For a quarter century, the Center for Faith and Learning (CFL) has provided the Pepperdine community with opportunities and resources to explore the mission-critical synergy between Christian faith and academic excellence. In the past 25 years, thousands of faculty, staff, and students from across the University have participated in CFL’s faith and learning events, academic workshops, and vocational retreats. CFL has garnered national recognition for its New and Mid-Career Faculty Retreats, in which nearly 80 percent of the University’s tenured and tenure-track faculty have participated. The center has also received numerous grants through the years to assist students in their vocational pursuits, to serve church leaders from diverse contexts and denominations, and to support young scholars in their personal and professional development. Moreover, CFL has served as a catalyst for collaborative relationships between Pepperdine and organizations such as the Lilly Endowment, the Lilly Fellows Program, NetVUE and the Council of Independent Colleges, the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, and the Christian Scholars Conference.

CFL now celebrates 25 years of service to Pepperdine’s pursuit of faithful excellence in anticipation of many more years to come. Follow the links below for more detail on various aspects of the center’s history and work.

CFL Purpose

George Pepperdine believed that a Christian education should help students learn not merely "how to make a living," but "how to live." While such goals are pursued in many ways, research demonstrates that university students and alumni identify classroom experiences and relationships with faculty as primary influences on both their professional and personal development during the college years. For Pepperdine University, this illustrates the importance of continually nurturing a healthy and organic symmetry between the academic and religious dimensions of the University mission. 

Since 1999, CFL has been a primary catalyst for the pursuit of integrating the University's commitment to Christian faith with its pursuit of academic excellence. CFL works to equip faculty in incorporating the integration of faith and learning in their teaching, scholarship, and life. Additionally, CFL provides opportunities for students, staff, administration, and the broader Pepperdine community to explore the intersections of faith and learning through various events and activities. With the support of faculty, staff, and alumni, students at Pepperdine have the opportunity to explore their vocations and to pursue programs that integrate faith and learning.  CFL frequently collaborates with other departments at the University to contribute to Pepperdine's wider goals around spiritual life and formation.

For any questions or comments, please contact Stephanie Cupp at 310.506.4141 or stephanie.cupp@pepperdine.edu.

Origins | A Vision, a Grant, and a Launch

In 1999 Richard Hughes became the first director of CFL. Hughes had a vision for a center to serve the University’s integration of faith and learning, and nurture a culture of theological and vocational discernment on campus.

Also in 1999, Lilly Endowment Inc. launched the largest curricular and cocurricular initiative in the history of American higher education through a series of invitational grants entitled Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation (PTEV). Largely because of Hughes’ national reputation as a scholar, Pepperdine was invited to participate and, in 2001, received a $2 million PTEV grant.

This, among other things, secured funding for the newly launched CFL and the development of its first major initiative: the annual New Faculty Retreat (NFR). Since then, CFL has consistently contributed to the Pepperdine community and the University’s pursuit of vocational and missional excellence.

CFL Personnel Through the Years

Directors

Associate Directors

Faculty Retreats

Starting in 2002, hundreds of faculty and administrators from all six Pepperdine schools have participated in one of CFL’s annual New Faculty Retreats. Participants travel to an International Program site for an intensive workshop in which they explore their roles as teachers and scholars, and learn more about Pepperdine's vocation as a Christian university. The experience also creates opportunities for building community across the University’s schools and divisions. Participants regularly state that this as a profoundly formative early-career experience that shapes their vocational identity, provides a strong sense of community, and fosters a deep resonance with Pepperdine's Christian mission.

In recent years CFL has also launched a series of Mid-Career Faculty experiences and retreats. Some of these mirror the format of the New Faculty Retreat, but focus on the vocational aspects and developments of mid-career faculty. Others take the form of themed pilgrimage experiences that have included group trips to places like Rome and Israel. In all these forms, CFL provides opportunities for faculty to build community with one another while participating in deep reflection on their own vocational journeys and their contributions to Pepperdine’s mission.

Campus Events | Seminars, Book Groups, and Excursions

The Center for Faith and Learning sponsors summer and winter seminars for Pepperdine faculty and staff on a variety of topics related to faith and academic life. Participants are provided with books, meals, and stipends for their participation. Many of these opportunities are envisioned and organized by Jennifer Smith, an English professor and associate director of CFL.

CFL also organizes other opportunities for faculty and staff to explore the connections between faith and the life of the mind. These include field trips to museum exhibits (both on campus and in Los Angeles) and attendance of lectures and theatrical performances, and often include readings and/or panel discussions with the respective authors, artists, or performers.

Partners and Collaborators

Throughout the years, the Center for Faith and Learning has collaborated with a number of organizations. These associations have provided great benefit to the Pepperdine community, as well as expanded the work and recognition of the Center for Faith and Learning outside of the University. Many of the regular programs and events sponsored by the Center are the direct result of these partnerships.