Ken Starr Institute for Faith, Law, and Public Service
Shaped by Ken Starr’s guiding values, the Ken Starr Institute for Faith, Law, and Public Service explores complex legal issues through principled dialogue and meaningful discourse.
The Ken Starr Institute for Faith, Law, and Public Service honors the life and legacy of former Dean Ken Starr and celebrates the servant leadership, scholarship, and mentorship he brought to the Caruso School of Law during his tenure from 2004 to 2010. Through Starr’s commitment to pro bono service, volunteer work with local humanitarian organizations, and deep investment in the lives of faculty and students, Dean Starr embodied scholarly excellence, a spirit of generosity, and purposeful leadership.
Launched in 2024, the institute is committed to building opportunities for students to learn from leading scholars and practitioners by convening meaningful academic dialogue around pressing legal issues, including religious liberty, access to justice, and constitutional interpretation. The institute is investing in the next generation of legal scholars through fellowships for aspiring academics.
In addition, the institute is launching new programs and fellowship opportunities that will provide students with both professional and spiritual formation. And it will serve as a long-term academic home for professors committed to wrestling with the most important legal and cultural issues of our time—while mentoring the next generation of lawyers. By continuing to expand its influence and reach, the Ken Starr Institute is helping propel the Caruso School of Law toward its full promise as the nation’s premier Christian law school.
Your support will advance the mission and enduring work of the institute. A range of naming and funding opportunities—including endowed chairs, fellowships, scholarships, and annual conferences—will help sustain and expand the exploration of conservative legal thought in the vital areas of faith, law, and public service that defined Ken Starr’s life and work.
Ken Starr guided Pepperdine Caruso Law's ascent into the top tier of American law schools and cemented our identity as a preeminent Christian law school. I am thrilled that Ken’s legacy will endure through the work of the institute that bears his name.
Paul Caron, Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean
Caruso School of Law
The Pepperdine Caruso School of Law recently hosted global legal scholars at its Switzerland campus for the Fourth Annual Nootbaar Fellows Conference and the inaugural State of Religious Freedom Conference. Jointly organized by the Ken Starr Institute and the Nootbaar Institute, the landmark event brought the world together to examine the protection of religious liberty across transatlantic contexts, underscoring Pepperdine's distinctive mission to foster rigorous academic inquiry and global public service.
To learn more about the institute’s programs visit the Starr Institute webpage. To invest in the Ken Starr Institute and help build its future, contact:
Rebecca Malzahn Mellos
Senior Vice Chancellor for Development
310.506.4083