The Pepperdine College of Health Science Unveils Newly Dedicated Joyce Plueger Health Assessment Laboratory

Pepperdine University's College of Health Science unveiled the newly dedicated Joyce Plueger Health Assessment Laboratory, made possible by a generous gift from Pepperdine regent John and Celeste Plueger. To honor the Plueger family’s contribution, the College of Health Science hosted a dedication ceremony held on the Calabasas campus on May 29, 2026. 

“It gives me great pleasure to thank the Plueger family for all that they have done through the years to support and lead Pepperdine,” said Sara Young Jackson (’74), chancellor of Pepperdine, who provided the event’s opening remarks. “It's wonderful to have underwritten this beautiful, advanced laboratory that will provide a state-of-the-art hands-on learning experience for nursing students. . . . The Pluegers are a family that does not seek the limelight, but in every way I can think of, the Pluegers have been a dedicated Pepperdine family.” 

The laboratory features a photo of Joyce

(Image of Celeste and John Plueger)

This milestone gift comes at a propitious time as the College of Health Science celebrates its first year in operation and will be welcoming its second class—in its School of Nursing and School of Speech-Language Pathology—during the fall of 2026. 

John dedicated the assessment laboratory in honor of his mother, Joyce. Born on September 27, 1933, in Oelwein, Iowa, Joyce was the only daughter of Luther and Adelia Johnson, her beloved parents. As devout Christians, the Johnson family attended church regularly, and eventually Joyce met and fell in love with Aaron Luther Pleuger (’50), a graduate of what was then George Pepperdine College in Los Angeles and a Christian minister. They married and raised three children, John, Tim, and Priscilla. 

“A nurse to the soul of everyone she touched,” is how John described his mother. Though not a medical professional herself, Joyce’s tremendous empathy for others served as the hands and heart of Christ through her role as a mother, supporter of Aaron and his ministry, in her on-and-off work as a bank teller, and in her passion for singing—she often sang duets with her husband at church services and functions. 

Chancellor Jackson addressing attendees 

“We're gathered to celebrate more than just the naming of the teaching and learning laboratory. We're here to witness the intersection of a beautiful legacy in the future of healthcare,” said Michael Feltner, founding dean of the College of Health Science. “We’re infusing the room with a very specific spirit. Joyce seemed to me a woman whose presence created a sanctuary. . . . With this dedication, we are sending a clear message to every student who walks through these doors: your clinical skills are your tools, but your character is the treatment and your North Star is Jesus Christ.”  

Upon the inception of the College of Health Science, the assessment laboratory was designed to resemble outpatient exam rooms, complete with hospital beds, privacy curtains, otoscopes, ophthalmoscopes, thermometers, and blood pressure cuffs. Now under the dedicated namesake of Joyce Plueger, the facility will continue to support students as they conduct head-to-toe physical exams, take vital signs, assess heart and lung sounds, and communicate effectively with patients. Now Joyce’s nurturing spirit will live through the hands and hearts of each graduate of the College of Health Science. 

“As a lab scientist, I can say that the laboratory is a sacred space to the training of healthcare professionals,” said Jay Brewster, provost of the University. “The naming and dedication of a laboratory is always a momentous moment. . . . From the very first stages of planning this college, we recognized the deep connection between health sciences and Pepperdine’s Christian mission. We are inspired and certainly honored to raise up new generations of professionals that will serve and care for others with the heart of the Great Physician.” 

Dean Feltner leading a tour of the Joyce Pleuger Health Assessment Lab

A grand number of the Plueger family attended the dedicatory ceremony, including John and Celeste, their son Ryan (’14), and his wife, Kristen, joined the event with their young son, Banks. John and Celeste’s eldest son, Alex, and his wife Jacqueline were also in attendance, as well as John’s sister Priscilla and her husband Jeff. Joyfully celebrating an intergenerational moment, the family announced that Banks will be baptized this same weekend Joyce was honored at Pepperdine with her dedicated laboratory. 

After the ceremony, Feltner led the Pluegers on a tour of the laboratory. The family’s gift, alongside a recent partnership with HCA Healthcare, will continue to support Pepperdine’s mission of equipping students with exceptional healthcare education. The Joyce Plueger Health Assessment Laboratory joins the proud naming of the Dr. Aaron L. Plueger Reading Room at Payson Library in Malibu.

“We couldn’t be happier today to be celebrating this naming of the laboratory in honor of my mother,” said John in closing. “All the comments made about her were very much appreciated. This is a beautiful recognition of her legacy.”