Pepperdine School of Public Policy Receives $1 Million National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Grant for Foreign Affairs Research and Speaker Series
MALIBU, California — In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the United States, the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy has received a $1 million grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to launch “America and the World: 250 Years of US Leadership in Foreign Affairs,” a major humanities-centered speaker series and research effort.
Kiron Skinner, the founding director of the University’s new Institute for Diplomacy, Security, and Innovation and Taube Family Chair of International Relations and Politics at the School of Public Policy, is the Principal Investigator for the significant funding designed to elevate scholarship on American global leadership between 1789 and 2025.
Drawing expertise from her vast experience as a scholar, diplomat, and former State Department and Defense Department official, Skinner will convene leading university and think tank scholars, and former and current political leaders to form a robust programming and research schedule focused on America’s past and present role in foreign relations.
“I am grateful to the National Endowment for the Humanities for entrusting Pepperdine University with the responsibility of national programming and rigorous research on the foreign policy dimensions of America's founding. My School of Public Policy colleagues and I look forward to elevating the global examination of America throughout its 250 years.”
With plans for lectures at academic institutions as well as roundtable discussions hosted at embassies in Washington, D.C.—featuring historians in conversation with diplomats and officials—the grant signifies Pepperdine’s priority on uniting academic scholarship and policy practice.
“Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy is committed to advancing scholarship that informs public leadership and democratic governance,” says Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy. “By placing humanities scholarship at the forefront of national commemoration, the project will affirm the continued relevance and importance of civic education, public discourse, applied history, and global understanding.”
Lectures and research will be made public on digital platforms as an educational resource for secondary and post-secondary educators, researchers, and the general public.
For more information about the speaker series and upcoming events, visit publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/events.
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About Pepperdine University School of Public Policy
The School of Public Policy (SPP) is built on a distinctive philosophy of nurturing public leaders to use tools of analysis and policy design to effect real change. Grounded in understanding policy's moral and distinctly American elements, SPP prepares graduates for careers as leaders by offering a master’s degree in public policy and three joint-degree programs. The school’s Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership promotes citizen participation in governance through major conferences, training, seminars, and published research. Follow SPP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
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