Pepperdine University Hosts the Society for Classical Learning Alumni Summit

Across the United States, classical K–12 schools are reviving an education rooted in forming whole persons of virtue who seek the true, the good, and the beautiful. 

Recognizing a shared mission with liberal arts higher education, Pepperdine supported this movement by welcoming the Society for Classical Learning (SCL) Alumni Summit to our Malibu campus for a three-day weekend of fellowship. Daily activities were hosted by Coby Dolloff, executive writer for Pepperdine’s integrated marketing communications office and instructor of humanities at Seaver College. 

SCL alumni separated into roundtable discussions throughout the morning

A hallmark of alumni’s discussion was how to strengthen a sense of community within the Christian classical movement, while also sharing methods to communicate its accessibility to those who did not go to a classical school, namely that the Great Conversation is open for all. The event also ushered discussions of lifelong virtue formation through sessions led by artist and author Josh Nadeau. 

“Over the past several decades, the Christian classical education has grown from a small educational experiment into a broad and influential renewal movement," said Starrla Fowler, Director of School Improvement at the SCL, who offered keynote remarks on Saturday morning. “It is increasingly recognized for the hope and depth that it offers in this age of educational and cultural fragmentation. Classical schools are emerging rapidly across the country as families are searching to enroll their children in something more humane and enduring.”

A restoration movement beginning in the heartland of the US during the 1980s, three classical education schools first emerged in Indiana, Kansas, and Ohio with the purpose of preparing students to become not only capable thinkers, but to be moral and wise. Often subjects within a modern classical education curriculum are divided into two sections: the trivium, which focuses on grammar, logic, and rhetoric (including readings of classical literature and philosophy), and the quadrivium, which focuses on arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.

Josh Nadeau speaking at Gulls Way Patio

With deep roots in the intellectual heritage of Western civilization, classical education, supported by SCL, strives to shape students with a coherent moral and intellectual vision that sustains them beyond mere career training, recognizing that the inherent dignity of all people beckons an education that prioritizes the formation of virtue and soul. 

Continuing the discussion of virtue, Nadeau then led two afternoon sessions on how the virtues (such as generosity, prudence, humility, diligence) aren’t merely lofty ideals, but can be practically embodied to live a healthy life. He stressed the importance of never neglecting one’s physical life. 

Among the three transcendentals—beauty, truth, goodness—Nadeau explained that beauty serves as the first invitation into a divine life, echoing the sentiments of classical thinkers. This idea aligns with Nadeau’s two books: Room for Good Things to Run Wild and Heaven Meets Earth, excerpts of which he shared throughout the day. 

“A beautiful life begins with virtue,” said Nadeau. “Virtue reorders your whole person toward the Source, toward the fullness of life. Instead we are receiving the world as a gift rather than consuming it for our own ends. And then through virtue, we are offering it back to God and neighbor, and these things will change how we operate and will transform ourselves and the world around us.” 

To close Saturday’s activities, Provost Jay Brewster hosted attendees at a special dinner at his home. During this evening, Dolloff moderated a panel discussion with Nadeau and Jessica Hooten Wilson, Fletcher Jones Chair of Great Books and professor of humanities and Great Books. Previously Pepperdine University has supported the classical K-12 movement by hosting Jeremy Wayne Tate, founder and CEO of the Classic Learning Test, for a public conversation with President Jim Gash ('93) during the President's Speaker Series. 

Nadeau, Hooten-Wilson, Dolloff at the Provost's hosted dinner

Hooten Wilson explained that immersion in the centuries-long tradition of the Great Books—studied at both classical K–12 schools and within Pepperdine’s liberal arts curricula—is indeed the tried-and-true pathway to preparing oneself to lead a flourishing life, as the wisdom of the Great Books teaches to love and follow what is good. 

“If you’re reading the Great Books, you’re living with those authors. They are with you and in your imagination on a regular basis. So, they become like a memory that can help guide you toward the Good Life,” said Hooten Wilson. 

While nourishing their minds with intellectual conversation, throughout the weekend attendees took advantage of Malibu’s signature seascape, led by Dolloff on a surfing venture at Westward Beach, as well as hiking along Point Dume’s cove trail. 

Following Sunday morning church services, summit goers caught flights home. Many, if not all, expressed gratitude for a dedicated time to refocus on an enduring tradition and conviviality present through the SCL alumni community. 

Learn more about Pepperdine University's Great Books program.