santarelli, an Organizational Leadership doctoral student at the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP), has been named director of California State University, Fresno's engineering programs at the Lancaster University Center in Southern California. Santarelli sat down to tell us about this latest development in his career and his exciting journey from aerospace to higher education.
Alumni Snapshot: Rick Herrmann
He began as an intern in the early days of personal computers, but over the past 18 years Pepperdine alumnus Rick Herrmann (MSTM '98, GSBM) has risen through the ranks of Intel Corporation. Here Herrmann discusses his passion, advice for business students, lifelong goals, and his new favorite technological toy.
Courage and Conviction: Alumnus Burton Rojas Returns to Pepperdine
In high school, Burton Rojas (JD '04, SOL) didn't want to go to college because he didn't see the point. Growing up in Turlock, California, as the 10th of 11 children, he eschewed studying, without the slightest inkling that he would someday be an attorney and mentor reluctant students such as himself.
Alumnus Donn Silberman Brings Kid-Friendly Science Education to Life
"It's an itch I need to scratch. I have to do it and if I'm not doing it, something's wrong with me," says Donn Silberman (MS ‘94, GSBM), of his work as founding director of the Optics Institute of Southern California (OISC). OISC is a nonprofit organization that "seeks to foster the curious scientist, the artful mathematician and the creative engineer in every student, regardless of age."
Pepperdine Athlete Reflects on Coaching Soccer Camps in Uganda
Waves women's soccer players had never traveled so far for an away match. We stood in the middle of a dusty soccer field in Uganda as throngs of school children rushed the field, barefoot and ecstatic. My teammates Mckenzie Hill, Emily Wynne, and I were about to spend several days coaching soccer camps for African children. Faraway from the plush, green carpet of our home field at Pepperdine, we were ready to share our skills, camaraderie, and faith on Ugandan terrain.
Pepperdine Student Reflects on Service Trip to Tanzania
It was just after 6 a.m. on Thursday morning and I saw my first glimpse of real Africa. We were driving on a rickety, old shuttle bus through the Kenyan countryside on our way to Tanzania. After nearly one year of preparation—including University approval, grant writing, individual fundraising, and team preparation—my travel companions and I were now experiencing Project Hope: Tanzania.
Public Policy Professor Robert G. Kaufman Defends Bush Doctrine in New Book
Robert G. Kaufman, professor of public policy at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, has written a new book titled In Defense of the Bush Doctrine (University Press of Kentucky). Read on to learn more about the book, why you should read it, and the man behind this provocative argument.
Student Computer Club: A Growing Community Beyond Borders
I attended my first computer club as a budding psychology student in college. In fact, I founded it, along with a group of classmates from the computer science department. Now as a doctoral student in Educational Technology at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP), I continue my work as a computer club activist. In Fall 2006 Dr. Linda Polin invited me to help lead the charge in reviving Pepperdine¹s computer club, Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) Pepperdine. I currently serve as the group's president.
Robert Lloyd Observes Elections in Nigeria
In April 2007, Robert Lloyd, associate professor of international relations and chair of the Seaver College International Studies and Languages Division, participated in an election observation mission in Nigeria with the International Republic Institute. Here Lloyd describes the trip in his own words.
Diana Hiatt-Michael Looks at Education in Oman
Dr. Hiatt-Michael has been a member of the Graduate School of Education and Psychology faculty for more than 30 years, beginning her Pepperdine teaching on the original Vermont Avenue campus. In November 2006, she visited the Sultanate of Oman to discuss family-school-community partnerships. Here she tells us about that trip and other teaching experiences.
La Vita Musicale: Carlo Corrieri Enchants as a Gifted Classical Guitarist
Winner of 19 international classical guitar competitions, Carlo Corrieri is now completing his freshman year at Seaver College, where he studies under classical guitar master Christopher Parkening, Distinguished Professor of Music at Pepperdine University, and eponymous inspiration for the Parkening International Guitar Competition.
Seaver College Student Wrenn Yennie: Education Gone Global
The youth of America don't care about foreign culture, the stereotype goes. They neglect to learn other languages, travel to distant countries, or appreciate the art, history, and nuanced identities of people outside the United States. Wrenn Yennie, Seaver College senior, is proving the stereotype wrong.
Steven Watts Brings Dispute Resolution to Chad
For snapping a quick photo out of the window of a taxi, Steven Watts was pulled over by local "security" personnel in N'Djamena, Chad. The man pointed a gun at him, interrogating him in Arabic and French.
Yuan Fang Brings Chinese Student Group and New Year Celebration to Pepperdine
Seaver College junior Yuan Fang commemorated Chinese New Year in a special way this year—by hosting, along with Pepperdine's new Chinese Student Union, a New Year's celebration on campus.
Every Job is an Adventure for Executive MBA Graduate
Some people thrive on a routine. And then there's Jac Meacham.
A man of many careers, Meacham (GSBM '74) has flown as a pilot in the United States Marine Corps, written organizational handbooks in New York, opened a fish market in San Diego, consulted the Crow Indian tribe in Montana, and created a "historic village" in rural Missouri, just to name a few.
Soprano Kathleen Roland-Silverstein Helps Revive Swedish Art Song
It was serendipitous, really. In 1999, Dr. Merril Silverstein pursued studies in gerontology as a Fulbright Scholar in Residence at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Traveling with him was his wife Kathleen, a striking soprano and frequent performer. After finding work with a Swedish pianist, she began learning the language and discovered a genre of music that would ultimately transform her career: Swedish art song.
Law School Professor Maureen Weston Puts a Human Face on Every Case
It was a moment in history. In quiet northern Minnesota, a group of female coal miners resisted their aggressive, male-dominated work environment and filed the first class action sexual harassment suit in American history. Documented in the book Class Action and fictionalized in the Academy Award-nominated film North Country, the Jenson v. Eveleth Mines case spent more than a decade in the courts and set a new standard in litigation. And in the middle of the trial, engaged in research for the defendant mining company, was attorney Maureen Weston.
Alumni Leader Bob Clark Reaches out to Fellow Graduates
President Benton formed the Pepperdine University Alumni Leadership Council (ALC) in Fall 2006, and recognizing Clark's leadership in the Mile High Waves, named him as its president. Comprised of graduates from all five schools, the council seeks to create better affinity among alumni and with the University by addressing their specific needs. "I take personally everything George Pepperdine believed," Clark says.
A New Approach to Teacher Education
Dr. Tony Collatos is leading a revolution in teacher education. Yet, according to Collatos, the Urban Parent/Teacher Education Collaborative (UPTEC), one of the first programs of its kind in the nation, is simply the most logical method of preparing future educators to work in urban schools.
First-year Law Student Develops an Interest in Criminal Defense
First-year Pepperdine law student, Rachel Rossi, says she wasn't afraid to meet criminals in prison and interview them. In fact, she fell in love with client interaction and learned a lot about the practical application of criminal defense law.
A Passport to Service: Fighting the Spread of Infectious Diseases
Public service has always been a part of Andy Weathers' (B '98, SC; M '00, SPP) life, so it is no surprise that he travels all over the globe to train and implement disease control measures for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Born to Ride: Female Jockey Takes to the Track
It is hard to imagine a college student who would voluntarily rise at 4:30 a.m. every morning. But one recent Pepperdine graduate did just that. Anne Sanguinetti (B '04, SC) began taking weekly riding lessons with her mother when she was six years old.
