From the President

In my Founder’s Day address at the start of the academic year, I shared a passage from C. S. Lewis’ book Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer, in which Lewis profoundly states, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” I turned that thought over and over in my mind to understand how the heavenly joy Lewis described manifests in our daily lives, particularly as members of the Pepperdine community.

Of the greatest importance is to recognize the clear distinction between happiness, a fleeting and temporal emotion inspired by favorable circumstances, and joy, a constant and immovable force through all seasons of our lives. In the Bible, joy is described as a perpetual state of gladness that results from knowing, loving, and trusting Jesus. As I thought more about Lewis’ declaration, I determined that joy—if indeed a serious business of heaven—must be of great importance for our community’s careful consideration and application. Perhaps, I thought, we don’t take joy seriously enough. In all its manifestations, we must regard joy as a necessity.

As a university, we have made a commitment to one another to foster a community of belonging, which means we honor and celebrate each other’s unique contributions and abilities. Feelings of belonging are proven to be critical to cultivating moments of joy and peace. And when we find joy and peace, we must also create spaces where they can spark, live, and thrive. At Pepperdine we must seek and sustain the joy of discovery and learning something new, the communal joy of fellowship and family, the dynamic joy of pushing ourselves to record-breaking limits, the nurturing joy of indulging in a quiet pastime, and the enduring joy of knowing we are surrounded by a loving community. Indeed, joy is a necessity at Pepperdine, and we must continue to pursue and perpetuate it always and in all ways.

Though joy may elude us on earth as we seek its sustaining force, we know it never gives up on us because it is “a fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22). And as joy is the serious business of heaven, it must also be a daily business of Pepperdine.

Sincerely,

JIM GASH President and CEO

May the God of Hope fill you all with JOY and PEACE as you Trust in Him, so that you may overflow with Hope by the Power of the Holy Spirit.

—Romans 15:13 the author prays for the Christians in Rome and emphasizes to them the importance of recognizing God’s providence in their lives so they may grow closer to him. As God’s caring provision provides the foundation of their faith, he writes that it will bring joy and peace to believers’ hearts so they may be moved to glorify him. In understanding and trusting in God’s work in their lives, Paul maintains that believers will be provided with a supernatural, divine hope (and hopefulness) that will bring them joy and peace—a gift that can only be endowed by God through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The verse reminds us that focusing on God’s providence, firmly rooted in love, creates a foundational sense of enduring joy and sustains us in the everyday moments that delight, dismay, and challenge us. At Pepperdine, this foundational joy is channeled in the classroom, in community, in discovery, and in victory. But what is joy’s place in challenge? How does the wonder and power of God’s providential care sustain our community when things don’t go as planned? How does God’s promise influence and shape the ways we live, learn, and lead as a community so that it may bring joy and peace to our hearts?

James 1:2–3 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” As humans who tend to resist suffering in favor of less challenging pursuits, we are conditioned to rush through difficult circumstances to get to the other side of the pain. Yet the Bible says all things must be endured. And the most painful of things push us toward becoming more like Jesus and growing stronger in our faith—the truest manifestation of heavenly joy.

Indeed, joy is a necessity and an essential part of Christian life. And as a community composed of people of conviction, Pepperdine students, faculty, staff, and alumni are encouraged to find our purpose in this manifestation of the joy that is accessible through Jesus by keeping our eyes on our savior so we may be strengthened by his everlasting love.

DEBORAH CROWN was appointed the 10th dean of the Graziadio Business School and began her tenure on November 1, 2022. Crown was previously a professor of management and the dean of the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College and prior to that had served as the dean of the College of Business at Hawai‘i Pacific University. Throughout her career, Crown has been devoted to elevating academic programs and enhancing student learning technologies for in-person, hybrid, and online programs. Entering the education field as a teacher, Crown has received many awards for her teaching, research, mentoring, and service.

The Pepperdine Center For Faith And The Common Good

was established to provide a home for research in the arena of faith, religion, and human flourishing. Led by president Jim Gash (JD ’93) and Byron Johnson, Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences and director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, the center's initial focus will entail a series of rigorous studies on prisons and the role of faith-based programs in offender rehabilitation and recidivism reduction, as well as general issues in correctional reform.

640 volunteers served 20 organizations on Step Forward Day

THE THIRD ANNUAL PEPPERDINE WORSHIP SUMMIT—a powerful evening of worship and fellowship—drew nearly 3,000 attendees united in praise. The evening featured headliners Dante Bowe of Bethel Music and Maverick City Music and international speaker Christine Caine, along with Aaron Moses of Maverick City Music and music ministry United Voice Worship.

THE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY LAUNCHED THE EDWIN MEESE III INSTITUTE with a $10 million gift from alumni Chandra (’99, JD ’02) and Adam (’99) Melton. The institute will serve as a center for scholarship, teaching, and events focused on the importance of faith in shaping moral public leaders and ethical public policy.

#26

Seaver College ranked in the top 30 for “Best Undergraduate Teaching” in the nation.

THEMA BRYANT-DAVIS (MDIV ’16)

, professor of psychology at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, was elected the 2023 president of the American Psychological Association. As president of the organization, the largest scientific and professional organization in the United States with more than 121,000 members, Bryant-Davis will chair both its board of directors and its council of representatives.

PEPPERDINE GIVES, the University’s annual giving day, raised more than $1 million. The event kicked off at midnight on Wednesday, October 19, with more than 3,000 Waves giving to a Pepperdine school, program, or passion of their choice. The community celebrated throughout the day with festivities across Pepperdine’s four campuses that featured games, giveaways, phone-a-thons, and opportunities to come together with the shared purpose of advancing University initiatives.

PEPPERDINE

Hosted The Southern California Conference For

UNDERGRADUATE

RESEARCH (SCCUR)

at the Malibu campus, giving more than 600 undergraduate students from around the world the invaluable opportunity to present their scholarly work in a professional setting. More than 1,500 attendees converged to view the presentations, 52 of which were given by Seaver College students. The event also featured a keynote address from astronaut José Hernández and other activities centered around the theme of “inspiration.”

The

PRESIDENT'S

Speaker Series

welcomed an esteemed group of thought leaders throughout the year who examined a variety of topics related to the pressing issues of our time. In February, authors Will Ford III and Matt Lockett discussed their book, The Dream King: How the Dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. Is Being Fulfilled to Heal Racism in America. In March, Byron Johnson, Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor University, led a discussion on the impact of faith on human flourishing. In September, Jonathan Haidt, author and professor of ethical leadership at the New York University Stern School of Business, led a discussion on the topic of free speech in the academy.

$1.2 billion

The University’s FY22 endowment funds (unaudited)

97.5% 10-year total endowment growth

$1.7 billion

Value of FY22 net assets maintained by the University

Art Historian And Curator Andrea Gyorody

was named the director of the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art in August 2022. Gyorody brings more than a decade of expertise in 20th- and 21st-century European and American art to the Weisman Museum. She curated the summer 2022 exhibition Gwynn Murrill: Animal Nature, and she partnered with Bridge Projects in the recent restaging of their exhibition To Bough and To Bend at the Weisman. Gyorody is also overseeing the speaker series Thought Partners featuring conversations about art and religion, which began in August, and is organizing the first West Coast solo exhibition of paintings by Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson for fall 2023.

Pepperdine Began Enhanced Organic Waste Collection

SERVICES on the Malibu campus in partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Such services allow community members to participate in diverting their food waste to organic waste disposal, which is hauled away by Waste Management. While the University has already been disposing of its pre-consumer food waste and landscaping trimmings with its waste hauling partner, enhanced organic waste collection services will allow community members to now participate in diverting their food waste to organic waste disposal.

PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY WAS AWARDED THE DIVISION I-AAA ATHLETICS DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION’S ALL-SPORTS TROPHY, recognizing the Waves’ overall success throughout the last academic year and its seasons. This is the fourth time in department history that Pepperdine has received the first-place All-Sports Trophy. The Waves earned points in six sports—men’s golf, women’s tennis, women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s volleyball, and women’s golf.

A NEW RELIGIOUS LIBERTY CLINIC was established In January 2022 as part of the Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics at the Caruso School of Law. The clinic was created in connection with a transformational gift from the Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation and explores enduring questions related to how civil governments treat the religious beliefs, expressions, and institutions of their citizens and residents. In the clinic’s first semester, clinic leaders and Caruso Law students filed amicus briefs in four cases, including one heard by the US Supreme Court.

Notable Grants

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

$2M for international STEM learning

LILLY ENDOWMENT INC.

$1M for the Compelling Preaching Initiative

AMERICORPS

$1M for the Foster Grandparent Program

BON APPÉTIT Management

Company began its service as the University’s dining service provider at the opening of the fiscal year. Bon Appétit, which incorporates a simple kitchen philosophy focused on cooking from scratch using locally produced, seasonal ingredients, ushered in a new era of dining with a renewed focus on Pepperdine’s values of fellowship and joy over shared meals. The restaurant company succeeded Sodexo, which partnered with Pepperdine for more than four decades providing exceptional hospitality services.

LUXURY RECALIBRATED, the Graziadio School's first luxury-focused symposium was held in September. The event featured luxury brand experts sharing their insights on market trends, forecasts, and themes in the industry, such as sustainability and emerging technologies.

The Pepperdine Community Gathered

for special events to commemorate the anniversary of the Borderline Shooting, where 12 people, including one of Pepperdine’s own, Alaina Housley, were killed, and the historic Woolsey Fire, which ignited just hours after the shooting and devastated the Ventura and Los Angeles County communities. The events recognized the fourth anniversary of the tragedies as students, faculty, staff, and alumni commemorated the events and honored the community that continues to support one another through great loss.

JONATHAN WINDER (’08)

was announced as head coach of the men’s volleyball team. Winder is a National Collegiate Athletic Association champion and a former national player of the year for Pepperdine. He brings more than eight years of coaching experience from his time as volleyball head coach at California State University, Fresno, and as an assistant coach and head coach at the University of Washington.

A $1 MILLION ENDOWMENT GIFT to the School of Public Policy (SPP) from SPP Board of Advisors chair Joseph Czyzyk and his wife, Farima, will support the school’s highly regarded summer program in Washington, DC, which will be renamed the Joseph and Farima Czyzyk DC Scholars Program. The annual summer scholars program explores the role of faith in shaping domestic and foreign policy and the foundational philosophies of education policy.

91% Graduation success rate for student-athletes, higher than national Division I and II averages