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Pepperdine University

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Pepperdine University is a private institution of higher learning affiliated with the Church of Christ. The university's location overlooks Malibu, California.

Contents

History

Pepperdine University was established as George Pepperdine College in 1937, by George Pepperdine. For thirty years, George Pepperdine College was a small undergraduate school located near Watts in South Los Angeles. Badly shaken by the 1965 Watts Riots, which led to the exodus of most of South Los Angeles's remaining White population, Pepperdine's leadership decided to leave inner-city Los Angeles. In 1972, through the generosity of Frank Roger Seaver, Pepperdine opened a new 830 acre (3.4 km²) campus in the Malibu area. The former campus is now the site of the Crenshaw Christian Center and Faithdome.

Pepperdine gained university status in 1971 when a school of law was added and the business and education departments became separate schools. In 1975, the undergraduate program was named Seaver College in honor of the Seavers. In the 1980s, Pepperdine rose to prominence as one of the United States' leading centers of conservative politics, attracting many conservative-leaning professors from nearby UCLA and USC. Prominent conservatives on the Pepperdine faculty have included Ben Stein, Kenneth Starr, Arthur Laffer, and Douglas W. Kmiec. In 1996, a massive brushfire threatened the campus with destruction, but firefighters succeeded in protecting almost all structures. [link]

Campus

The main campus is nestled among several ridges that overlook the Pacific Ocean and the Pacific Coast Highway, just outside the Malibu city limits (although its mailing address is "Malibu"). Driving up the main campus entrance road is a memorable experience, as it ascends a steep well-groomed grassy slope past a huge stylized cross, known as the Phillips Theme Tower, symbolizing the university's dedication to its original Christian mission. Most buildings were constructed in a typical 1980s-style reinterpretation of classic Californian and Mediterranean architecture (red tile roofs, white stuccoed walls, large tinted windows). Pepperdine University was voted as having the most beautiful campus by Princeton Review and having the best dorms of any campus in the nation. There are views of the Pacific Ocean, Catalina Island, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Long Beach and the westside of Los Angeles from numerous points.

Graduations take place at Alumni Park, a broad expanse of lawn overlooking Pacific Coast Highway and the Pacific Ocean. The main academic plaza for undergraduate programs of Seaver College lies just above Alumni Park and includes Stauffer Chapel, Tyler Campus Center, Payson Library, and the Ahmanson Fine Arts Center. Undergraduate housing and athletic facilities sit to the north/northwest of the academic complex. The Law School exists even higher above these areas. The central campus is surrounded by a loop road consisting of Seaver Drive, Huntsinger Circle, and John Tyler Drive. Banowsky Boulevard separates Alumni Park from the main academic complex and is named in honor of William S. Banowsky, the 4th president of Pepperdine.

Spur roads to the east of the central part of campus lead to faculty housing. To the northwest, Via Pacifica winds uphill to the Drescher Graduate Campus, completed in 2003 and home to the School of Public Policy, the Villa Graziadio conference center, as well as the fulltime programs of the Graziadio School of Business and Management and the Graduate School of Education and Psychology. Housing for graduate students, undergraduate honors students, and faculty are also located here.

Satellite campuses

The Graziadio School of Business and Management and the Graduate School of Education and Psychology are headquartered in West Los Angeles at the Howard Hughes Center next to Interstate 405. These two schools also offer programs at satellite campuses in Encino, Irvine, Long Beach, Pasadena, Santa Clara, and Westlake Village. International programs of the University's various schools take place in London, Heidelberg, Florence, Buenos Aires, Paris, Madrid, Johannesburg, Tegucigalpa, Brisbane, Chiang Mai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.

Academics

Houses adjacent to the Malibu campus.
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Houses adjacent to the Malibu campus.

Seaver College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Seaver College (named for Mr. and Mrs. Frank R. Seaver, the largest single benefactors of Pepperdine) educates undergraduates in a liberal-arts environment. The college offers 36 majors including Journalism, Sports Medicine, Biology, International Business, and Theatre Arts. The college also offers masters degrees in History, Communications, American Studies, and Religion, in addition to teaching credentials. As part of their spiritual/personal development, Seaver students must attend a series of guest speakers known as "convocation" on Wednesday mornings in lieu of worship services required at most other Church of Christ-affliated colleges.

Graziadio School of Business and Management

Pepperdine's Graziadio School of Business and Management enrolls approximately 2,400 students in its programs, which are offered as both full-time and part-time classes. It is the fifth largest graduate business school in the country, and was founded in 1969. The school was named after its benefactor, George L. Graziadio.Degrees granted by the school include:

School of Law

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The School of Law is located adjacent to the Seaver College Campus, and enrolls only about 670 students who come from all parts of the country. It is fully approved by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Some of its newer degree offerings include the LL.M. in dispute resolution, and the juris doctor/master of divinity in conjunction with Seaver College. Other joint degree programs include the JD/MBA, JD/MPP, and JD/MDR. The school offers a fall semester in Malibu and a summer semester in London, England. Kenneth Starr is the current dean.

Graduate School of Education and Psychology

Primarily serving working professionals, the Graduate School of Education and Psychology offers both masters and doctorate programs in education, education administration, psychology, and clincal psychology.

School of Public Policy

Approximately 120 graduate students are enrolled in the School of Public Policy, which offers a two-year masters of public policy degree. Not simply the study of government, public policy is the study of how governments, non-profits, and even individuals and businesses address problems of public concern. Students specialize in economics, international relations, American politics, or local/regional policy in addition to their core studies and are required to complete a policy-related internship.

Organization

Presidents

Athletics

Pepperdine Waves Logo
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Pepperdine Waves Logo

Pepperdine University participates in the West Coast Conference. Appropriate for its location adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, well known for its waves, Pepperdine's teams are known as the Waves.

Pepperdine University was recently ranked by the Sears Cup as the having the most successful athletic program for non-football Division I schools. Stanford University was ranked the most successful Division I athletic program with football. Pepperdine University sponsors 14 NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics teams-baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, tennis, volleyball and water polo teams for men, while women compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis and volleyball.

NCAA Division I Team Championships:

NCAA Division I Individual Titles:

Notable alumni

Academia

Business

Entertainment

Politics and government

Sports

Rankings and reputation

The Princeton Review ranked Pepperdine as #1 on the list of colleges with "Dorms Like Palaces" in 2004 and #1 under "Most Beautiful Campus" in 2006. Pepperdine also appeared on other lists including "Students Pray on a Regular Basis." Because of its Christian affiliation, many contend that the student body breeds a religious and politically conservative atmosphere. Others note that despite its religious affiliation, Pepperdine does not require its students to sign an 'Honor Pledge' to attend; therefore, students from all religious and political backgrounds can be found on campus. The 2005 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges has also noted Pepperdine as being one of the nation's largest conservative colleges. US News & World Reports has ranked Pepperdine as the 55th best national university for undergraduate education, its law school is rated as 87th among the top 100 law schools in the country by U.S. News and World Reports, and the Straus Institute has appeared as #1 in the field of dispute resolution.

External links

 

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