PEPPERDINE PEOPLE
Seta Khajarian (EdD ’11)
Pepperdine’s new associate provost for institutional effectiveness and assessment is making sure the University is dotting its i’s and crossing its t’s
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness (OIE) serves Pepperdine primarily through leadership in the areas of accreditation and assessment led by Seta Khajarian and institutional and educational research led by Jazmin Zane, director of institutional research.
A graduate of the WASC Senior College and University Commission’s (WSCUC) prestigious
Assessment Leadership Academy, Khajarian has
also served on the WSCUC Visiting Team to reaffirm accreditation of other universities.
“When you have seen both sides of the accreditation process, your vision expands to see the enterprise from every angle. You become more conscientious about representing the institution in the best way possible while being transparent about its challenges.”
As the accreditation liaison officer for the University, Khajarian provides insights into WSCUC policies for new programs, new course offerings or changes, changes in program names, and more. She also serves as the senior assessment director for the Advancement of Student Learning Council.
“The delivery of education is changing. Managing increased online programs or via online platforms
is a considerable challenge not only for delivery of instruction but also for assessment
activities. These challenges are, however, finding a balance, and we are better equipped
to adapt to and adopt new approaches.”
Khajarian has taught several courses at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, including learning design and evaluation, and for the past five years has taught courses in organizational leadership and leading innovation and change as an adjunct professor at Woodbury University in Burbank, California.
While accreditation activities include monitoring and measuring educational effectiveness, they also include examining indirect measures related to academics, service, diversity, and purpose. This spring the Pepperdine community was invited to participate in an anonymous national survey related mostly to issues of diversity and equity that will assist the OIE with its assessment and research endeavors, but also to inform institutional decision-making.
Join the Club
Through a Christian theological framework, the Office of Intercultural Affairs seeks to cultivate a community of belonging by providing cultural education to the campus community to build a diverse community of respect, learning, understanding, equity, and inclusion.
Chatter
The Pepperdine community remembers Tommy Lasorda, legendary Hall of Fame manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the recipient of an honorary doctor of laws degree at the 1996 Seaver College commencement ceremony.
ROSE SOLOMON
RIP Tommy. Such a moving speech! One of the best!
SAM LAGANÀ (MBA '17, PKE 137)
The first honorary doctorate that Tommy received was the one from Pepperdine, and had it posted in a prominent spot in his office at Dodger Stadium.
KEITH MCNAMARA
What great words of wisdom from an amazing and beloved man.
VAL SALOV ('96)
That was my graduation. What a fantastic speech that was. I remember feeling that I could achieve anything I put my heart into. Tommy was an amazing person.
SOUND BITES
Explore a collection of some of the most notable moments from recent events held across the University.
“Anybody should be free to advocate any position, so long as they are prepared to do business in the proper currency of intellectual discourse, which is a currency consisting of reason, evidence, and arguments.”
Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University
EVENT: President’s Speaker Series: Honesty and Courage, Humility and Hope: Robert
George
and Cornel West in Dialogue
“Most heroes’ stories come from humble beginnings. It’s going to be the same in the
fields of business and law, and you have to be aware of their status and evolution
. . . understand status and what to do with it will set you up for a win.”
Seán Kinney, Filmmaker/Creative Consultant/Creator, The Kinney Method
EVENT: Introduction to Storytelling for Entertainment, Business, and Law
“You will be studying together, participating in classes together, working alongside
each other, and living in houses together. Because of that connection, you’re in a
unique position to . . . be there for your friends when you notice something is off
and encourage them to connect with resources that can be supportive.”
Nivla Y. Fitzpatrick, Director, Pepperdine Counseling Center
EVENT: Seaver College Spring New Student Orientation: Don’t Just Survive, Thrive!
“The word ‘diversity’ is just a door. It is not a building. When you open it and step in, you are honoring . . . the students, then see . . . their professor now drawing their stories . . . and that is honoring who they are and who they are trying to become.”
Willie James Jennings, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies, Yale Divinity School
EVENT: Discussing Race, Faith, and Education with Dr. Willie James Jennings
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Photographed for the April 9, 1965, issue of the Graphic, former California governor Goodwin J. Knight (left), who served from 1953–1959, made a surprise visit to the Pepperdine campus to speak to an introductory government class taught by professor Gilbert Payton Richardson (right). Student Steve Elkins (center) arranged for Knight’s appearance.
Did You Know?
Pepperdine is the only university to establish a chapter with the California Association for Bilingual Education to promote educational equity.
