Pepperdine Voice Magazine

Summer 2008

Pepperdine Remembers Chris Sangster

The Pepperdine community lost a treasured friend this year when Chris Sangster ('75, MBA '81), a much-loved Pepperdine alumnus, longtime administrator, and member of the University Church, passed away February 12 after battling an extended illness. Chris' outgoing personality and unbridled enthusiasm for all things Pepperdine touched the lives of literally thousands of members of the Pepperdine community.

Chris served as assistant dean of advancement and alumni relations for Seaver College and George Pepperdine College (GPC). He and his wife Claudia ('76), a Pepperdine alumna and former senior counsel for the University's Center for Estate and Gift Planning, were frequently seen attending athletic events, meeting with alumni, reconnecting with classmates and faculty at Homecoming, and keeping close ties with GPC graduates and their families. Chris and Claudia met on the first day the Malibu campus opened in 1972 and married four years later, just one month after Claudia graduated from Pepperdine.

"No one loved Pepperdine University more; no one knew Pepperdine alumni better than Chris," recalls David Baird, former dean of Seaver College. "For him, the Pepperdine community was family."

President Andy Benton expressed the feelings of countless others when he noted, "I am touched by the sterling qualities of Chris' life, and touched by the dignity and serenity of his death. Such, I suppose, is the nature of one with a deep and abiding faith. His smile and upbeat approach to life will never leave my memory of him. Pepperdine has lost a great example and friend."

Chris loved Pepperdine students and wanted all young people to be able to benefit from the Christian education offered here. The Chris Sangster Memorial Scholarship will financially assist young people who hope to attend Pepperdine University.