Pete Peterson Named Dean of School of Public Policy
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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.