Second Annual Waves of Innovation Winners Announced

Following a University-wide call to participate in the creative process of change and innovation at Pepperdine, faculty, staff, and students submitted nearly 100 proposals to improve Pepperdine and make it a more agile and sustainable institution.

Winners of Pepperdine’s second annual Waves of Innovation were announced at the Waves of Innovation Talks Thursday, February 5, at Smothers Theatre in Malibu.

“I am continually inspired by the initiative that the members of our community take to live out the founding vision of George Pepperdine,” says Pepperdine president Andrew K. Benton. “The overwhelming number of submissions to the Waves of Innovation initiative further proves that our faculty, staff, and students believe in and are committed to strengthening the future of the University.”

Of the six finalists who presented their ideas to President Benton and the Waves of Innovation Committee, three were awarded substantial grants to implement their ideas. Winning proposals included the Financial Literacy Initiative, a proposal that seeks to educate young adults on the foundational concepts of personal finance; the Center for Women in Leadership, a collaborative pilot initiative between the Seaver College Business Administration Division, Graziadio School of Business and Management, and Pepperdine University Human Resources; and the development, launch, and implementation of a new degree program: the Master of Science in Applied Analytics. The next round of submissions are due spring 2016.

“Once again, the Pepperdine community responded to the Waves of Innovation initiative with creative, energetic, and rich ideas,” says Lee Kats, Pepperdine vice provost and Waves of Innovation Committee chair. “Each of the six presentations was excellent. President Benton and the committee were left with a difficult choice, but I believe the three projects that were selected offer the best opportunities for making Pepperdine an even better university than it is now.”