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Pete Peterson Named Dean of School of Public Policy

Pepperdine Magazine is the feature magazine for Pepperdine University and its growing community of alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends.

Pete Peterson has been named dean of the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy. Peterson has served the School of Public Policy in many capacities over the course of his nearly decadelong career at Pepperdine, most recently in the role of interim dean. He has led the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership as executive director since 2010, and has held various teaching roles at Pepperdine since 2007.

Peterson is a leading national speaker and writer on issues related to civic participation and the use of technology to make government more responsive and transparent. He was the first executive director of the bipartisan organization Common Sense California, which in 2010 joined with the Davenport Institute at the School of Public Policy to become the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership.

In 2008, as executive director of the Davenport Institute, Peterson developed the organization’s annual Public Engagement Grant Program, which has provided over $400,000 in grants over the last several years to dozens of municipal governments across California.

Peterson has cocreated and currently co-facilitates the training seminar “Public Engagement: The Vital Leadership Skill in Difficult Times,” a program that has been attended by over 1,000 municipal officials.