Campus Notes

PEPPERDINE PEOPLE

Kelsey Knox

Kelsey Knox, archivist for Special Collections and University Archives, holds the keys to Pepperdine’s past

The Pepperdine community came together on September 10 for this year’s Step Forward Day to get to know their neighbors and serve in the places they call home.

Archivists like Knox process archival collections, organizing them in a way that preserves the original order of the materials and arrange and describe them so that researchers can find them and understand what is in the collection. Knox also answers reference questions about Pepperdine’s archival and rare book collections, curates exhibits using the University’s materials, and teaches class sessions that give students hands-on experience with those materials.

Knox discovered archives as a student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in a course called Documenting America, which introduced her to different types of archives, why they are important to preserving history, and how to pursue a career in the field. She went on to complete a master’s in library and information science at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“I’m intrigued by the ways in which the past

shapes our present, seeing direct results of events or movements across history and how they’ve informed how we do things today.”

Archives and special collections offer patrons the opportunity to work with rare and unique materials that often can’t be found anywhere else and provide research opportunities in very focused areas; in Pepperdine’s case, the school’s history, Malibu history, Churches of Christ and the Restoration Movement, and film and television. “Margaret Brock’s papers were fascinating to work on because she had such a remarkable life and kept absolutely everything (an archivist’s dream)! Her collection includes dozens of letters from sitting presidents and photographs of her at early events on the Malibu campus.”

Pepperdine’s most impressive and unique pieces

include 16th-century manuscripts and a collection of tiles from Malibu Potteries, a historic Malibu ceramic company owned by May Knight Rindge that played an influential role in local architecture. The archives also contain George Pepperdine’s dedicatory address from 1937 and the roommate contract drawn up by Helen Mattox (Young) (’39) and her roommates in 1938.

When handling materials, Knox ensures she is not compromising their preservation by making sure that her hands are clean, the table is big enough for the materials so nothing is hanging over edges, and books are supported, typically by a book rest.

A lover of vintage fashion, Knox is fascinated by photographs of what women were wearing in the 1950s and 1960s. “Our University archives are a treasure trove in that regard.”

“I would love the opportunity to teach a full course about archives and rare books. I know how life-changing a class like that was for me in college. I’d love to inspire the next generation of archivists.”

Forward Together

More than 600

alumni, student, and employee participants More than 3,000

hours of total volunteer time

600

hygiene kits assembled for those experiencing homelessness at Midnight Mission and People Assisting the Homeless by volunteers at Baby2Baby organizing essentials like diapers and baby clothes 3,000 children served

More than 20

nonprofit organizations served in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties 250 lunches assembled and served at Ventura County Rescue Mission

21 TREES and 19 NATIVE PLANTS

planted in the Santa Monica Mountains with 5Journeys and Malibu Foundation

12

classrooms updated at Frederick K. C. Price III Christian Schools

CHATTER

Pepperdine friends near and far celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Malibu campus.

DANIEL HUDSON (’75) I was in Malibu that first year and was the first elected student body president. It helped me become the person I needed to be, a good father, and a Christian.

CONNIE NEAL (’80) Our years living on the Malibu campus—from ’76 to ’80—were some of the best of our lives. Seeing our founders and the campus as I remember it reminds me how truly blessed we were.

LUNELL GILLILAND (’76, MA ’78) Having been there for the first year on the Malibu campus—when there were no trees yet, some of the interior wasn’t quite finished in the dorms, and there were few of the incredible buildings featured in this video—this was quite inspiring.

DIDYOUKNOW

An exhibition on “human-centered” artificial intelligence was hosted at Payson Library as part of the annual Human-Centered AI Conference held in November.

Explore a collection of some of the most notable moments from recent events held across the University.

“Research shows that people who take part in religious communities in the United States are better neighbors, better citizens, more generous with their time and money, and more active in community life. The key is not what you believe. It’s that you are part of a community in which you have a common moral framework.”

Jonathan Haidt,Professor of Ethical Leadership at the New York University Stern School of Business and New York Times best-selling author

EVENT: President’s Speaker Series: Free Speech and the Academy: A Conversation with Jonathan Haidt “Everything now is about storytelling. You have to be a good storyteller if you want to be a cultural actor and create value in 2022. Those in Gen Z are expressing their own personal brands through the brands they purchase, and now the stakes are much higher in this very connected world.”

Daniel André Langer, Executive Professor of Luxury Strategy, Graziadio Business School; Chief Executive Officer, Équité

EVENT: Luxury Recalibrated: Pepperdine Disruptive Luxury Symposium

“The ministers, the deacons, and the attendees were all prisoners; inmates’ families would come to worship and then spend time in the visiting room. It changed the culture of the whole prison. It became the safest prison in America.”

Burl Cain,Commissioner, Mississippi Department of Corrections, Former Warden of Louisiana’s Angola Prison

EVENT: Coffee with Jim: Faith-Based Prison Reform “It seems that we don’t always think of joy as a serious matter. Too often we think of joy as a bonus rather than a necessity. We think of joy as a spontaneous reaction to something good that happens naturally. But that’s not all that it is. Joy is a serious business. It is of the utmost importance for our careful consideration and application.”

Jim Gash (JD ’93), President and CEO, Pepperdine University

EVENT: Founder’s Day

FROM THE ARCHIVES

The nationwide Nintendo Campus Challenge came to Pepperdine in 1991, when students competed for a chance to win a variety of prizes at 112 game stations, 48 Game Boy units, and other attractions installed around campus.