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Illuminated Discoveries Pepperdine professors and students get a never-beforeseen look at ancient religious artifacts using an innovative imaging technology. Saying goodbyE to the sophomore slump
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Volume 5 Issue 2 Summer 2013
FEATURES 14 saying goodbye to the sophomore slump
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Faculty, staff, and students at Seaver College join forces to create a memorable, identity-enhancing Sophomore Experience for students who stay in Malibu.
18 a new kind of culture
Monty Moran (JD ’93) left law firms behind to pursue a not-solikely career in the restaurant business.
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22 brain in motion
Psychology professor Louis Cozolino reveals how both our brains and our relationships shape how we learn.
26 illuminated discoveries
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Pepperdine professors and students get a never-before-seen look at ancient religious artifacts using an innovative imaging technology.
community
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40 42
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26
32 School SAVI 35 Water Works 37 All Eyes on the Apocalypse 40 Forging a New PATH 42 Athletics Year in Review 45 excell-ENT!
departments 2 Letters 4 Perspectives 6 News 12 Snapshot 30 Alumni 48 In Focus
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L e tt er fr o m t h e Ed i to r The earliest known copy of the book of Romans has caught the attention of some very eager readers at Pepperdine University. Thanks to state-of-the-art imaging technology, a group of Seaver College students are reading a fragment’s previously illegible reverse side and bringing a new perspective to the important text. Along with these scholars, in this issue of Pepperdine Magazine, we meet many in the Pepperdine community who are forging new ways to look at things. School of Law alumnus Monty Moran (JD ’93) shares how he shook up the fast-food model with his hands-on approach to doing business, while GSEP psychology professor Lou Cozolino reveals how understanding our brains as social organs can transform education. We’ll also see how a new program at Seaver College is changing what it’s like to be a sophomore in Malibu. Here at Pepperdine Magazine, we’re interested in offering you new ways to experience the many stories of Pepperdine University. Visit magazine.pepperdine.edu/app to download our free mobile app for smartphones and tablets. You’ll discover exclusive content not available in this print edition. Please be sure to tell us what you think by e-mailing magazine@pepperdine.edu.
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Summer 2013
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L e tt ers to t h e Ed i to r Science on Fire
Red-Light Rescue
Good to see this study in print. I did get interested in it when my husband and I were there. Loved hearing what Anna has done with her studies. Stephen Davis, your students are lucky to have you. Would have loved to have studied with you. Your involvement in the things you love to do just rubs off on them so eloquently.
Wow. I can’t imagine. I’m glad Alezandra is shining light in the darkness.
Bridging the Gap Great article on experiences of Pepperdine’s Service Leadership Project. I had the fortune of being involved with the team who researched possibilities of consignment/thrift stores for Agape Villages Foster Care as a board member. I was very impressed with the thoroughness of their reports and recommendations on locations. I want to thank Pepperdine for your eagerness to encourage and facilitate a project like this which has the potential to make a difference in the lives of so many. Carolyn Miller
art director and lead app developer
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Keith Lungwitz Ron Hall (’79)
writers
Gareen Darakjian, Sarah Fisher, Jannette Jauregui Vincent Way
copy editor
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The Rise and Rise of Young Adult Literature
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I guess it’s all about what you can relate to. It’s easy for an adult to relate to a teenage story because they’ve walked in those shoes. I’m not sure the same can be said the other way round so easily. As a more mature adult myself, I’m not so keen on YA lit but I am very much drawn to coming-of-age stories from the time of my own youth. My favorite read of the last year has been Max Zimmer’s Journey (If Where You’re Going Isn’t Home).
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Dave Hamlin
Megan Huard Boyle
Jill McWilliams Kyle Dusek (’90, ’97, MS ’99) Kimberly Robison (’10) Anthony LaFleur, Nathan Pang (’07) Roshie Hu, Gina Longo, Liz Waldvogel (’05)
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Rick Gibson (MBA ’09, PKE 121) associate vice president for integrated marketing and communications
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Ed Wheeler (’97, MA ’99)
The idea that YA literature is something new is a fallacy. What has occurred is that bookstores and publishers have created a category so books that teens can relate to can appear in one section of a bookstore. But long before the YA category was created, there were numerous books that teens could relate to. They were just spread throughout bookstores. Barry Hoffman
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Pepperdine Magazine, Volume 5, Issue 2, Summer 2013. Pepperdine Magazine is the feature magazine for Pepperdine University and its growing community of alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends. It is published quarterly by the University’s Public Affairs division. Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California, 90263 Pepperdine Magazine is produced with guidance from an advisory board representing a cross-section of the University community. Send address changes with publication name to: Office of Advancement Information Management at Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California, 90263.
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SOL: School of Law
Abbreviations GPC: George Pepperdine College SC: Seaver College SPP: School of Public Policy GSBM: Graziadio School of Business and Management GSEP: Graduate School of Education and Psychology Pepperdine is affiliated with Churches of Christ, of which the University’s founder, George Pepperdine, was a lifelong member.
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Terry Hanger
Kari Coppinger (’95)
Pers p ectives
Forward
with Faith
hen M. Norvel Young became the third president of George Pepperdine College on November 21, 1958, he spoke in his inaugural address of Pepperdine’s unique role in higher education. More than a half century later, though much has changed at the University, key themes still
ring true: the valuable nexus of faith and learning, service and Norvel Young and George Pepperdine
Statement of Faith in the Future of the Private Christian College (excerpted) By M. Norvel Young (1915–1998)
leadership, and the studentteacher relationship that shapes the Pepperdine experience. Pepperdine Magazine takes a step back in time to reflect upon how we continue to move “Forward with Faith” today.
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I am honored and humbled by the confidence which the Board of Trustees has placed in me and in my coworkers in administration and faculty at Pepperdine College. It is an honor to be asked to serve an institution dedicated to the highest ideals of liberal arts education with a distinctive Christian emphasis. On the Contributions of the Small, Private Liberal Arts College
First, I believe that such a college is one of the bulwarks of freedom in America. Milton Eisenhower, president of Johns Hopkins University, recently put it this way: “It is the private institution that sets the traditions and standards of academic freedom in America, and because the private institutions do set and maintain these standards, the public institutions also enjoy the benefits of such freedom. If private institutions were ever to disappear the politician would take over the universities and there would then be neither educational freedom nor any other kind.” Of course, this may be an oversimplification but it certainly does emphasize one important contribution of the private college or university. The
We aspire to train our students for leadership, and to inspire them for service to mankind, and to the glory of God. —M. Norvel Young right of a group of free men and women to organize, maintain, and support a college that is dedicated to goals which they deem supremely important is one of the rights of our constitutional republic. We should all be thankful to God that we live in a nation which has preserved freedom of education. This right carries with it the responsibility to wisely use the freedom that is ours. The neglect of Christian colleges, either by those who administer and teach in them or else by those who are their friends and supporters, could easily lead to the forfeiting of their right to exist. Needless to say, such a college would not be tolerated behind the iron curtain, nor in many other countries in the free world today. Secondly, the small, liberal arts college makes a definite contribution to its students by virtue of its concern for the individual. This concern is expressed in the warm, personal relationship between teachers and students, which helps the student “find himself.” Also, the student has more opportunities for leadership. “Everybody has a chance to be somebody” is the way Dr. Elton Trueblood puts it. Thirdly, the Christian college serves to train leaders for religious work. We
believe firmly in our dual system of education and do not expect the state to provide the special training which thousands of men and women need to go into full-time church work. In the fourth place, such a college is able to stress moral and spiritual values undergirded by basic faith. In the Rockefeller report on the “Pursuit of Excellence in Education,” it is pointed out that one of the fundamental challenges in education has to do with the motivation of individuals, and that motivation involves the concept of what, in the ultimate sense, life is for. The report goes on to say that many discerning critics are uneasy about the current aspirations and values of Americans. They sense a lack of purpose in their lives. They see evidence that security and conformity and comfort are the idols of the day. We believe that a Christian college like Pepperdine should make a distinct contribution in stimulating students’ desire for truth, their love for the good, [and] their respect for high ethical standards. . . . We aspire to train our students for leadership, and to inspire them for service to mankind, [and] to the glory of God. To that end the Bible is an integral part of our curriculum and attendance at daily chapel is encouraged.
Young people from many nations and different races and creeds pursue their studies with us as respected fellow students. We hope to send them back to their native lands or local communities with a broad acquaintance with the funded knowledge of man, with a respect for truth wherever they discover it, with an understanding and appreciation for constitutional democracy, with a deep sense of moral responsibility to God and man, and with such fundamental skills as will enable them to compete successfully in our modern world with such attitudes toward their fellow man as will lead them in humble service with faith in God. Truly, a great door of opportunity is opened before our colleges and universities today. We will move forward with faith. We do not know what the future holds, but by faith we know who holds the future. There are many obstacles, many adversaries, but with the cooperation of a dedicated faculty, the advice and counsel of enlightened colleagues of goodwill, the backing of an expanding board of trustees, the boards of counselors and development, the president’s council, and the help of Almighty God we shall move forward with faith.
magazine.pepperdine.edu
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Graziadio School
Hosts Fourth Annual Health Care Forum An increasing number of employers are embracing the idea of at-work wellness programs to encourage healthier behaviors among employees. On May 30 an expert panel comprising professionals from Kaiser Permanente, the Coca-Cola Company, Yamaha Music and Wellness Institute, and the RAND Corporation analyzed corporate wellness programs and contemporary health care issues at the Pepperdine University Health Care Forum in Santa Monica, California. “By hosting what is now the fourth annual Health Care Forum, the Graziadio Alumni Network is not only reflecting the needs of our students, but also addressing a very critical area that’s in the national discourse,” says Gary Mangiofico, associate dean, fully employed and executive programs and practitioner faculty of organizational theory and management at the Graziadio School, who also served as moderator. Presented by the Graziadio School of Business and Management, in partnership with the RAND Corporation, the panel discussed how organizations are choosing to support healthy behavior in the workplace and invest in education and outreach to promote healthy living in their communities. The panel also addressed such social epidemic issues as obesity and heart disease, and whether such wellness programs deliver on their promised value of improving employee health outcomes and reducing employer health care costs. “Whatever we can do to highlight the multiple dimensions of the field of health care and advance that dialogue is a significant contribution,” Mangiofico continues. “That the event has grown to become an annual event shows our alumni’s dedication and commitment to the health care industry.”
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Weisman Museum
Receives Largest Ever Donation of Art
This May the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art received almost 50 works of art from the estate of Peggy and Eric Lieber, the largest donation of art ever received by the museum. “Celebrating Two Decades: The Peggy and Eric Lieber Collection” focused on contemporary American works and remained on display through August 4. This new gift adds to previous gifts of over a dozen works donated by the Liebers beginning in 2001. “This donation adds significant depth to our holdings of contemporary art,” says Michael Zakian, Weisman Museum director. “Eric Lieber had studied art before entering a career in television and was always drawn to works that reveal the artist’s creative process. This interest in unconventional methods and materials shaped the works he collected.” Highlights of the Lieber collection include key works by renowned California artists such as Llyn Foulkes, Tim Hawkinson, David Hockney, and more. The collection is strong in PostMinimalism, Process, and Assemblage Art, but it also includes examples of Pop Art. Besides the California component, the collection is also strong in work by American artists, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Deborah Butterfield, Chuck Close, Nathan Oliveira, Larry Rivers, Andres Serrano, and Sean Scully. The Liebers enjoyed long careers as television producers. Eric Lieber (dec. 2008) created and executive-produced TV’s long-running dating show Love Connection. Peggy Lieber (dec. 2012) specialized in working with musicians and produced television specials for Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, and Herb Alpert.
arts.pepperdine.edu/museum
Summer 2013
Pepperdine Appoints
New Members to the Board of Regents Pepperdine University announced three new additions to its 40-member Board of Regents this June. Peter James Johnson, Jr., Kimberly Lindley, and John Plueger accepted the role of helping to shape the direction of the University. In addition, Pepperdine’s fourth president, William S. Banowsky, has been named Life Regent. Banowsky
Johnson
Lindley
Plueger
Texas-born William S. Banowsky served from 1971 to 1978 as the fourth president of Pepperdine University, one of the country’s youngest college presidents and the guiding force who envisioned—with third president M. Norvel Young—the making of the “Miracle at Malibu.” Peter James Johnson, Jr., is president of Leahey & Johnson, a Wall Street law firm. He has earned a reputation for excellence as a trial lawyer and appellate lawyer in complex tort litigation, commercial and corporate litigation, product liability, professional liability, insurance law, and corporate and constitutional litigation. Kimberly Lindley currently serves on the Campaign for Pepperdine, Seaver Committee. She, along with her husband, Don, continues to build bonds with others that share a common love for the University and its mission through the Seaver Parents Council, where they were cochairs throughout the 2010-2011 school year. John Plueger is president, chief operating officer, and member of the board of directors of Air Lease Corporation. He has spent more than 27 years in the aircraft leasing and aviation industry and is a certified public accountant.
Learn more about Pepperdine’s new regents:
magazine.pepperdine.edu/new-regents
Regent Mark Kirk Passes The Pepperdine community was saddened by the passing of Mark Kirk, a member of the Pepperdine University Board of Regents, on June 13 at age 55. “The passing of Mark Kirk has hit all who knew him very hard,” said Pepperdine president Andrew K. Benton. “He was a delightful friend, wise counselor, and peerless example. His service on our governing board was impactful and indelible; however, it is the way he related to everyone on such a personal and profound level that will never be forgotten. We love his family and hold each of them in prayer.” Kirk, a CPA, began his career in public accounting with KPMG and served as an audit manager with Deloitte & Touche. He served as president, chief operating officer, and a director of HMI Industries, Inc., and was senior officer, chief financial officer, and director of Anchor Glass, Grimes Aerospace, and Facet Enterprises, Inc. A member of the Board of Regents since 2010, Kirk retired in 2009 as a partner with Linsalata Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm based in Cleveland, Ohio. He received his bachelor of business administration degree in accounting from Harding University and completed the Advanced Executive Program of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Kirk is survived by his wife, Robin, and three children; Allison, a 2013 Pepperdine graduate; Alan, a 2010 Pepperdine graduate; and Ashley, a graduate of Wheaton College.
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The
“The conference is exceptional in the way it brings together lovers of music from across the spectrum of Christian denominations,” reflects Darryl Tippens, Pepperdine University provost. “Roman Catholics and Episcopalians sing alongside members of Churches of Christ and evangelicals. I take particular pleasure when attendees discover that what had seemed odd or ‘old school’—a cappella hymnody—turns out to be a powerful, timeless musical form that resonates with human hearts everywhere, from all walks of life and denominational background.”
Ascending Voice III The Ascending Voice Returns to the Malibu Campus Pepperdine’s triennial international symposium and choral festival of sacred a cappella music returned to the Malibu campus for the third time May 9 to 11. The 2013 event was the third of its kind at Pepperdine University, following two successful events in 2007 and 2010, and drew music lovers and practitioners from around the country as well as abroad. Characterized by a variety of activities—concerts, workshops, lectures, and worship—the three-day-long symposium offered attendees the chance to experience a variety of sacred music that ranged from classical to contemporary, traditional liturgy to recently composed works, ancient liturgy to gospel and spiritual. Educators from Pepperdine University, Boston University, Valparaiso University, Eastern Mennonite University, Ball State University, and Luther College also taught attendees new selections of “world music,” including works by Native Americans and Africans.
Following a keynote address from Mike Cope, director of ministry outreach in Pepperdine’s Church Relations office, attendees were treated to lectures and workshop presentations by the world’s leading authorities on this rich style of worship. A daily concert lineup included performances by top collegiate choral groups, including the Chamber Singers of Pepperdine University, inspiring female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock ®, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, as well as renowned choral conductor and clinician Allen R. Hightower of Luther College. “The Ascending Voice was particularly successful this year, I think, because of the devotion and energy of two of Pepperdine’s most talented professors—Lincoln Hanks and Ryan Board,” says Tippens. “Their vision and leadership were evident in every aspect of the symposium. I look forward to the next Ascending Voice symposium in 2016.” Listen to performances of a cappella music groups and choirs at The Ascending Voice III:
magazine.pepperdine.edu/aviii
Recent Pepperdine Alumni Earn Prestigious Fulbright Scholarships Three recent Seaver College graduates have joined the elite rank of Fulbright Scholars, one of the most prestigious scholarly awards worldwide. Natalie Forde (’13), Anna Sherod (’13), and Kealy Jaynes (’13) will live out the Fulbright Program’s motto of “Service Above Self” as they prepare to travel all over the globe to embark on a diverse array of experiences as English Teaching Assistants (ETA) and researchers.
Forde
Sherod
Furthermore, Reale Santora (MA ’12), a master of arts in education alumna of the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, has been chosen as an alternate to pursue scholarship in Malta. Forde will immerse herself in the history, traditions, and language of Germany and plans to research the implementation of holocaust education in German schools as a potential model for improving Holocaust and genocide curriculum in schools worldwide. Jaynes will fulfill her Fulbright scholarship as an ETA in Turkey, while Sherod will pursue scholarship in Romania.
Jaynes
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Santora
Learn more about Pepperdine’s 2013 Fulbright Scholars:
magazine.pepperdine.edu/2013-fulbrights Summer 2013
Mike Cope
Pepperdine Hosts
70th Annual Bible Lectures Christians from around the world witnessed a milestone in the history of the Pepperdine Bible Lectures this year, as the beloved event celebrated its 70th anniversary. The robust program, which continued the annual tradition of stimulating lectures, spirited worship, and meaningful fellowship to thousands of believers, was held on the Malibu campus from April 30 to May 3.
Max Lucado
Marking the first Bible Lectures held under the directorship of Mike Cope, “Can I Get a Witness? Faithfully Following the Lamb in Revelation” drew a record number of attendees and featured theme lectures by Rich Little, Fate Hagood, Dave Clayton, Don McLaughlin, Randy Harris, and Mike Cope. Bestselling author and preacher Max Lucado delivered a thoughtful and encouraging pre-conference message around the power of grace to a packed Firestone Fieldhouse audience. “The Pepperdine Bible Lectures is about providing a harbor to believers from the West Coast and, actually, from all over the world,” reflects Cope. “That means we seek to provide the shelter of worship, study, fellowship, and fun—while also refueling people to go back out in service.” This year also marked the launch of the Pepperdine Bible Lectures mobile app, which enabled all attendees to build and access personal daily agendas; navigate the campus using Pepperdine’s GPS-enabled interactive map; access up-to-date information about food, shuttles, and parking; and watch streaming videos. “We are thrilled with the attendance—not only of the full campus but also of the growing online community who have participated through live streaming, YouTube, and iTunes U.” Next year’s Pepperdine Bible Lectures, “Enter the Water, Come to the Table,” will come to Pepperdine’s Malibu campus April 29 to May 2, 2014.
Learn more about Pepperdine Bible Lectures and revisit audio and video from PBL13:
www.pepperdine.edu/biblelectures magazine.pepperdine.edu
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The Davenport Institute Partners on New Survey Study of Public Engagement in California After nearly a year in the making, the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership at the School of Public Policy announced the release of a comprehensive survey of public engagement in California.
About Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Healing
Two new reports by Public Agenda provide new insights into the perspectives of local public officials and the leaders of civic organizations on the state of public participation in local government decision making in California.
Pepperdine’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the School of Law welcomed more than 200 guests to a conversation in March that focused on forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing, with a specific emphasis on the personal experiences of survivors of apartheid in South Africa.
The reports document and analyze the results of research with more than 1,400 individuals conducted by Public Agenda in partnership with the Institute for Local Government and the Davenport Institute. This study was funded by the James Irvine Foundation. For California public-sector leaders, the survey found that eight in 10 say they’re interested in learning more about public engagement practices that have worked elsewhere and 85 percent report that their views toward public engagement have changed since their careers began. Many say they have come to understand and value public engagement more over time. The research indicates that public meetings often do not meet the needs of residents or local officials, and that large segments of the public are often missing from the decision-making process—especially low-income populations, immigrants, and young people. Officials and civic leaders share concern for a disconnect between the public and local decision makers, and desire greater public participation and stronger collaboration. These and related findings, as well as recommendations for improving public engagement, may be of interest to multiple parties involved with public engagement in and beyond California. Audiences include local public officials, leaders of civic and community-based organizations, and funders investing in civic engagement or community development. Download the reports and research highlights: publicpolicy.pepperdine.
edu/davenport-institute
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Straus Institute Hosts a Conversation
The two-day event featured an elite panel of guest speakers, including Father Michael Lapsley, founder of the Institute for Healing of Memories; Ebrahim Rasool, South African ambassador to the United States; John Allen, former press officer for the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and biographer of Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Michael Henry Wilson and Carole Wilson, documentary filmmakers, Reconciliation: Mandela’s Miracle; and Karen Hayes, documentary filmmaker, The Foolishness of God: My Forgiveness Journey with Desmond Tutu. The conversation, “Overcoming Apartheid,” brought forth firsthand accounts from the guest speakers regarding life in South Africa in what became a segregated existence in a fragmented nation caused by legislation by the National Party beginning in the late 1940s and lasting through the 1970s. “They left us with far more psychological land mines that still go off every day,” Rasool said. “Landmines of race. Landmines of arrogance.” Lapsley, who was exiled from the country in 1976 for his work on behalf of schoolchildren who were being shot, detained, and tortured, lost both of his hands from a letter bomb. “The day I landed in South Africa I stopped being a human and started being a white man,” Lapsley said, noting judgments made based on the color of his skin. “We were all its prisoners.” “This was really about educating others about apartheid, but also about lessons in forgiveness, in healing wounds, in responsibility and obligation,” said Tom Stipanowich, director of the Straus Institute. “This multifaceted program, more than a year in the making, represents a major leap forward for the Straus Institute and its Conversations Series.” The event also featured a screening of Reconciliation: Mandela’s Miracle, a screening of a conversation between Tutu and Allen, and a forgiveness and healing workshop with Father Lapsley. The Straus Institute will host a second conversation, “Hollywood Women in Conflict,” in March 2014.
law.pepperdine.edu/straus
Summer 2013
Pepperdine Alumnus Continues Historic Relationship with the Rotary Club of Los Angeles opportunities, such as Step Forward Day, and to develop
Jay Richardson (MBA ’94), the first Pepperdine alumnus to serve as president of the historic Rotary Club of Los Angeles (LA5), the fifth oldest Rotary Club in the world, recently concluded his term as its 104th chief executive. This milestone coincides with the doubling of Pepperdine representation in the membership from 10 to 20.
a relationship with the Rotaract Club at Pepperdine, a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women ages 18 to 30. Since Pepperdine opened its doors near downtown Los Angeles in 1937, the Rotary Club of Los Angeles has maintained a close relationship with the University.
“It has been an incredible honor and privilege to serve as president of this club that has played such an important role in the history of the city of Los Angeles,” says Richardson.
Former president Hugh M. Tiner was an active Rotarian, even serving as district governor of the LA5 in the 1940s. William S. Banowsky, upon moving to Los Angeles in 1968, delivered his “maiden” address, “The
At his inaugural meeting last July, Richardson helped Pepperdine celebrate its 75th anniversary by presenting Pepperdine president Andrew K. Benton with an honorary membership to the club. “It was such an honor to recognize President Benton and to receive a commendation from him for my being the first Pepperdine alumnus to serve as president of LA5,” he recalls.
Abuse of Freedom,” to the LA5, a speech that Blanche Seaver had republished and circulated nationally. Of the approximately 400 members that comprise the LA5, 20 are Pepperdine alumni, faculty, staff, or relations thereof, and five serve on the current board of directors (Anthony Calloway (MBA ’99),Paul Jacques (MBA ’12), vice chancellor John Miller, Jay Richardson (MBA ’94), and Rick Sarmiento
Due to Pepperdine’s significant presence in LA5, Richardson proposed the creation of a Pepperdine standing committee within the club, which endeavored to create an additional point of fellowship for members to enjoy. This allowed LA5 to participate in Pepperdine-led service
(MBA ’04)). Past and current members include former Pepperdine presidents M. Norvel Young and William S. Banowsky, chancellor Charles Runnels, chief marketing officer and vice president for Public Affairs and Church Relations Rick Gibson, and many others.
Dean’s Distinguished lecture Series Discusses Culturally Responsive Education Sonia Nieto, educator, researcher, writer, and teacher, presented on culturally responsible education on May 1 for the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology. Nieto, a leading authority in the field of multiculturalism and Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy, and Culture at the School of Education, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, addressed “what it takes” to be culturally responsive by highlighting her latest research with educators from around the nation. Nieto has taught students from elementary school through doctoral studies and her research focuses on multicultural education, teacher education, and the education of Latinos, immigrants, and other students of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. She has written many journal articles and book chapters and several books on these topics, including most recently, Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education (with Patty Bode, 2012, 6th ed.), The Light in Their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities (2010, 2nd ed.), and Language, Culture, and Teaching: Critical Perspectives (2010, 2nd ed.). Watch the presentation: gsep.pepperdine.edu/deans-lecture
magazine.pepperdine.edu
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snapshot
Deer Spotting Visitors, take note: you may cross paths with some furry, four-legged creatures on campus. One of the surprising—and spectacular— features of Pepperdine’s Malibu location is the friendly population of mule deer that roams the hills. View more photos: magazine.pepperdine.edu/deer-spotting
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Summer 2013
magazine.pepperdine.edu
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feature
Saying Goodbye to the Sophomore Slump Faculty, staff, and students at Seaver College join forces to create a memorable, identity-enhancing Sophomore Experience for students who stay in Malibu. 14
Summer 2013
By Sarah Fisher Stephen Davis: photography
Other students joined the prayer, forming a circle of compassion for those who go to the bridge armed with lost hopes. The experience united them all with a faith-forming, communitystrengthening, life-affirming memory—which is exactly what the sophomore trip to San Francisco was designed to do.
Seheri Swint was nervous as she and a large group of Pepperdine sophomores approached the landmark Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, this past February. She had recently come across some grim statistics about the rate at which people jump from certain points along the bridge. The idea troubled her and she confided her anxiety to accompanying faculty member Ray Carr, assistant professor of religion. “We started praying together at the lightpost that is known for where most of the jumps happen,” Swint reflects. “Professor Carr was willing to pray with me, and it felt like we became a beacon of light in this dark place.”
The concept of “the sophomore slump” is familiar to many: the notion that after the luster and excitement of a year of firsts, the second year of college can be a more challenging experience for students as they seek to find or establish their identities. With a strong international programs department at Pepperdine— ranked number two in the nation for “Number of Students Who Study Abroad for a Full Academic Year” by the Institute of International Education in 2011—it might seem like that shouldn’t be an issue, as approximately half of all Seaver College sophomores travel to one of the University’s seven programs worldwide. But that leaves another half in Malibu for the year. “Sophomores lose a lot of friends that they made in their first year,” Swint points out. “They need a stronger sense of community more than anything else.” In the last two years, Pepperdine has taken definitive steps to enhance the sophomore year for students in Malibu and provide
the same enriching overall experience— in faith, in friendships, in academics, in overcoming challenges—that students who travel abroad report experiencing. The Sophomore Experience/Second-Year Pilot Project provides living arrangements, social engagements, and trips off campus that parallel the “best of” the international experience for the students who remain. “You see a lot of invisibility in the second year. They’re vulnerable in ways that other students are not because they’re experiencing a lot of transition across the board,” says Tabatha Jones Jolivet, associate dean of student affairs. “But we need to ensure that no one is left behind and show the students who stay in Malibu that they are not a student population that is invisible to us—that we are serious about cultivating a sense of belonging and purpose for them.”
The need for an organized Sophomore Experience came to light a few years ago thanks to the research of professors Don Thompson and Cindy Miller-Perrin. The academic partners have studied faith and vocation for 10 years, researching how students’ sense of vocation and calling evolves over time, from freshman to senior, across the University. They are currently on their third cohort of students. “What we’ve found is that sophomores are at a greater risk of experiencing an identity crisis,” notes Miller-Perrin, Blanche E. Seaver Chair of Social Science and professor of psychology. Miller-Perrin cites it as a critical year for students’ faith and identity development; they have adjusted to life away from their families but are not yet experiencing the pressures of approaching graduation. “These students, more than ever, are really free to question and evolve their beliefs and values.”
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We need to ensure that no one is left behind and show the students who stay in Malibu that they are not a student population that is invisible to us—that we are serious about cultivating a sense of belonging and purpose for them. Tabatha Jones Jolivet Having noticed these trends among sophomores, the pair added a sophomoreexclusive survey to their research. They weren’t initially comparing second-year students who stay in Malibu with those who participate in international programs, but the survey results from sophomores yielded such dramatic responses that one thing became very clear: students return from abroad positively changed. “We noticed in the survey that going abroad is very impactful for our students,” says Thompson, professor of Great Books and mathematics. “So we had to pause to ask: what is happening overseas to make such an impact? Based on the responses of those students we narrowed it down to three things: travel, community, and the inter-student-and-faculty mentoring that takes place abroad. Naturally, the question then became, can we do these things here for the students who choose to stay?” Miller-Perrin and Thompson took their findings to the University administration, and partnered with Student Affairs to develop the program of initiatives for sophomores—the first of its kind dedicated to the well-being and growth of an entire class of students.
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recently came to speak. We also do workshops, such as resume building. Even our small, breakaway groups had looked at leaders of the Bible.”
After securing funding and getting the curriculum in place, the pilot project debuted in Fall 2011. The strategic initiative brings together sophomores in a number of ways that include living (themed housing), academics (speaker series), faith (worship), leadership (student-led initiatives), travel (trips to San Francisco and Catalina Island), and social (mixers and “bucket list” experiences around Los Angeles, such as trips to watch baseball games at Dodger Stadium). Swint selected to live in “House Lead” during her sophomore year, one of six themed housing options for students to select; the other five are Honors, Global Justice, Pepperdine Arts District, Adventure, and Confidence. In her junior year just past, Swint stayed with the house as a resident advisor (RA). “At the Lead house we’re, obviously, focused on developing leadership,” she says. “We put on programs connecting our students with leaders; the president of the Cheesecake Factory, David Gordon,
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As a united sophomore class, the group travels to Catalina Island just off the coast of Southern California every fall, followed by a weekend jaunt to San Francisco in the spring. The students—87 on the most recent trip to San Francisco—are encouraged to make new friends and get to know and trust the faculty and staff members in a way that connects them as part of a cohesive, Pepperdine community. Timothy Lucas, assistant professor of mathematics, witnessed Swint and Carr in prayer on the Golden Gate Bridge, with a small group of three or four students, and took note of it as a perfect example of what they are trying to achieve with the SecondYear Pilot Project. “It was a moment in which faculty and students engaged together in this unique way,” he recalls. “It was just a spontaneous thing that happened but the ability for that interaction is always good. We get to learn about students as complete people with their own struggles and ambitions.” The project leaders employ a different theme each year to enhance the San
Francisco weekend experience, and the city was chosen for both its relative distance and proximity to Malibu, as well as its international appeal. “We wanted to create a unique experience that mirrors the abroad experience,” explains Kari Enge, director of intercultural affairs. “Last year we centered it around Chinese New Year; we spent a lot of time in Chinatown, immersing ourselves in the culture there. This year it was very exciting because we had a wonderful body of faculty and staff members come to the table to design an experience that explored this year’s theme: being a global citizen through local engagement.” The group explored the theme in a problem-solving scavenger hunt that took them all over the city in groups of 15 random students. Stephen Davis’ group noticed that there was an international sophomore from China who did not appear to belong to a group, so they invited her
and, coincidentally, ended up eating lunch in San Francisco’s famous Chinatown.
who are thriving on these programs of development, enrichment, and community.
“She made sure we found an authentic place to eat, taught us all about the Chinese culture, and ended up making a group of new friends through this experience,” says the Distinguished Professor of Biology. “That’s the nature of this trip. You might not think a scavenger hunt is difficult or academic but it gets to the point of problem solving together in a diverse group, in a diverse place.”
“Because of my struggles and experiences, I’ve been able to share how the programs are a success,” he says.
Later that Saturday, the sophomores listened to a panel of four San Franciscobased Pepperdine alumni, who each represented the theme of global citizenship/local engagement with their respective lifestyles and careers. “The panelists showed our students how their lives engage the broader world in very different ways,” says Robert Williams, associate professor of political science, pointing out that sophomores are often still weighing what majors to pick for their own careers and need to hear the opportunities they have for making a difference with their lives. That is the message that sophomore Matthew Cranmer, a computer science major, took to the University Board this spring as a voice for second-year students
A transfer student who came to Pepperdine in January, Cranmer jumped right in to experience every opportunity of the project and found his community fast. “I hoped to meet lots of folks who would become my friends. And after the amazing San Francisco trip, I couldn’t walk anywhere without someone saying hello. The whole experience helped to lower my stress level, make me a bit happier, and feel much more connected.” Swint will continue as an RA of House Lead this fall, and has big hopes for the Second-Year Pilot Project, including incorporating the theme into more of the minute plans and creating even more programs. Even as an incoming senior, she remains committed to making Sophomore Experience as engaging and fruitful for this year’s sophomores as she can. “We’re making great leaps in creating community and building partnerships, which is what sophomores in Malibu need,” she says. “And for me personally as a sophomore—it was a wonderful, blessed experience.”
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Monty Moran (JD ’93) left law firms
behind to pursue a not-so-likely career in the restaurant business. By Jannette Jauregui
A New Kind 18
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The dinner invitation came on a whim. The menu? Burritos. Not at all what Monty Moran expected when he accepted the invitation. The host? Steve Ells, a culinary school graduate who had been cooking at the famed Stars restaurant in San Francisco, California, under chef Jeremiah Tower. “I always looked forward to Steve’s dinner parties,” Moran recalled. “Steve is an incredible chef, and dinners at his house were always extraordinary. But when he said we would be having burritos I was initially disappointed. It just sounded boring. I was wrong. The burrito was awesome!” Ells asked his guests, including Moran, what they thought of the taste. What he was doing was getting a feel for the flavor combination—the fresh approach—to a new restaurant concept he had in mind: a restaurant that would make the burritos he enjoyed in his off hours in San Francisco, but with his own twist. The end result? A grand opening in Denver, Colorado, of the first branch of Chipotle Mexican Grill.
At the time, Moran hadn’t the slightest clue that he had eaten the first of what would become an internationally recognized burrito. He figured he had enjoyed another evening with a good friend. A soon-to-be Pepperdine School of Law graduate, Moran’s focus instead remained on his legal career, which began in Los Angeles in 1993—the same year Chipotle made its debut. Three years later Moran and his wife Kathy (JD ’92) made the move to his home state of Colorado and took an associate position at Messner & Reeves, LLC. The firm, Moran figured, was a perfect fit. The young attorney’s ambition and leadership skills made him very attractive to the firm, and eventually led to a partnership and then his promotion to chief executive officer. Meanwhile, the friendship between Moran and Ells continued. “Eventually, Steve asked me if I’d be interested in joining him at Chipotle,” Moran said. “But I was a litigator. I wasn’t in the restaurant business.” Despite his success in law, he never closed the conversation with Ells. Instead Moran agreed to work with Ells to lease properties for Chipotle restaurants. After Chipotle became a client of Moran’s firm, Ells was also able to utilize his friend’s expertise as general counsel for his expanding business.
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“By 1998 Chipotle was really poised for growth when McDonald’s made an initial investment in the company. I was happy for Steve, but I wasn’t yet ready to leave my law firm,” Moran explained. When Chipotle started thinking about cutting ties with McDonald’s through an initial public offering, Ells encouraged Moran to join Chipotle full-time, recognizing that his friend’s strengths would be tremendously beneficial to Chipotle as the company continued to grow. By 2005 Moran decided to take Ells up on his offer to join the Chipotle team. At that time the company had approximately 10,000 employees and 400 restaurants. Moran left his position with Messner & Reeves and became Chipotle’s president and chief operating officer. Among his new duties was to oversee all of the company’s restaurant operations. “The first time I walked into a Chipotle restaurant I knew there was no way I could be a general manager,” Moran said. “I didn’t have half the skills that the managers had. But I had been chosen for my leadership skills. Steve saw how I led my team at the firm and the kind of culture we built there.
“I believed in building teams of all top performers—people who served the clients in the best way possible. It wasn’t about billing hours and making partner, it was about making everyone around you the best they could be, and letting your clients know that you cared more about their problems than they did. Steve saw how healthy the culture was at my firm and challenged me to build a similar one at Chipotle.” So Moran did what most chief operating officers would not do—he signed up for a 10-week training program to learn everything he could about managing a Chipotle. He figured his success on the management team was dependent on his ability to understand a day in the life of every member of the crew. “No one knew who I was except the manager that was training me,” Moran observed. “I spent time as a cashier. I learned to cook the food. I rolled burritos. I worked the tortilla press. I washed dishes. I fully immersed myself as a member of the crew. And I realized that it was the crew as a whole that was training me. The crew is what keeps the restaurant going. And the general manager, as their leader, is the most important member of our team— more important than me or anyone else.”
Moran used his time in the restaurants to learn as much as he could. He spoke with each crew member to see what they liked and didn’t like about their jobs, and what their aspirations were. “I’d talk to the crew in the kitchen, people who were working for hourly wages,” he said. “I asked them what their goals were; if they thought they’d want to get promoted eventually. The idea sounded great to them all, but none of them believed it was possible. I don’t think any of them thought they had a shot at becoming a manager, at someday either running a Chipotle or taking on a leadership role.” When his 10 weeks were up, Moran knew what he needed to do. He went to the regional directors with a new approach. Previous practice included very little promotion within the company. Moran found that the few restaurants managed by people who had served as a crew member earlier in their career were not only more successful, but proved more consistent and had very little turnover. The new Chipotle, Moran announced, was going to promote all of its managers from within. “When the field leadership heard me say that the general managers were the most important members of the team, I think
My goal is to make sure everyone in the company feels a sense of purpose. I want them to have a vision of the restaurant and their role in it. —Monty Moran
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Monty Moran visited the School of Law in 2007 to speak with students about his career.
they were taken aback,” Moran remarked. “It wasn’t that the field leaders weren’t important, but that the best way for them to help the company was to ensure that we had excellent general managers and crew in all of our restaurants. Moran began an effort to overhaul the restaurant staffing model—to create a clear path from crew to manager. He created a new level, “restaurateur,” for the most elite restaurant managers to reward them for their ability to run great restaurants and, more importantly for the culture he was building, for developing the people around them so that they too could become managers. “What we were doing as a company was establishing a new kind of culture,” Moran said. “From the beginning, Steve was building a different kind of food culture at Chipotle: high-quality, raw ingredients; classic cooking techniques; a service model that lets customers choose exactly what they eat. I knew we needed
a people culture that was just as unique and compelling to help us provide the best restaurant experience we could, and to develop the future leaders we’d need to support our growth.” Moran’s implementation of new programs proved successful. As employee morale began to grow, so did the level of employee retention. “My goal is to make sure everyone in the company feels a sense of purpose,” Moran said. “I want them to have a vision of the restaurant and their role in it.”
His next step? To help instill a similar culture in the company’s newest restaurant, ShopHouse, from the beginning. With restaurants now open in Washington, D.C., and the Los Angeles area, ShopHouse closely follows the Chipotle model but with a menu of Southeast Asian cuisine. “This isn’t just a place to come and punch a time clock,” Moran noted. “This is a place to build a career and be part of a movement that is changing the way people think about and eat fast food.”
Moran’s success with the company led to a promotion to co-chief executive officer in January 2009. As Chipotle celebrates 20 years in business, Moran can now be found traveling to many of the company’s 1,500 restaurants to work with managers and the rest of its 38,000 employees, including at the Chipotle branches in Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K. magazine.pepperdine.edu
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Brain in Motion Psychology professor Louis Cozolino reveals how both our brains and our relationships shape how we learn.
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Why Stories Are Essential for Learning ouis Cozolino is taking a L fresh look at the challenges of contemporary education. In his latest book, The Social Neuroscience of Education: Optimizing Attachment and Learning in the Classroom, the GSEP professor of psychology explores how both the science of our brains and the quality of our social connections impact our ability to learn. From foundational neuroscientific principles to factors that can hinder or stimulate learning, the book explains why an understanding of our brains as social organs has the potential to transform education today. In an exclusive excerpt for Pepperdine Magazine, Cozolino demonstrates this potential in action, highlighting how the social nature of storytelling makes it uniquely successful at stimulating our brains for learning.
If history were taught in the forms of stories it would never be forgotten. — Rudyard Kipling Through countless generations, humans have gathered to share stories. Whether it be tales of brave ancestors, strategies for a successful hunt, or fun ways to pass the time with friends and family, the stories of a tribe are a repository of shared knowledge and a matrix of culture. Stories connect us to one another, help to shape our identities, and serve to keep our brains integrated and regulated. The human brain co-evolved with storytelling, narrative structure, and the tale of the heroic journey as told in cultures throughout the world. Stories are, in fact, so ubiquitous in human experience that we hardly notice their existence. Discounted by many educators as unworthy of the classroom, storytime is enjoyed by children but left behind to get on with the business of “serious” learning. Like our primitive social instincts, storytelling has a deep evolutionary history that has been woven into the fabric of our brains, minds, and relationships. The central role of storytelling in contemporary tribes attests to its early origins and central role in memory storage, emotional regulation, and social cohesion. Through the seemingly profound transformations from oral to written to digital-based record keeping, we have never lost interest in stories, especially about each other. Just think of all the energy we invest in gossiping across every new medium of communication. By allowing for the articulation of personal experience and shared values, stories connect families, tribes, and nations, generate culture, and link us to a group mind. These connections, in turn, support
the functioning and well-being of each individual brain. It is very likely that our brains have been able to become as complex as they are precisely because of the power of narratives to guide and organize our thinking. It is as if each of us has an external neural circuit existing in the stories of the group mind that helps us to regulate internal neural functioning. Stories are a central aspect of personal identity and, in many ways, we become the stories of our experiences and aspirations. Identity has even been defined by philosopher Daniel Dennett (1991) as the “center of narrative gravity” of the stories we tell about ourselves. As children we are told who we are, what is important to us, and what we are capable of. We then tell them to others and eventually to ourselves. The impact of stories on the formation of self-identity makes them powerful tools in the creation and maintenance of the self (Bruner, 1990). These stories become organizing principles that serve to perpetuate both healthy and unhealthy aspects of self-identity. Positive self-narratives aid in emotional security and minimize the need for elaborate psychological defenses (Fonagy et al., 1991), while negative self-narratives perpetuate pessimism, low self-esteem, and decreases in exploration and learning.
Memory and Learning The mind is everything. What you think you become. — Buddha Every culture has stories, myths, and fables born before the written word and passed down through the generations via storytelling and song. The Vedic song poems of ancient India were memorized, sung, and preserved by a class of scholars dedicated to the preservation of ancient wisdom. The accumulation and advancement of knowledge was completely dependent
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on the compulsion to hear and tell stories and on the brain’s ability to remember and repeat them. This is probably the reason why our brains have evolved to possess a limitless storage capacity for stories and songs. Memory experts use this evolutionary legacy to recall large amounts of unconnected information by placing them in a narrative. They may picture a room and place each of the items they are trying to remember in a different location. For recall, they go back to the visual image of the room and visualize each item where they placed it. This is not superhuman, they have simply learned to use the deep well of contextual and narrative memory we all share. I am a terrible speller and completely depend on spellcheck. I can, however, spell “Mississippi” and “encyclopedia” because when I was young, Disney cartoons placed the spelling of these words in songs. And I doubt that anyone from my generation can spell “respect” without hearing Aretha Franklin’s voice in their heads. It is also true that most of us can hear the first few notes of thousands of songs we learned years ago and almost intermediately recognize them and be able to sing along. The words and notes seem to be waiting in our brains even though it may have been decades since we last heard them. These are all contemporary holdovers of the brain’s evolutionary past and of our historic dependence on stories and songs. Another window into our deep history is in the way elders and children relate to stories. It has always been the job of elders to tell stories, passing them on to the younger members of the tribe. Most of us have older relatives who tell the same story again and again as if they have never told us before. As we grow older, we also tend to tell more stories from long ago as the distant past becomes increasingly salient with advancing age. Now think of who likes to hear the same stories again and again and again in exactly the same way. In fact, they will even correct you if you get a word or fact wrong. If you guessed young children, you are right! They
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demand that you tell them the same story every night for days, weeks, or months before they are ready to move on to the next one. What we are likely witnessing in these parallel processes is a genetically programmed process in both the older adult and child to transfer the stories, knowledge, and wisdom across the generations. The impulse to repeatedly tell and listen to stories appears to be a lock-and-key mechanism of intergenerational information transfer, which fits into the child’s impulse to hear them.
Stories and Neural Integration Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book. —Anonymous As the human brain evolved, an increasing number of specialized neural networks emerged to handle the vast amount of information required for complex social interactions, abstract thinking, and imagination. This increasing complexity eventually allowed for the emergence of language, storytelling, and narrative structure. Keeping this ever-growing bureaucracy of neural networks integrated, balanced, and running smoothly became ever more challenging. My suspicion is that over time, language came to organize and integrate brain systems in order to allow for the emergence of even more neural complexity. Through language, individual brains gradually became able to use the minds of others through shared stories to aid in neural integration, emotional regulation, and enhanced executive functioning.
story that is well told, containing conflicts and resolutions and thoughts flavored with emotions, will shape brains and connect people. The structure of any story contains two basic elements: The first is a series of events grounded in the passage of time, and the second is some emotional experience giving the story relevance and meaning. In order to tell a good story, the linear linguistic processing of the left hemisphere must integrate with the emotional, sensorimotor, and visual information centers in the right hemisphere. Thus, a coherent and meaningful narrative provides the executive brain with a template for the oversight and coordination of the functions of the two hemispheres. In fact, the coherence and understandability of the personal narratives we generate are highly related to the security of our attachment relationships, self-esteem, and emotional regulation. A good indicator of the power of stories is reflected in the faces of the listeners. Have you ever noticed what happens when you transition from talking about facts to telling a story? Eye contact locks in, distractions decrease, and a series of expressions reflect the events and emotions that run through the story. You can see the unfolding drama reflected in the eyes, faces, and bodies of your listeners. Listening to stories is a basic form of learning that goes back long before the invention of reading, writing, or arithmetic; stories contain all of the elements required to stimulate neuroplasticity and learning.
Excerpted from The Social Neuroscience of Education, copyright 2013, by Louis Cozolino. Used with permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton.
Listen to an audio interview with Cozolino about The Social Neuroscience of Education:
About the Author Louis Cozolino is a professor of psychology at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology and a private practitioner. He has diverse clinical and research interests and holds degrees in philosophy and theology, in addition to his doctorate in clinical psychology. He has conducted empirical research in schizophrenia, child abuse, and the long-term impact of stress. Recently, his interests have turned to a synthesis of the biobehavioral sciences and psychotherapy. He is the author of The Healthy Aging Brain, The Neuroscience of Human Relationships, The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy, and The Making of a Therapist, as well as numerous articles and chapters on various topics. He maintains a clinical and consulting practice in Los Angeles.
magazine.pepperdine.edu/cozolino
Although stories appear imprecise and unscientific, they serve as powerful organizing tools for neural network integration (Oatley, 1992; Rossi, 1993). A
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Illuminated Discoveries Pepperdine professors and students get a never-beforeseen look at ancient religious artifacts using an innovative imaging technology. By Gareen Darakjian
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For the past six months The Seaver College Religion Division has been studying a significant piece of religious history that could impact the way scholars and theologians translate and understand a part of the Bible. The document, a small piece of vellum containing a partial copy of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans in Greek, dates to the third century and is the oldest copy of Romans chapters 4 and 5 known to exist. However, the decisive letter in the crucial word that would favor one or the other of two competing interpretations of Romans 5:1 is missing. For the past six months, professors Randall Chesnutt and Ron Cox, along with three student researchers, have been called upon by the Green Scholars Initiative, an international project dedicated to collecting, analyzing, and publishing ancient artifacts, to reconstruct this New Testament verse from the available manuscript—called the Wyman Fragment, Manuscript 0220, or the εχομεν(“echomen”) document—then analyze and publish their findings. “The significance is huge by virtue of the fact that this is the earliest known copy of Romans, but hasn’t been appreciated because it’s so difficult to read,” comments Cox. “We are able to provide a much more substantive argument—not just what we can reconstruct, but that our reading is the proper reading.” Previous attempts have been made by scholars to decipher the text, but without sophisticated imaging and restoration techniques, those efforts have proven
inadequate. Through state-of-the-art tools and techniques developed by Bruce Zuckerman, director of the West Semitic Research Project at USC, Chesnutt, Cox, and their team have been able to study a three-dimensional rendering of the fragment’s previously illegible reverse side. The group, including undergraduate students Natalie Lewis (’13) and Vincent Quach and master of divinity student Matthew McCay, has relied on the recently developed Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) to give them high-quality views of previously unseen data, such as ink residue and quill impressions. Lewis, a Seaver English major, focused on trying to decide whether the
manuscript had the subjunctive “let us have peace” or the indicative “we have peace.” The issue hinges on whether the crucial word had a long-o vowel or a short-o vowel in the defective spot in the manuscript. Using the RTI technology and careful analysis of handwriting, she pulled samples of the scribe’s handwriting from elsewhere in the manuscript and superimposed different letters to test which characters could fit. “I ultimately determined it was one reading over another, ‘We have [εχομεν] peace with God, our Lord Jesus Christ,’” she explains. “Since it’s the oldest manuscript we have, solidifying this certain word would be the best attestation to this reading we have on file.”
Professors Randall Chesnutt (L) and Ron Cox (R) analyze an RTI image of the Wyman fragment.
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Seeing the students involved in cutting-edge research unique to this place…they realize the contributions they’re making to the study of these priceless religious texts. — randall
chesnutt
Cox confirms, “Since this document was discovered, it was decided that this is how it was meant to be read. There’s still, however, being able to prove that’s exactly what the Greek text says.” Handwriting analysis also helped the group come to an enlightening discovery. McCay worked on capturing every letter written on the document and cataloging their exact size and dimension, shape, darkness, and even the depth of each quill stroke. “It’s like a jigsaw puzzle: what would fit there?” he explains. Because there is no evidence of the manuscript’s scribe writing a particular letter so small, McCay deduced that another particular letter “is the only one that would fit the spot.” Quach, a biology student, reconstructed the damaged backside of the document and deciphered the reading not previously legible to scholars. “The ink that is visible on the front is bleeding through the back, but I was able to separate what text was coming through the vellum to the other side using the RTI. It was extremely gratifying,” he says. The team, through careful research and observation, has been able to deduce and extract more information from the Wyman Fragment than anyone else has previously. “Our students are making these discoveries that are not going on anywhere else in the world,” enthuses Chesnutt. “Seeing the students involved in cutting-edge research unique to this place … they realize the contributions they’re making to the study of these priceless religious texts. With these unprecedented images, it is now possible to decipher most or all of the text on the reverse and publish a reliable edition of this part of the New Testament as it existed in the third century.” 28
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For more than 20 years John Wilson, former dean of Seaver College, Dean Emeritus, and Professor Emeritus of Religion traveled to the Middle East as a field archaeologist to study the relationship between archaeology and Christianity, specifically looking at the New Testament. One of the things he consistently came across was coins—while visiting with the Bedouin tribes in Israel, in off-the-path, hole-in-the-wall shops in Syria, and even some on the side of the road that were minted by ancient Greeks.
Often, you’re holding a coin that the last person who held it lived 2,000 years ago or even earlier than that, so there’s a sort of natural curiosity that comes out of these things. — John Wilson
“They last a long time—sometimes they deteriorate, but they tend to hang on, so you just get interested in them, because you keep finding them and realize they were used by people who lived in ancient times,” says Wilson, of the over 1,000 coins he has collected over the years. “Often, you’re holding a coin that the last person who held it lived 2,000 years ago or even earlier than that, so there’s a sort of natural curiosity that comes out of these things.” While archaeological sites do not travel well, coins do. Consequently, Wilson has often used them to provide “hands-on experience” of the ancient world, like one particular coin minted under Pontius Pilate’s rule, which was used as a teaching tool in his religious studies classes. “I would ask students, ‘What can we learn about Pontius Pilate from this coin?’ which was etched with symbols that were offensive to Jews,” he explains. “It’s so typical of how Pilate operated, that he could put anything on the coins that he wanted, but he chose imagery— like crooks that pagan priests would hold while performing a sacrifice—that he knew would offend the peoples he was ruling over, as if to rub their noses in paganism.” When approached by Zuckerman to compile a representative sample of his collection to photograph with the RTI technology, Wilson started with Alexander the Great and ended with the Crusaders. “I tried to put together a group of coins for students to study that represents the whole history of the Middle East, especially the biblical period.” What immediately came to Wilson’s mind when Zuckerman introduced the idea was to connect students with this endeavor. “I thought, ‘This is a coin that’s never been seen or studied in a scientific or scholarly way, so why not let a student have the opportunity to be the first person in the world to take this coin and learn everything
John Wilson holds an Islamic coin minted in Damascus in the year 697 AD under the ruler Abd al-Malik. Watch a video of him discussing other pieces in his ancient coin collection: magazine.pepperdine.edu/ illuminated-discoveries they can from it?’ Nobody else has done that before.” Wilson’s role in the unique endeavor is to provide his extensive background and knowledge of ancient coins to the participating students—undergraduate Eric Kim and graduate student Virginia Weldon—who will then work with Cox to help guide them through existing literature and help them ask the right questions about the materials. “These ancient coins have the power to better illuminate a world far away from us, but close in interest,” muses Kim. “As a religion major, you run into a plethora of information about the social and cultural context of the New Testament and wonder how anyone could gain such information with certainty. This process has shown me firsthand one of the ways by which scholars obtain such information and the work it takes to validate with enough certainty the information from such artifacts.” “Every single one is a tiny work of art and a tiny piece of history,” says Wilson, “so the student can really feel like they’re doing something that’s fairly significant, something we thought only students in the hard sciences could do. Now, Pepperdine humanities students are doing primary research with primary material.” magazine.pepperdine.edu
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alumni
Here are just a few examples of the many ways the Pepperdine community is using Pepperdine Marketplace:
Jerry Petty, a Pepperdine parent, uses Pepperdine Marketplace to advertise his art sales business in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
Jason Pates (’95, MPP ’99) uses Pepperdine Marketplace to find hotel discounts near Malibu as he plans his trip for Waves Weekend.
WallyPark CEO Charles Bassett (BSM ’03, MBA ’11) uses Pepperdine Marketplace to offer a 30 percent discount to the Pepperdine community at WallyPark locations across the United States.
Matthew Habeger (’06) posts open jobs to the Pepperdine Marketplace for his alumni-owned insurance agency, B. H. Gold Insurance.
How will you use Pepperdine Marketplace?
Upcoming Events and Activities:
July/August
August 4, 2013
August 10, 2013
September 7, 2013
Inaugural Pepperdine Family Camp www.pepperdine.edu/familycamp Seattle Waves Seafair Celebration Colorado Waves Night at the Ballpark The 25th annual Step Forward Day – Pepperdine’s international day of service
For more information on these events and others near you visit us online at pepperdine.edu/alumni or contact us at alumni@pepperdine.edu.
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Summer 2013
Texas “Three” Step Pepperdine University Alumni Affairs, deans, and administrators just completed a three-stop Texas tour in Dallas, Houston, and Austin. Over 200 alumni, parents, and friends joined in on the celebrations across the great state of Texas. We would like to thank our generous hosts, Bill Minick (JD ‘85) and Dr. Melissa Tonn, and Mark and Becky Lanier for embracing the Pepperdine community with true Texas hospitality.
Waves Weekend continues to be the perfect time for alumni, students, and their families, and our Pepperdine friends to gather together in Malibu! With class reunions, faculty presentations, nature hikes, surfing lessons, and the big concert in Alumni Park, don’t be left out of the fun! Be the first to know who the special guest performer will be by following us on Facebook:
Mark your calendars for Waves Weekend: October 18–20, 2013
www.facebook.com/wavesweekend
To explore the full schedule of events and register to attend, visit: www.pepperdine.edu/wavesweekend
alumni@pepperdine.edu • www.pepperdine.edu/alumni
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ď Ž
scholarship
School A lifelong educator takes the lead to change the future of the classroom at home and beyond. By Gareen Darakjian
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Summer 2013
Back in the 1970s, then University of Chicago graduate student Eric Hamilton found himself in a situation that nearly every eighth-grade algebra teacher faces. “I would notice that three specific students were always ahead of everyone else,” he explains. “When the other students saw these three classmates raise their hands, they just stopped working. If I called on the advanced students, they became reinforced. If I didn’t, they got frustrated.” Hamilton thought that if he had a better sight line into what they were doing, he could give them the feedback that was necessary to keep them from being bored or becoming too frustrated. He envisioned a computer-based tool that allowed teachers to see what every student was doing at his or her desk, comment, and reinforce them personally and anonymously. “I wanted to make sure what I was giving them matched their abilities,” he recalls. This idea brought about his invention and patenting of one such pen-based computing technology—SlateMate, a local network-based multimedia workspace that enables teachers, students, or groups thereof to interact simultaneously and anonymously—and became the defining way that he looked at how teachers could use technology. Remaining in the field of pen-based computing decades after completing his graduate studies, Hamilton organized the first Workshop on the Impact of Pen and Touch Technology in Education (WIPTTE) at Pepperdine in 2006, a conference that shares research and effective practice on the use of these tools in K-12 and higher education. Today, Hamilton is seeking another breakthrough. Following decades of researching learning technology
innovation and learning environments of the future, the professor of education at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology has signed on to represent the United States in leading a joint research plan with Finland in hopes of marshaling new technologies in imaginative ways. Harnessing Finland’s exemplary reputation for academic success and the United States’ commitment to education, this project aims to apply the best ideas from both countries to kindergarten through undergraduate learning environments. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in partnership with two counterpart federal agencies in Finland, the endeavor, called SAVI (Science Across Virtual Institutes), is a collaborative vehicle that will enable broad-based teamwork on advances in learning and instruction, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This is the first collaboration of its kind. “We’re trying to find conditions for designing learning environments in which both students and teachers are fully absorbed in the material,” explains
Finding that sweet spot where students are productively engaged in disciplinary content… that’s the Holy Grail to me. —Eric Hamilton
Learn about two other SAVI projects Eric Hamilton and his team are working on to change the future of education: magazine.pepperdine.edu/savi
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co mm u n it y
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Why STEM Matters “STEM” was formally adopted by the National Science Foundation in 2001 to refer to four overlapping academic disciplines—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—that are becoming more important to our culture and society as the workforce demands more experts in those fields. As industries such as information technology and the geosciences grow and change due to the rise of technology and innovation, workers are required to become proficient in new sets of skills. By focusing on students’ engagement and skills at an elementary level, STEM-based education supports raising the proficiency level of both teachers and students of all abilities. 34
Hamilton. “The settings we are trying to create and test are ones where students or teachers are regularly ‘in the zone,’ when total immersion [in the lesson] invariably follows.” SAVI emphasizes the integral roles that other disciplines, such as creativity and the role of imagination in problem solving, play in STEM education, a key portion of the public education agenda of the United States. Hamilton and a diverse team of educators from around the world have embarked on eight complementary projects that examine common topics of engagement in learners and learner communities, such as the use of games and digital media to teach and using new technologies to simplify the reading and comprehension of science texts. In SAVI’s final stages, after monitoring and collecting their findings and insights, the team plans to hold webinars aimed at educators, researchers, and policymakers. “We know that students do not live in a high state of engagement in classrooms. That’s a pretty common experience for most people, that they don’t feel like they are deeply immersed for most of the day in what they’re doing,” Hamilton explains. “If they’re not engaged, if they feel that the work that they’re doing is too easy or hard, they get bored or frustrated. Finding that sweet spot where they’re productively engaged in disciplinary content … that’s the Holy Grail to me.” Of the eight research projects, Hamilton is focused on three. The first involves analyzing the effectiveness of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in the teaching and learning of calculus by high school students and undergraduates. MOOCs are webbased, interactive courses open to the public, aimed at creating a community among students, educators, and teaching assistants. This groundbreaking Summer 2013
endeavor hopes to recommend best practices on the design, deployment, and analysis of this and other MOOCs. “The fact that students can, for example, share information and data that they collect in outdoor settings and make videos of things they observe in a local context and interpret that in media that they make gives more immediacy to what they’re learning,” says Hamilton. “That gives more opportunities to more students and, when they have access to technologies and can access large amounts of information, it helps bridge the gap between learners and teachers. Social networks and communities change what we learn and how we learn and how we interact with others.” Under Hamilton’s guidance, Pepperdine will use the SAVI award to send 24 early-career- and teacherresearchers from some of the most exciting learning technology research programs around the country (including Pepperdine) to Finland in the coming year for one-to-six-week stays at different education labs there. Pepperdine will also host a series of educational policy, innovation, and research webinars led by different members of the SAVI consortium. Hamilton’s ultimate goal is to connect developing nations as well as U.S. organizations with SAVI. “We are seeking ways to take research innovations and position them onto a path of entrepreneurship and economic sustainability,” says Hamilton. “I consider myself unbelievably fortunate to be involved in SAVI, because I think it has so much potential, and the people both in Finland and in the U.S. have done so many amazing things in education that can be woven together. This work is critical to our humanity and to our progress in building a fair, free, and prosperous society.”
A School of Public Policy alumna discovers her calling as an activist for global water conservation. By Gareen Darakjian
A
n increasing number of environmental issues threaten the health and well-being of
humans worldwide. Among them are water scarcity and resource allocation, top priorities for Sabrina Abu-Hamdeh (MPP ’11), a foreign affairs officer for the U.S. State Department’s Office of Conservation and Water. Her most recent project, working on the margins of a World Bank event, exposed Abu-Hamdeh to the issue in a whole new way.
It proved to be one of the defining moments of her State Department experience thus far. Not because of its scale—it involved gaining high-level government support of the North African Partnership for Economic Opportunity from five economic and finance ministers from that region—or that it aimed to meet the State Department’s overarching goal of addressing global water challenges, but because it signified the journey that led her to this prestigious opportunity, what she now refers to as her ultimate calling. But Abu-Hamdeh’s trajectory did not always point to public policy. “I went from L.A. actress to graduate school student to Presidential Management Fellow to landing this position,” she says. After spending nine years driving to-and-from auditions, she realized that her true passion lay in diplomacy and foreign affairs, an interest she attributes to her lifelong fascination with people and countries. “I have always had a really large worldview,” she explains. “It is so important for us to have perspective on our own lives and for the context of how we fit into the greater world.”
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I have always had a really large worldview. It is so important for us to have perspective on our own lives and for the context of how we fit into the greater world. — Sabrina Abu-Hamdeh
Coupled with a longtime interest in efficiency, organization, how things work, and unintended outcomes and consequences, this outlook ultimately led her to Pepperdine. “I decided somewhat last-minute to go to grad school,” she recalls. “It was one of those things, where it seemed like a snap decision, but it had been brewing in my head for years.” At the School of Public Policy (SPP), Abu-Hamdeh focused on environmental policy, specifically water. “It is infinitely interesting. Infinitely fascinating. It affects everybody and in so many ways,” she explains. “Socioeconomically, politically, environmentally; it’s one of those topics that touches on everything and a great way to look at one area and see how it affects another.” Sharing her enthusiasm for the field with SPP dean James Wilburn, he suggested that she design a capstone project that aligned with her policy interests. Abu-Hamdeh developed the mission, strategic plan, and an implementation plan for a major public program focusing on the issue of water scarcity and water rights in California. Among her varied experiences, she had the opportunity to visit the water municipality for Calabasas, California, and analyze the proposed California water bond that was coming up on the fall 2012 ballot. This experience with local water policies and resources management led her to pursue a two-year Presidential Management Fellowship following graduation, working first at the Small Business Administration on financial systems, then in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs on a publicprivate partnership that promoted entrepreneurship in the Maghreb (northwest region of Africa). The program was designed to foster the next generation of public
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servants and allowed Abu-Hamdeh to enter the federal government at mid-level and secure her current position as foreign affairs officer. “My agency knew that I was hoping to transfer to the State Department,” she explains. “I didn’t have a lot of foreign affairs experience and didn’t have security clearance, but I understood the dynamic of starting something on my own and had enough water experience to get me in the door.” Since taking on this role, Abu-Hamdeh’s particular focus has been working on water policy in Pakistan, as well as the U.S. Water Partnership, a public-private entity between the State Department, NGOs, and the private sector. She has also applied her expertise to the transboundary water issues surrounding Ethiopia’s plans to divert the Nile, a decision that would affect all bordering countries. Abu-Hamdeh’s current project involves updating the World Bank’s safeguards and communicating the U.S. government’s foreign policy on drinking water. “It’s interesting to see how things play out,” she says. “How government input goes into creating goals or different safeguards in these international organizations like the U.N. or the development banks.” From completing routine tasks such as coordinating with embassies, to the high-profile, advising State Department principals on talking points for major foreign ministerial meetings, AbuHamdeh could have never imagined her career following the course it has. “Once in a while, amidst running around, taking the bus, and walking through the doors of the State Department, I realize I am where I always wanted to be,” AbuHamdeh muses. “I am constantly thinking to myself, ‘Wow, I’m really here.’”
c o mmunity
spiritual life
All Eyes
Apocalypse From Bible study to bigscreen blockbusters, two scholars explain why we can’t get enough of the Book of Revelation.
on the
I
mages and prophecies of the end of days have permeated the public consciousness for centuries, but recent years have seen an increasing fascination with the apocalypse. The 2013 Pepperdine Bible Lectures (PBL13) brought thousands to the Malibu campus to explore the powerful themes of the Book of Revelation, an epic story of the end of the world, sometimes called the joker in the deck of biblical texts. Pepperdine Magazine partnered with lectures director Mike Cope to continue the conversation with two scholars uniquely situated at the intersection of faith and popular culture—Pepperdine’s Craig Detweiler and Rochester College’s Greg Stevenson—who both participated in PBL13.
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COPE
Greg, it seems to me that Christian communities don’t quite know what to do with the Book of Revelation. For some, it’s almost as if it’s the sun around which all other books of the Bible revolve, while for others, John’s apocalypse is almost completely ignored. Why do you think it’s all or nothing in many churches?
STEVENSON
I think this all-or-nothing kind of approach that you get to the book is rather interesting, and I think the group that tends to do nothing with it is a little easier to understand. It really typically boils down to fear. They tend to be intimidated by the images of the book, by the symbolism, by the difficulty of understanding what John is talking about, and they tend to be horrified by what they see other groups doing with the Book of Revelation. So, they tend to just find it a lot safer to simply ignore. The group for whom Revelation becomes everything, I think, is in some ways more interesting. It brings up the question, Why is the Left Behind series so popular? Why is it that cult groups that make a business out of predicting the end of the world, when they get a prediction wrong, they don’t stop, but they just go back to the drawing board to come up with a new prediction and keep on going? I think the mistake there is the idea that Revelation somehow contains the plan of God and if we can just pay close enough attention then we can figure it out. It provides people a sense of control, a sense of self-importance, and this idea that somehow they possess divine knowledge that they’re at the center of God’s plan and they have insight of what God is up to that other people don’t have. Particularly for people who don’t feel very in control of their world, I think that way of reading Revelation can become very intoxicating.
COPE
Craig, there’s been a lot of interest in the apocalyptic themes of Revelation in recent
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years. Could you talk a little bit about the interest filmmakers have had in the book, both in the mainstream media and in the limited, Christian filmmaking world?
DETWEILER
The pure number of films that traffic in Revelation and the end times is actually staggering—everywhere from broad comedies like This is the End to big-budget films like World War Z and Pacific Rim.
or environmental. We might call it spiritual. This sense of unease is ripe for filmmakers to exploit on-screen.
COPE
Greg, you’ve raised concerns in your book, appropriately so I think, about the way Revelation has been understood in the past few decades. When I hear people kicking around the word “apocalyptic,” it reminds me of the famous line from The
When [a terminally ill] person gets a diagnosis that they only have x number of weeks or months to live, what that does is suddenly clarify their reality and change how they make decisions on a day-byday basis. I would suggest apocalypses do the same thing. —Greg Stevenson
They’re almost all about the end of the world. There’s a British film called The World’s End that’s coming out. There was even a comedy this year called RapturePalooza.
Princess Bride, “You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.” Can you tell us more about what apocalyptic literature was trying to do?
So, mainstream filmmakers find it highly dramatic material both for comic or spectacle purposes, and there is an endless fascination and appetite for this kind of thing. There’s even another Left Behind movie being made. It’s being remade on an even bigger budget, this time starring Nicholas Cage.
STEVENSON
I think there’s a general understanding both within filmmakers and within audiences that there is something wrong, whether some would put that as societal, political,
Summer 2013
Today in our cultural lexicon, the term “apocalypse” is synonymous with “destruction” and the end of the world. But, the Greek term itself actually just means “an unveiling or revealing.” Although many people today take that to mean that Revelation is about the unfolding of a blueprint for the end of days, it’s really more about revealing the nature of this world, human nature, and what God is up to in the world.
One of the examples I tend to use a lot is that of a terminally ill patient. When such a person gets a diagnosis that they only have x number of weeks or months to live, what that does is suddenly clarify their reality and change how they make decisions on a day-by-day basis. I would suggest apocalypses do the same thing. It talks about the future and what God is going to be up to in the future as a way of trying to clarify the present and to talk about how to live faithfully right now. I think popular culture is a good example of this. In some ways, a lot of popular culture, I think, is more faithful to the original idea of the apocalypse in this regard in that they tend to use these images of destruction and the end of the world and this idea of a war between good and evil as a way of addressing contemporary issues today, whether issues of society or personal life. So, this sort of apocalyptic war between good and evil becomes the backdrop for talking about how we navigate good and evil in society. Whether it’s X-Men: Age of Apocalypse using apocalyptic as a way to address racism, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer using it to address female empowerment, or shows like Supernatural or Angel using the apocalypse as a way of talking about the struggle between good and evil in ourselves, we’ve seen this explosion in our culture of these apocalyptic-type movies and the drama that they create. Really since 9/11, we’ve seen an explosion of zombie movies and apocalyptic-type movies where something ended on that day and the way our comfortable world and our comfortable way of seeing the world ended and created this anxiety. I think a lot of these movies are trying to tap into that because these creators understand apocalyptic as a way of getting to the heart of an issue by casting it against some cataclysmic threat. Where I think they often fail, though, is when they remove God from the equation so that the apocalyptic becomes a way of talking about human behavior, which I think
is valid but misses the point that human behavior also needs to be contextualized in the light of what God is doing. Ironically, I think the church does the exact opposite, where we make the Book of Revelation all about what God is doing and ignore its demands on us and our behavior.
COPE
Craig, as a believer and someone who knows the power that images can carry, what kind of impact could Revelation have again on the way Christians try to live out their faith in an increasingly post-Christian world?
DETWEILER
I hope that, in a sense, our visual imagination can be rebaptized. That was something that was strong for C. S. Lewis. I think TV and some of these examples that Greg cited—even other series like Lost and Revolution—they speak in extreme terms to try and awaken us from a bit of our slumber and sort of call us to action. Whether it’s something like The Hunger Games or World War Z or even the Lord of the Rings, there are serious stakes and battles at hand as a way of calling us to action to be much more alert and cognizant—to not be a zombie in a sense. I think with Lord of the Rings we’re reminded that at the end of all of the battles, which are very real and the stakes are very high, you understand that at the end of the day Frodo needed a fellowship, he needed people around him; he couldn’t finish the journey alone. And, the goal of the journey was to get back to the Shire; that there would be peace and strawberries at the end of the journey. It’s worth whatever level of upheaval we may be feeling right now. If we can continue in faithfulness, on the other side of the battle we will find that the banquet that ends the Book of Revelation was worth all of the travail.
Mike Cope is director of ministry outreach for Pepperdine University, author of five books, and popular blogger at www.preachermike.com Craig Detweiler is an associate professor of communication at Pepperdine and director of the University’s Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture. Greg Stevenson teaches New Testament at Rochester College in Michigan and is the author of a new book on Revelation, titled A Slaughtered Lamb.
Listen to the full interview: magazine.pepperdine.edu/revelation Watch these scholars’ lectures and more videos from PBL13: www.pepperdine.edu/biblelectures/multimedia
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spiritual life
Forging a New
co mm un ity
Staff members at the Graziadio School of Business and Management volunteer their time and resources to serve the homeless population of West L.A. By Sarah Fisher
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I
t was 2006 when Soledad Gonzalez, a now financial aid advisor at the Graziadio
School of Business and Management, encountered the ever-present possibility of homelessness for the first time close to home. She witnessed a friend struggle with the precariousness of sudden unemployment—a problem that has only increased in number since that time. “During the recession, especially, I think it’s been heightened—that homelessness can really happen to anyone,” she says. Her friend’s struggle with a real chance of homelessness inspired her to begin volunteering with PATH (People Assisting the Homeless), which temporarily provides homes to prescreened, sober job-hunters who have fallen on hard times. “Even more recently I had a different friend stay here, just for a short period, thankfully,” she says. In 2008 Graziadio School dean Linda Livingstone released a new vision for the school with the Distinctive Leadership 2015 strategic plan. Associate dean Gabriella Soroldoni challenged her Summer 2013
staff to select an initiative from the new vision that they felt most passionate about fulfilling. They chose “Cultivate Community,” a call to leadership through community engagement and service, so Gonzalez suggested PATH. “We need places like this. Sharing the experience with Graziadio has been a big blessing,” says Gonzalez. Since a partnership formed between the Graziadio School and PATH in 2009, small groups of staff members have visited the West Los Angeles-based facility once or twice a month to provide dinner for the shelter’s 30-plus residents. It’s an experience that has united the school’s staff in a spirit of service. “More than 50 percent of Graziadio staff and upper administrators have served at PATH in one way or another. It’s important work,” states Darrell Eriksen, director of admission at the Graziadio School. “It’s a chance to rub elbows with colleagues outside of work in a strictly service role.” “It’s a great bonding experience that fulfills the soul,” agrees Whitney Deutsch (BSM ’09, MBA ’12). Deutsch is an alumnus who crossed over from Graziadio student to staff member and is now assistant director of the Fully Employed Programs for the business school. She was a team leader of the first wave of PATH volunteers
in 2009. “Part of the reason I chose Pepperdine as a school was because of its mission; working here, I really wanted us to have the opportunity to give back in a unique way.” She notes that the Graziadio School’s human resources department funded a grant of $5,000, which they budgeted to $100 a meal, allowing staff members to participate without having to pay out of pocket. In the earliest days of service, the Graziadio staff would shop at Costco for meals before forming partnerships with restaurants near the Graziadio’s West L.A. campus, such as Star Chicken and Rubio’s; both restaurants have since donated entire meals at either a great discount or no cost. These dinners have been organized by dedicated staff volunteers like Nora Guerrero, Sharon Davis, and Murzi Kay (BSM ’82). “We started with serving the dinners, and as we got going we began to notice that there were other ways we could support PATH, which included donating professional work attire.” Deutsch recalls. The group organized a successful clothing drive at the business school across all four Southern California locations, collecting an assortment of professional outfits for the job-seeking residents. They also hosted a toy drive for children who reside at other PATH facilities—PATH in West L.A. only houses single adults—as well as a toiletry drive, a canned-food drive, and a candy-gram drive that raised $700 for PATH. “Once we realized what was possible, we started thinking about the various
ways we could get more Graziadio staff and faculty involved. Some staff members were not able to physically travel to PATH, but we wanted to create a way for them to give back and contribute as well,” says Deutsch. “We started meeting with the PATH administration to ask what else they need,” continues Eriksen. He has been involved from the start as an advisor, and regularly straps on an apron to serve food to the residents at PATH. “Because we’re a business school we have ready-made job-finding expertise; we realized we can deliver IT workshops and help people design their resumes.” By January 2010 Graziadio staff had begun a resume-reviewing program and twice-monthly visits to PATH to provide computer skills training to its residents. “It’s a small lab with just 10 computers; we provide a beginners class and an intermediate class. Some of the residents have never used a computer before, while some are very proficient, having degrees and years of professional work on their resumes,” notes Michael Stamper, Graziadio director of technology services. “Now, you’re not going to become a computer expert in 90 minutes, twice a month,” he concedes. “The main thing we try to do is give them confidence that the time and effort will pay off, and that they need to know the basics to interview.” Finally, the service group realized that they had one more major tool at their disposal: access to financial experts. Joetta Forsyth, practitioner faculty at the Graziadio School, stepped to the plate and
designed an eight-week seminar series of financial workshops on basics such as budgeting, managing a checking account, and coping with financial stress. Her class soon became a requirement for the PATH residents, giving her the chance to interact with everyone there. She noticed that most of the residents are hardworking, “normal” people who have fallen on hard times. “I was surprised by how financially sophisticated many were; many had functioned normally for years before something went very wrong, such as spousal loss or a costly illness,” says Forsyth. “The more I got to know them, the more sympathy I’ve learned and I’ve become dedicated to doing this class. It’s something I won’t stop doing—I’m hooked!” Many of Graziadio’s staff members concur with Forsyth on this—that serving together, outside of work, is a richly rewarding experience that bonds them together with a common purpose as colleagues and humanitarians. “I’ve been personally blessed with so many things in my life and the opportunity to give back and be a part of such an extraordinary communityservice effort as a staff member was so rewarding,” Deutsch reflects. “One of my favorite things about this service project was working as a team to discover the various ways the business school could give back and contribute to an organization we believe in. After serving at PATH, I always left feeling that I was the one being helped.”
The Waves of Service movement celebrates, supports, and connects Pepperdine alumni committed to volunteerism and careers of service worldwide. Learn more about how you can get involved at
www.pepperdine.edu/wavesofservice.
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athletics
PEPPERDINE ATHLETICS year in review In an exciting move, the men’s tennis team made the quarterfinals of the NCAA championships, leading five Pepperdine squads that advanced to NCAA postseason play. The women’s soccer, women’s tennis, and women’s indoor volleyball teams took part in the
first round of their respective NCAA tournaments, while the women’s golf team competed at the NCAA West Regional. The women’s sand volleyball team nearly repeated their impressive ranking as AVCA national champions, rounding out the season in second place.
scholarathlete status
student-athletes made pepperdine
The 2012-2013 athletic season saw a wide range of success, as Pepperdine players gave their all in their individual sports, earning the respect of competitors and spectators alike.
Matt Brown senior, men’s water polo Becoming the 10th-ever Pepperdine athlete to receive the prestigious award, Brown placed in the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-American third team. He was twice named Pepperdine Athletics’ Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and scored an impressive 29 career goals. Brown also became a three-time MPSF All-Academic and three-time Academic All-District selection.
Caitlin Racich senior, women’s sand volleyball An integral part of the 2012 AVCA national championship squad, winning the pairs national title, Racich earned AVCA All-American honors in each of Pepperdine’s first two seasons sponsoring women’s sand volleyball. She became the program’s first-ever recipient of a sand volleyball scholarship when she shifted over from the inside game after her sophomore season and posted a 24-5 record as a senior and 35-3 as a junior.
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student-athletes earned
Allconference honors
Stacy Davis freshman, men’s basketball In the 2012-2013 season, Davis became the first Pepperdine men’s basketball player to win the WCC’s Newcomer of the Year award since 2003. The recordbreaker also made the WCC All-Freshman team, the Waves’ first since 2009, and was All-WCC Honorable Mention, Pepperdine’s first freshman to make the AllConference since 2008. On the court, he averaged 11.2 points and ranked seventh in the WCC with 7.3 rebounds per game.
TEAMS FINISHED WITH
TOP-25 NATIONAL RANKINGS
Grace Na junior, women’s golf
student-athletes attained
AllAmerican honors
In each of her three seasons at Pepperdine, Na secured consecutive All-American and WCC Player of the Year accolades. She set the school record with a 72.17 scoring average this season and became Pepperdine’s first All-American first-teamer in women’s golf since 2003—only the fourth ever. Na was the medalist at the WCC championships for the second time in her career and ended the season ranked among the top-10 players in the nation by both Golfstat and Golfweek/Sagarin.
Sebastian Fanselow senior, men’s tennis The three-time All-American in singles ended his senior year ranked number eight nationally and reached the semifinals of the NCAA singles tournament. Fanselow also earned the prestigious ITA/Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award. Throughout the past two seasons, he helped Pepperdine’s team rise to national top-10 rankings and to the semifinals of the 2012 NCAA tournament and to the quarterfinals in 2013.
student-athletes scored spots on the
wcc Commisioner’s honor roll
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community
athletics
student-athletes earned
All-conference honors
Ana Pontes senior, women’s soccer
conference honors
Pontes earned the WCC’s Michael Gilleran Award as the conference’s top graduating female studentathlete. A three-year starter, the swift sportswoman guided the Waves to the NCAA tournament in 2011 and 2012 and on to win the 2011 WCC title. The defensive midfielder contributed greatly to the Waves’ posting a school-record 0.55 goals-against average in 2011.
Maurice Torres senior, men’s volleyball A remarkable athlete in his own right, Torres led the nation as a senior by scoring 5.02 points per set. His dexterity on the court earned him a spot on Volleyball Magazine’s All-American first team as a senior and as an AVCA All-American second teamer as both a junior and senior. Ending his career on a high note, Torres settled at sixth all-time at Pepperdine with 1,634 kills and led Pepperdine a number five national ranking at the end of the 2013 season.
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studentathletes earned CoSIDA/ Capital One Academic AllDistrict VIII honors studentathletes were named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars
c o mm uni t y
the arts
Pepperdine
March 19, 2013
painting students
t’s a Tuesday afternoon at Malibu High School and anticipation warms up
curate an
a bright classroom. All eyes are on the floor as a student, Dylan, darts his
exhibition of
wheelchair back and forth at various angles across what appears to be a large, white plastic sheet.
colorful works by Malibu High School teenagers with special needs. By Sarah Fisher
Dylan beams at everyone gathered as they cheer
It is an experiment in alternative and collaborative
him on. When he has thoroughly traversed the
artistry. Batcheller’s Painting II and III students
area, he reverses the wheelchair off the sheet
have visited the Malibu High School special needs/
and Gretchen Batcheller, assistant professor of art at Seaver College, bends down to peel back the plastic sheet from the floor, revealing a
life skills class every Tuesday for six weeks as a service-learning component of the class. The
canvas of bright colors that have been styled and
Pepperdine students mentor the group of high
patterned in the wet paint with the tracks from
school students as they paint, texturize, and
Dylan’s wheels.
experiment with color.
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community
the arts
TIANA
DYLAN
“Some of the Malibu High students are high-functioning, while some are nonverbal and more challenging, so my students have been very proactive about creating an experience with the canvas that relates to their level of ability,” says Batcheller. Dylan’s Pepperdine “peer,” Rebecca Ingle, notes that Ryan is very capable with a brush but this week they all decided to try a project that would incorporate his wheelchair in a fun, creative way. Meanwhile, vision-impaired student Rex shows off two colorful paintings that he has texturized with string, mesh, and lace in patterns and shapes that reflect his love of classical music. Red Concerto and Vivaldi’s Allegro are the names of his paintings, he says.
TYLER
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Batcheller worked for six years at an elementary school with children with high-functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome. When she joined the faculty at Pepperdine in August 2012 and discovered the University’s emphasis on service learning, she saw an opportunity to allow art to bring together her students as a community in themselves and to engage with the special needs community.
Summer 2013
“There were a lot of anxieties when we started,” she admits about the unorthodox component of her painting class. “We started off very slowly, getting to know the Malibu High students and becoming a part of that community in the life skills classroom.” Some of the Malibu High students have been painting their whole lives, such as Tiana, whose illustrations have been published by the Malibu Times. Others, such as Jake, had very little experience with a paintbrush. Seaver junior art major Sarah Attar has been Jake’s peer throughout. “He doesn’t talk, so at first I couldn’t really communicate with him,” noted Attar, “but with art you don’t really need verbal communication. At first he wouldn’t pick his paint, his brushstrokes were very small, and he wouldn’t even be looking at what he was doing.” Last week, the pair had a huge breakthrough. “He started picking up the brush and became a lot more comfortable with what he was doing. We became a lot more comfortable with each other.” “I think this experience is teaching our students to recognize mini-miracles,” Batcheller adds. “When Jake started looking at the canvas and choosing his paint—it was an amazing day for Sarah. I still remember as a special needs teacher the day that a student looked me in the eye and said my name for the first time after two and a half years. You begin to recognize those small moments that are big hurdles.”
Kai Woods Decker, a Seaver junior art major, cites her partnership with Tyler as one of the best experiences she could have as a student. “It seems like there could be a buffer between us, but when you have this artistic medium, you find that connection,” she explains. “He throws himself into everything, and tears into the canvas with these bold colors.” A lifelong artist, Decker has developed her own personal style over the years that tends to be very black and white, but has noticed a change of late. “My last painting used a whole range of colors, like Technicolor vomit on the canvas! And now that I think about it, Tyler uses a lot of colors. I’m pretty sure he’s been a big inspiration for me.” Tyler also inadvertently inspired the title of the exhibition that the Painting II and III class curated and unveiled at Pepperdine’s Payson Library on March 22, 2013—an exhibition of paintings by the Malibu High students. Short essays by the Pepperdine students about the service-learning project and a photograph display of the partnerships in action accompanied the paintings. “Tyler has this opera voice he puts on whenever he says ‘excell-ent!’ It’s really become the theme for our class,” says Batcheller. “Even when we’re in the studio, we’ll say, ‘You’re doing a painting that is really excell-ent!’”
March 22, 2013 Dozens of people gather on the second floor of Payson Library to celebrate the Color in Action exhibition. Decker and Attar introduce the works to the gathering and thank the Malibu High students for their hard work and creative designs. Dylan shares his infectious smile; he is delighted at being the center of attention for his art again.
Rex
Walking around the exhibition, Batcheller can’t bring herself to pick a favorite piece—each one has special meaning. “I was there when they were created, and there are all these little stories behind them,” she says. “Seeing the Malibu students connect with our students, and seeing our students reaching out to them and noticing the mini-miracles—that’s been a gift to be a part of.”
Kristina
Aracely
Tiana
Tyler
The title of the exhibition? Color in Action: An Excellent Adventure.
Service-Learning Mini-Grants In 2012 the Pepperdine Volunteer Center rolled out a new service initiative that aimed to help faculty incorporate service-learning elements into the classroom. Each service-learning mini-grant goes toward helping a faculty member support, create, or sustain curriculum development and/ or research using community-engaged scholarship.
Service learning is an educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and reflect on the service activity in such a way to gain further understanding of the course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. View more photos from the exhibit and class at Malibu High:
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47
in f ocus
Words of Wisdom From Our 2013 Commencement Speakers As Pepperdine’s 2013 graduates crossed the stage to receive their diplomas and begin their lives as alumni, they were sent off by a distinguished group of commencement speakers who offered personal lessons they learned in life after school. Here is some of their sage advice.
So many times we look at the big problems in the world and have a desire to want to serve or help, but we think that it’s not going to make that big of a difference. When you incorporate giving into your life, it is an amazing tool for good business and building this personal brand that is going to be so critical to you as you now go out into the world. Blake Mycoskie Founder and Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS Shoes Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Seaver College
As you move through your chosen career paths, as well as through the rest of your lives, keep before you that whenever there are discussions about the latest innovation promising to change your lives, your learning, and your relationships for the better, that “the human touch” is where we all start, where the greatest learning and healing takes place, and where we all end.
If you go through life focused on what you want to be, at the end of the road when your light goes out, you might find yourself to be one very unhappy camper. To be truly happy, the decisions you make from here on out better be built around who you are and not what you think is valued. Blake Irving (MBA ’88) CEO of Go Daddy
Laura Skandera Trombley (’81, MA ’83) President of Pitzer College
Distinguished Alumnus Graziadio School of Business and Management
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Graduate School of Education and Psychology
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Summer 2013
Innovation and creativity are often the products of failure. One of the most profound pieces of advice I have ever received is, “Fail frequently, fail cheaply.” Al Plamann Chief Executive Officer of Unified Grocers Honorary Doctor of Laws Graziadio School of Business and Management
Do your best to remember that the future is what you make of it, and that what you do each day creates the text of a future bestselling business book. Make things happen by doing everything you can to make that book an interesting one. Thomas Mitchell (MBA ’13) Student Speaker Graziadio School of Business and Management
Whose Life Will You Change?
t n e s e n If everyo
… e s e h t one of
...Pepperdine could: • Award 1,000 more scholarships • Send 450 students on service projects • Bring 50 more renowned speakers to campus • Help 250 students commute to internships
It’s not just about how much, but how many.
change lives. give today. www.pepperdine.edu/campaign
Malibu • West Los Angeles • Encino • Irvine • Silicon Valley • Westlake Village • Washington, D.C. Heidelberg • London • Florence • Buenos Aires • Lausanne • Shanghai
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