Schools and Colleges

Undergraduate students were by far the biggest beneficiaries of Campaign for Pepperdine support, benefiting from nearly $44 million in endowed scholarships and financial aid, and almost $50 million more to come in a generous estate gift. A new academic chair in finance, more than $2.3 million in equipment for the natural science division, and an additional $5 million to advance the work of the Center for Teacher Excellence are enriching Seaver College in tangible ways.

Thanks to steadfast donors who recognize the importance of helping deans address strategic initiatives, Seaver received more than $5.3 million toward the dean's excellence fund. The Great Books program was enhanced by campaign gifts, as was the music laboratory, the Pepperdine choir, student research programs in biology, and the Hearst Writing Center. The Center for Volunteerism and Community Service gained more than $1.1 million in life-changing support.

Pepperdine donors also directed campaign gifts to key student-serving resources. Support for international programs totaled nearly $2 million, permitting the University to launch major renovation efforts at three of its six permanent residential centers. The oldest, our beloved Moore Haus in Heidelberg, Germany, is in the midst of a two-summer, $5 million facelift that will result in a new student lounge, space for an additional six students, and a refurbished apartment suite for each term's faculty family, in addition to a complete upgrade of its electrical, plumbing, and technology infrastructure.

Back in Malibu, the John Stauffer Charitable Trust awarded a $1 million challenge grant for summer research in chemistry, while The Ahmanson Foundation continued its support of veterans with continuing scholarship grants.  Your confidence in the faculty and students of Seaver College makes our dreams possible.  Thank you.

At the Pepperdine School of Law, the next generation of attorneys and peacemakers are gaining a superior legal education buttressed by new funding that propels forward the highest principles of professional, ethical, and moral responsibility.

At long last a milestone $10 million gift will transform the Odell McConnell Law Center with sweeping renovations to the Henry J. and Gloria Caruso Auditorium and the adjacent Lon V. Smith Atrium. Further advancing a campus experience of unparalleled quality, the renovation will include refurbishing, modernizing, and unifying the spaces to create state-of-the-art, multipurpose facilities for faculty and student use.

Providing new enrichment to student engagement, the School of Law experienced an extraordinary proliferation of centers and institutes during the campaign. More than $20 million in estate and planned gifts established the Herbert and Elinor Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics, which is already impacting communities around the world with its renowned Global Justice Program.

A generous gift from alumnus Geoffrey Palmer (JD '75) established the Geoffrey H. Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law, and major commitments from parents Rex and Carrol Parris launched the Parris Institute for Professional Formation, an innovative center that unites skill-building, academic counseling, leadership development, and mentorship programs.

Meanwhile, new campaign funding established the Duane and Kelly Roberts Dean's Chair, the Laure Sudreau-Rippe Endowed Chair, and the School of Law Ken Starr Excellence Fund, which was formally named with more than $5.1 million supporting its efforts.

As the School of Law boldly continues its ascent as a world-class law school, we are grateful to all of our supporters who made commitments during the campaign.

At the crossroads of enterprise and ethics stands the Graziadio School of Business and Management, sustained by resources that will expand its global reach and anchor its foundation in entrepreneurship and excellence.

The Graziadio School boasts more than $3.4 million in new scholarship funding, which continues to attract top-quality student entrepreneurs and future business leaders in Los Angeles and around the world. And with more than $1.4 million generously donated to the Graziadio School's preeminent Entrepreneur-In-Residence program during the campaign, it's no wonder Pepperdine ranks among the top 10 most entrepreneurial universities in America according to Forbes.

Our E2B (Education to Business) program continues to be one of our most popular—and transformative—offerings. With nearly $700,000 in campaign funding and unparalleled support from enterprise partnerships across the country, business students have consulted with hundreds of companies, finding fresh solutions to their most complex and pressing challenges.

As the corporate environment evolves nationwide and globally, we are excited to offer thriving executive education programs such as the Presidents and Key Executives MBA program, boosted by more than $1 million in new campaign resources. Along with our executive MBA, a master's degree in organization development, and continuing executive certificate programs, established business leaders are sharpened with new experience-driven, collaborative tools that advance responsible business practices.

Among the campaign's final gifts included a major commitment from Carla and Fred Sands to establish the Fred Sands Institute of Real Estate. The new institute will be anchored by an endowed chair occupied by the institute's director, regional and national real estate conferences, a Fred Sands Fellows program, and eventually a master's degree and other certificate opportunities.  

And at Graziadio, the classroom is just the beginning. Because of you, students are learning from heads of Fortune 500 companies with the Dean's Executive Leadership Series, leading the way in corporate social responsibility, and creating an alumni network that stretches across the globe. Thank you for your support.

 

Deeply rooted in Pepperdine's mission for service, GSEP takes great pride in preparing students for careers that make a difference in the lives of others. Joining the workforce as educators, psychologists, counselors, therapists, school administrators, and business leaders, GSEP graduates assume vital service roles within their respective communities.

Thanks to the abundant generosity of alumni and friends, funds raised during the campaign are enhancing the student experience through a wide range of dynamic curricular and co-curricular offerings. Enriching cutting-edge teaching resources, increasing opportunities for outreach and professional growth, and replenishing GSEP's scholarship reserves significantly advance our future.

Created to support and encourage future educators, the Rosalyn S. Heyman School Leadership Chair was established in 2010, and the Pat Lucas Center for Teacher Preparation was fully funded in 2013. With a variety of services and resources, the Lucas Center provides everything from workshops on current teaching topics and technologies, to guidance on lesson plans and everyday teaching tools.

A robust partnership with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation resulted in a permanent endowment to ensure the continuation of our mental health treatment program for homeless men and women in Downtown Los Angeles. Expanding our outreach capabilities to marginalized populations in Greater Los Angeles, the Hilton Fellowship enables our work at the Union Rescue Mission and facilitates our goal to prepare mental health care professionals for effective service in diverse urban communities.

The University's Pat and Shirley Boone Center for the Family, endowed during the campaign, fortifies the building block of our society through a full calendar of annual seminars, conferences, and interactive courses.

We are grateful to all of our devoted supporters who have enriched our programs and reaffirmed our mission to educate lives for purpose, service, and leadership.

Those who create, shape, and communicate public policy today are confronted by challenges of unprecedented magnitude. As the School of Public Policy approaches two decades of training the next generation of ethical leaders, the Campaign for Pepperdine has ensured the school's ability to equip students with the skills that will empower them to approach, analyze, and solve today's most complex policy issues.

Support for student scholarships and fellowships was among the School of Public Policy's biggest fundraising successes, counting more than $13 million in new resources. With 90 percent of public policy students awarded scholarships, new endowed funding from benefactors like Flora Thornton and Allen and Marilyn Puckett ensures a diverse and highly qualified cohort of students each year.

The school also benefited from significant foundation support, including major grants from the Smith Richardson Foundation, Good Ventures, and the Koret Foundation. These funds are supporting public policy professor Angela Hawken's research on drugs, crime, corruption, incarceration, and the development of evidence-based policy.

Finally, thanks to the funding of new student fellowships, more students are participating in transformative summer internship experiences between their first and second years. Opportunities range from think tanks and political offices in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, to nonprofits, NGOs, and financial institutions in India, Bangladesh, Turkey, and Israel.

In an era of partisan divide and economic uncertainty, the field of public policy needs more than ever the clarity found in the moral, ethical, and spiritual paradigm offered uniquely by Pepperdine. Your campaign support continues to advance this mission.