Empowering Commitments

Our strategic plan operates as the University's pledge to its stakeholders, declaring the University’s intent for the decade ahead. It is not enough simply to set forth some objectives and goals, as important as that is.

An effective strategic plan must consider the people, systems, structures, and resources that will be necessary to realize the vision and advance the mission. Thus, we have identified several Empowering Commitments that will fuel the University's ascent, energize the University's Animating Convictions, and enable us to meet our strategic objectives and goals. These commitments focus more on how Pepperdine will realize its vision than on why. The Empowering Commitments include expanding Pepperdine's resources, developing strategic partnerships, strengthening the University's reputation and brand, leveraging technology, and unleashing a spirit of innovation.

Commitment One:

The realization of Pepperdine's vision will require a strategic expansion of the University's resources and partnerships. Growing available resources is not limited to financial resources, but also includes Pepperdine's most precious resource—its people. Expanded resources will enhance the University's support for programs at each school that advance academic excellence, strengthen student support services, maintain and enhance our physical facilities, and expand international programs. All of this will augment Pepperdine's ability to attract and retain outstanding faculty, staff, and students.

Commitment Two:

Pepperdine's reputation is strong and awareness of the University's strength is growing. Each of Pepperdine's five schools contribute to Pepperdine's distinctive identity. The five schools have produced more than 126,000 living alumni who serve as ambassadors of the University and make a difference around the globe. Pepperdine's reputation and brand strength will be of vital importance for achieving its vision for 2030, especially in light of the decline in college-age individuals during this period and an increasingly competitive landscape. Thus, the University must share its compelling story with clarity and conviction and continue to build greater awareness that Pepperdine is a global leader in Christian higher education. Pepperdine will invest in strengthening the academic reputation and impact of each of its five schools and it will also continue to advance internationally recognized human performance programs in the arts and athletics. These initiatives will focus on excellence to strengthen Pepperdine's reputation and further distinguish its brand.

Commitment Three:

Pepperdine's spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship begins with our founder, George Pepperdine, and sustaining that spirit of innovation and creativity will be particularly important in the decade ahead. Higher education has experienced accelerated change in recent years, and the 2020 global pandemic reinforced a need for strategic agility as Pepperdine navigates an uncertain future. The University is well positioned to respond to higher education's changing landscape and to seize fresh opportunities as they arise. To accomplish this, the University must leverage its resources and expertise in technology. Doing so will enable us to seek and embrace opportunities that advance Pepperdine's vision for the future.