Founder and Benefactor

Born in Connecticut in 1919, George L. Graziadio Jr. was the grandson of immigrants. His maternal grandparents hailed from Ireland and worked in the woolen mills of the Connecticut Valley. Graziadio’s paternal grandparents came from Italy and found work in New York as fruit peddlers before settling in Manchester, Conn., to run a small grocery store that the family lived above.

From a young age, Graziadio’s parents emphasized the importance of helping others. This was a sacrifice, yet valuable lesson at the time. The nation was in the throes of the Great Depression, and most were in need. The family eventually got through these hard times, as so many others did. The Graziadios did it by raising chickens. His father, George Sr., soon found work in real estate, insurance and even auctioneering, a position George Jr. was happy to help his father with any way he could.

In the summer of 1939, Graziadio bought an old Model-A Ford for $68 and traveled with a friend to California. Their plan was to return to Connecticut in time to start school in the fall. Soon after they arrived in California, however, Graziadio had to undergo an emergency appendectomy. He had only $20 in his pocket when he entered the hospital. Upon his release, he owed $750 in medical bills. Instead of asking his parents for help, Graziadio decided to get a job and work off his debt.

Graziadio was still working full time in California when World War II began two years later. He applied for the Air Force, but failed the physical due to poor depth perception. Instead of letting this stop him, he joined the Flight Test Division of North American Aviation, which built the Mustang Fighter Aircraft and the B-25 Bomber. At the same time, he joined the Active 20-30 Club, the American arm of an international group known as the World Council of Young Men’s Service Clubs. Graziadio ultimately became president of the international organization. It was during his time with the World Council that he learned how a company should run. Through his position, Graziadio focused on raising money, involving the public in his endeavor and ultimately impacting the community at large in the process. It was after this early success that Graziadio coined one of the phrases he would later become known for: “Today, not tomorrow.”

Graziadio obtained a real estate license after the war and soon rose from salesman to real estate developer. He started small. At first, he built a house. Then he built a duplex before moving onto apartment complexes and commercial buildings. In 1958, he formed his partnership with George Eltinge, which lasted 36 years. The “Two Georges,” as they became known, created a formidable business alliance that developed more than 100 shopping centers in 21 states.

The duo opened their first financial institution in 1962 after growing frustrated with their own bank. The Two Georges sought to build a better “business bank” for the Los Angeles business community with only $1.25 million in private investment funds. This bank, which was named Imperial Bank in 1968, ballooned to $8 billion in assets and $600 million in capital and reserves solely through internal growth and without raising additional capital. Imperial Bank merged with Comerica, the country’s largest business bank, in November 2000. The transaction was valued at more than $1.2 billion.

In addition to being a tireless entrepreneur, banker and community sponsor, Graziadio was also a generous benefactor to many worthy endeavors. These included the endowment of the Graziadio Business School at Pepperdine.

In April 2002, Graziadio received the prestigious Horatio Alger Award in Washington, D.C., an honor that’s been bestowed on other great Americans like President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Senator Robert Dole and Oprah Winfrey. He has also received many other honors, including the Ellis Island Medal of Freedom, the Grande Ufficiale Award in the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy, the Americanism Award, the Good Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America; the Eddy Award from the Los Angeles Economic Development Agency, the President’s “E” Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Albert Schweitzer Leadership Award from the Hugh O’Brian Youth Foundation, just to name a few.

Graziadio also received recognition from the Provence of Puglia, Italy, the Newcomen Society, Pepperdine University, the B’nai B’rith Foundation, the National Italian American Foundation, the Center for the Partially Sighted, the Sons of Italy of America, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the House Ear Institute. He held a Doctor of Humane Letters from Chapman University and a Doctor of Laws Degree from Pepperdine University.

George L. Graziadio Jr. was more than a visionary business leader and philanthropist, however. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and tireless promoter for the welfare of others, especially the less fortunate. Graziadio often said, “The money you earn feeds your family, the money you give away feeds your soul.” He loved his family and his many friends, and was loved by them in return. This remarkable entrepreneur endowed the Pepperdine business school in 1996 and his legacy of giving back continues to positively impact the Graziadio community. To acknowledge his remarkable generosity, the school was named in his honor.

It is nothing unusual that the economic expansion of the early 20th century made many American entrepreneurs wealthy. When wealth and success came to George Pepperdine, an alumnus of Parsons Business College in Kansas, it came to man of deep Christian faith and a lifelong member of Churches of Christ.

In 1909 Pepperdine, then 23 years old and a newlywed, founded Western Auto Supply Company, a specialty retail chain of stores that supplied automobile parts and accessories, with an initial investment of five dollars. Serving a nation just beginning its love affair with the automobile, Western Auto grew at an exponential rate and eventually operated approximately 1,200 stores across the United States.

Pepperdine had always exercised a spirit of generosity and charity, and was a man who understood himself as a steward and caretaker of the assets that God had entrusted to him. That sense of stewardship matured into a call of destiny when he observed the alarming rate at which Christian young men and women lost interest in their faith after going on to higher education. He determined that he would dedicate his fortune to creating and endowing a college that would provide the best education possible, managed by administrators and taught by professors who would support students in their Christian belief.

On September 21, 1937 (commemorated annually as Founder's Day) George Pepperdine College was opened and dedicated, a mere seven months after Pepperdine had decided to go ahead with construction in February. In November of that same year, Pepperdine addressed the students and first set out what continues to guide Pepperdine University's educational philosophy and policy to this day:

There are many good colleges and universities which can give you standard academic training, but if our school does not give you more than that, it really has no reason to exist. The great difference between this college and other colleges is that we are endeavoring to place adequate emphasis and greater stress upon religious teaching and Christian character. We want to present to you, in teaching and example, the Christian way of life. We do not compel you to accept it. You are free to make your own choice, but we want you to know what it is.

Pepperdine remained thoroughly involved with the college for the rest of his life, frequently being seen on campus with Mrs. Pepperdine, attending chapel, board meetings, school functions, and sporting events. He narrated his life story and his purposes for the college in his biography Faith is My Fortune (1959). George Pepperdine died on July 31, 1962, his life an embodiment of Matthew 10:8, which has become the University's motto: Freely ye received, freely give.

George Pepperdine College
On September 21, 1937, the new campus of George Pepperdine College hosted 2,000 attendees gathered to witness the opening of the school. Speakers that day included California governor Frank Merriam, Los Angeles mayor Frank L. Shaw, the college's first president Batsell Baxter, and founder George Pepperdine. Among the crowd were the college's first students, 167 young men and women from 22 states and two foreign countries. Mr. Pepperdine clearly stated his intentions for the school on that day: "Our college is dedicated to a twofold objective: First, academic training in the liberal arts . . . Secondly, we are especially dedicated to a greater goal—that of building in the student a Christ-like life, a love for the church, and a passion for the souls of mankind."

The Los Angeles Campus
The campus was located in the Vermont Knolls area of Los Angeles, a few miles south of downtown; formerly it had been a 34-acre estate with an 18-room mansion that had now been converted into the president's residence. Four buildings had quickly risen that year: Baxter Hall, the men's dormitory; Marilyn Hall, the women's residence; an administration building housing classrooms, offices, a library, and an auditorium; and a dining hall. The campus architecture was built in the Streamline Moderne style, and all of the new buildings were painted a light blue which was later marketed in Los Angeles paint stores as "Pepperdine Blue."

Early Traditions
Pepperdine's school colors were adopted in 1937 after students voted to approve President Baxter's suggestion of blue and orange; blue representing the Pacific Ocean, and orange representing California. Baxter also recommended "Waves" as the name for Pepperdine athletic teams to differentiate from other schools' penchant for animal names. Even though the school was then miles from the ocean, it found approval and has characterized Pepperdine athletics ever since. During that first year, two students proposed Graphic as the name for the school newspaper as it contained the initials of George Pepperdine College (GPC), a name also continuing to this day.
In 1937, tuition was low relative to other schools, thanks to Mr. Pepperdine's initial endowment, with room, board, tuition, and fees amounting to $420. Those who today would be called "commuter" students were charged $135 for the year. By contrast, a hamburger and soft drink in the cafeteria cost 20 cents, a breakfast of eggs, hotcakes, and coffee, 30 cents.

A Good Start
The Baxter presidency was short by design, lasting only two years until his resignation in June 1939, but his brief tenure which took advantage of his experience in presiding over two other Christian colleges, David Lipscomb College and Abilene Christian College, was characterized by creating sound academic and administrative foundations and thoughtful traditions. During the college's first year of operation, only seven months after opening, Pepperdine received full accreditation from the Northwest Association, the regional accrediting authority. Baxter and dean Hugh Tiner, who succeeded Baxter as president, recruited a faculty of 22, of whom three held doctorates. And on June 6, 1938, after one year of operation, Pepperdine celebrated its first commencement awarding diplomas to a graduating class of four.
In Fall 1944, the college began offering its first graduate degree, the master of arts in religion. Even before the offering of the MA degree, Pepperdine had already served as a training ground for persons entering the ministry. Sixty young ministers were listed as enrollees in March 1944, and several alumni entered the foreign mission field following WWII.

Post-WWII Expansion
In 1944, the 78th Congress passed the G.I. Bill subsidizing higher education and job training for returning WWII veterans, producing a profound, expansionary effect on higher education across America, in which Pepperdine College shared. Enrollments climbed from 824 enrolled in 1946, peaking at 1,830 in 1949. The following military conflict in Korea (which began in 1950) also affected American college male enrollment patterns positively due to the provision of college deferments in selective service. During this period the faculty grew from 67 (regular and adjunct) in 1946 to 116 in 1947. Number of degrees awarded annually at this time also swelled, with majors in business and education-psychology in the lead, topping out at 406 in 1950, eventually declining and stabilizing to approximately 200 a year through the mid-50s.

President Tiner went on medical leave early in 1957 and shortly thereafter resigned. That July, educator and pastor M. Norvel Young, who had formerly served the college as a history professor from 1938 to 1941, was appointed third Pepperdine president. Young, in addition to an agenda to raise the academic prestige of the college, was an exceptionally gifted networker and fundraiser during whose tenure was built an infrastructure of support that would enable the growing school to move toward its developing concept of being a multi-school university.

In the years from 1957 to 1966, enrollment at the college increased from 1,084 to 1,502. In 1958 the college began an extension program with course offerings at off-site centers which ranged geographically from North Carolina to the Philippines and Okinawa. This program's flexible scheduling was designed to allow military personnel to complete academic degrees heretofore impossible. Another Pepperdine innovation at this time was to establish a year-in-Europe program for upper division students in 1963. Thirty-six students were sent to the university in Heidelberg, Germany, in September of that year, under the supervision of then dean of graduate studies Howard A. White who would become Pepperdine's fifth president.

Growing Pains – Malibu Beckons
As the Los Angeles program continued to grow, the college proceeded to expand the campus by acquiring neighboring or adjacent properties to build out, but this process proved to be problematic and cost prohibitive, and the idea of operating in multiple campuses was explored and a committee was formed to investigate possible locations in Southern California. In October 1968, the college received a remarkable donation of 138 acres of undeveloped ranch land in Malibu, given by Merritt H. Adamson, Sylvia Rindge Adamson Neville, and Rhoda-May Adamson Dallas, for the construction of a new campus. Pepperdine announced its expansion plans at its celebrated "Birth of a College" dinner event on February 9, 1970, headlined by then Governor Ronald Reagan, and subsequently dedicated the Malibu property on May 23. Then Pepperdine vice president William S. Banowsky (later to succeed President Young in 1971) was installed as chancellor of the infant Malibu Campus.

The Multi-Campus Experiment
In 1969 Pepperdine College reorganized the department of business into its separate School of Business and it accepted an offer to acquire the Orange University College of Law. It had been the first law school located in Orange County, and was operating as a for-profit night school in Santa Ana. Pepperdine College also had future plans to develop the department of education into a separate professional school (becoming so in 1971), and the trustees repurposed the Pepperdine organization and announced it as Pepperdine University on January 1, 1971. In October of that same year, the University organization was ultimately refined into two colleges of letters, arts, and sciences one located at the Los Angeles Campus and the other at the Malibu Campus, the School of Law in Orange County, and the School of Continuing Education, the Business School, the School of Education, and the Graduate School all at the Los Angeles Campus.

The First Wave at Malibu
The first students of the Malibu Campus entered school on September 6, 1972. Of that entering class of 867 were 475 freshmen, the largest beginning class at Pepperdine up until that time. Prior to their arrival, the construction, completion, and dedication of the Malibu campus buildings had proceeded in rapid succession, just in time for the start of school. The next year, 1973, saw the completion of two signature Malibu landmarks, Phillips Theme Tower and Stauffer Chapel.

At the Malibu Campus commencement ceremony on December 15, 1974, President William Banowsky announced that the liberal arts college at the Malibu Campus would be named the Frank R. Seaver College of Letters, Arts, and Science, after the memory of the husband of Blanche Ebert Seaver, the Malibu Campus' principal benefactor.

The Los Angeles Era Concludes
Proceeding through the 1970s on the Los Angeles Campus James R. Wilburn (current dean of the School of Public Policy) assumed the post of provost, Donald Sime became dean of the Business School, and Olaf Tegner became dean of the School of Education. In 1976 the School of Education became the home of the University's first doctoral program offering the Ed.D. During this time, the University attempted to maintain an active undergraduate educational program and campus life on the Los Angeles Campus, but enrollment nevertheless declined and many programs had been dropped by 1976. The downward trend was inevitable and the Los Angeles college of letters, arts, and sciences (reorganized as the School of Professional Studies) was closed down after the 1980-1981 school year. The Los Angeles Campus was sold in part for housing development but the bulk of the property today serves sacred purposes as the campus of the Crenshaw Christian Center church. The Business School and the School of Education were relocated to a business park in West Los Angeles which was named Pepperdine University Plaza.

Seaver College Ascendant – Recommitting to First Causes
In the 1970s a spirit of optimism infused the Seaver College community as it received an increasing number of student applications, the number of faculty holding doctorates had risen to 85 percent, and the Graphic garnered several statewide awards. One unique, but very prominent source of national publicity began in 1976 when Seaver College became the filming location of the television show Battle of the Network Stars. It was estimated that 40 million viewers tuned in regularly and witnessed the beautiful seaside campus.
Shortly after Seaver College was dedicated, the trustees approved the relocation of the School of Law to the Malibu campus and groundbreaking began on May 22, 1976, with a ceremony addressed by U.S. Supreme Court associate justice Harry Blackmun. By August 1979, the three-story law center, named for benefactor Odell McConnell, was completed and occupied.

With the plant relocations to Malibu and West Los Angeles, Pepperdine University had solved its institutional problem of securing the physical space to fully realize its growth, and the principal project which faced fifth president Howard A. White, who succeeded Banowsky in 1978, was to begin securing the means for the University to commence building out to suit its academic purposes. White was a particularly astute recruiter and assembled an impressive team of academics, professional administrators, and fundraisers to accomplish this task. It was under the White presidency that the University embarked on its first nine-figure capital campaign, the "Wave of Excellence" campaign. The Wave of Excellence ultimately raised $137.8 million (far exceeding its $100 million goal) and its most visible benefit to the University was the construction of the five-story Charles B. Thornton Administration Center, the first building visitors encounter when entering the campus from the main gate.

For a University to seriously ask itself what and how to build, and to recruit the generosity of others to share in that program, as it did in this period, presupposes the existence of a well-articulated vision and a dream about the school's first principles. It is no mere coincidence that at this time President White deftly engaged the Pepperdine community in reconsidering its academic and spiritual purposes, which resulted in a formal reaffirmation of its connections to the Christian faith tradition and a succinct statement of its mission. In 1985 White effectively resigned from his appointment and worked with the Pepperdine regents (formerly trustees) in the year prior to eventually name successor David Davenport as sixth president of the University.

Advancing Professional Specializations and Internationalist Stirrings
In 1981 the Psychology Division from the Los Angeles Campus was merged into the School of Education now located at Pepperdine University Plaza, and one year later the school was renamed the Graduate School of Education and Psychology ("GSEP" as it is known for short in the Pepperdine community).

In 1986 several major academic changes occurred: GSEP made its first offering of the doctor of psychology (Psy.D.) degree; the Business School initiated a residential MBA program on the Malibu campus, and the School of Law inaugurated the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. Within Pepperdine's international programs, experimental London study abroad programs at Seaver and at the law school were proving successful, and the Florence summer study program for Seaver was gearing up for full-year operation in Fall 1987.

From Ivory Tower to "Network of Light"

During his 15-year tenure (1985-2000), President Davenport intentionally shifted the operational paradigm of how the University thought of itself, away from a traditional, hierarchical structure of administration, with a central "ivory tower" and subordinate silos of educational power and influence at each of the schools. Davenport often invoked the metaphor of knowledge as light, passed in all directions through an optical network both transparent and clear. This change in thinking evolved twofold into a collaborative management model wherein both outsiders and University administrators could provide input and feedback, and into the separation of schools for the purpose of allowing them to autonomously develop innovative programs to meet the ever-changing needs of students.

Between 1988 and 1990, GSEP added master's degree programs in educational technology, school business administration, and clinical psychology. In 1988 GSEP was the first of Pepperdine's schools to call a female dean, Dr. Nancy Magnusson Fagan. The Business School (SBM) added master's degrees in technology management and international business. During this period, Seaver College instituted a Great Books curriculum modeled after the University of Chicago's, and the Institute of Dispute Resolution began offering a postgraduate certificate (to be followed with an offering of a master of dispute resolution in 1995). As the programs of GSEP and SBM grew, so did the demand throughout the Southland, and graduate campus spaces were leased in Long Beach (1990) and Westlake Village (1995).

One of the most significant academic developments of the 1990s was the founding of a new graduate school, the School of Public Policy (SPP) offering the master of public policy degree. Designed to begin first as a freestanding institute of the University in 1996, the school was formally established and admitted students in Fall 1997. Small by comparison to its sisters to this day (total enrollment slightly exceeds 100), SPP offers the master of public policy degree and has developed into the most research-oriented school at the University.

The Malibu Build-out Continues
The build-out of the Malibu campus continued to flurry throughout the early to mid-1990s, seeing the completion of many construction projects including, the Cultural Arts Center, the Towers Residences, and the Howard A. White Student Recreation Center (the HAWC), as well as expansions to the School of Law, Payson Library, and Firestone Fieldhouse. Shortly after the completion of the tennis pavilion in May 1993, Pepperdine hosted the 1995 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Western Regional Championships.

Seaver College's school spirit soared in 1992 when then-junior Shannon Marketic was crowned Miss USA in February, the men's volleyball team (aka "The Malibu Roofing Company") took the NCAA Division I Championship in March, and the baseball team won the College World Series in June. The champion spirit revisited the school a few years later when both the men's golf and water polo teams claimed NCAA national titles in 1997.

Waves Overseas, a Growing Presence
At this time the University desired at least 50 percent of undergraduate students to participate in international education experiences by providing complete opportunity to do so, also encouraging postgraduates to study abroad. In 1990 the Prince's Gate London facility opened as the permanent home of the London program, and the Villa DiLoreto and Residenza Tagliaferri properties combined to form the Florence campus in 1995. Short-term programs were added in Madrid and Paris in 1993, and a year later, a Latin American program in Buenos Aires, Argentina, opened its doors to students. The School of Law expanded its London offerings from summer only to a year-round program. Seaver College added an undergraduate major in international business; and in addition to the master of international business established in 1989, the business school expanded the MBA with an international study track.

The University's growing internationalist tendencies were showcased in the cocurriculum as well. During the USSR's collapse in the early 1990s, SBM dean Jim Wilburn's many connections in Russia brought opportunities for him and his Pepperdine colleagues to consult and advise Russian political and business leaders in how to construct a free market economy. In addition to the delegations and panels led by Dean Wilburn, the University enjoyed many Russian cultural exchanges, hosting writers and thinkers throughout the decade. Wilburn left the business school deanship after the 1992-1993 school year and was succeeded by Otis Baskin during whose tenure the school proudly received its full name from benefactor and entrepreneur George L. Graziadio, Jr., in 1996.

Toward the Digital University
Striving toward the President Davenport's ideal of free and unfettered communication, effective actions were taken to digitize data systems at this time. The library card catalog was converted to a mainframe system in 1992; new dormitories were built with Ethernet connections; a 24-hour computer lab was designed for the HAWC; GSEP offered its first distance-learning degree; and the faculty began compiling their course databases on digital media to ease student access. When Davenport ended his tenure, the construction of the University's 21st-century data infrastructure and its inevitable progression toward wireless campuses was well underway.

Into the First Years of the 21st Century
When Andrew K. Benton was named the seventh president of Pepperdine University in 2000, he celebrated the successful $313 million conclusion to the University's second capital campaign, "Challenged to Lead," but he then issued five more challenges to meet: challenges to expand resources, enhance diversity, strengthen connection to heritage, create a sense of community, and emphasize scholarship and culture. The project of the University at the turn of the 21st century has thus been to strengthen these areas, proving to be no small task in the turbulent times of the century's first decade.

The fundraising successes of the Challenged to Lead campaign left the University equipped to continue the Malibu build-out. Work soon began to carve out the bluff on the campus' northwest sector to clear space for the construction of the Drescher Graduate Campus. This campus was completed in record time, and classrooms opened in August 2003, providing a home base for the School of Public Policy and the full-time, residential programs of GSEP and the Graziadio School. This campus boasts a full-service hotel and conference center (the Villa Graziadio Executive Center), as well as a library and data center. Significant additions to the lower campus included the Keck Science Center (2001) and the Center for Communication and Business (2002). Outside of Malibu, the headquarters of the Graziadio School and GSEP and their West L.A. academic programs relocated from Pepperdine Plaza in Culver City to new facilities in the Howard Hughes Center in West Los Angeles.

Growing into Its Own Reputation
During the 1990s Pepperdine regularly broke into 1st-tier and 1st-quartile rankings offered up in the media, such as U.S. News & World Report. By the early 2000s it had gained a fairly permanent berth among other highly ranked institutions. Coupled with its occasional appearances in the national sports championship spotlight (winning the NCAA Division I 2005 Men's Volleyball Championship and the Men's Tennis Championship) and its picture-perfect Malibu location, the University started to occupy a place in the national consciousness that it was ready to accept and shape for itself.
During the 2000s, several high-profile teachers, administrators, and practitioners at the top of their respective fields chose to bring their careers to Pepperdine, where they could cultivate authentic relationships with students and shelter and honor their faith. Recent Pepperdine students have been mentored by such minds as Edward Larson, Bruce Herschensohn, Christopher Parkening, and recent School of Law dean Ken Starr.

The University began providing students with more short-term encounters with leading scholars and thinkers through many new visiting professorships and distinguished lectures series toward the latter half of the decade. During this time, the University became a regular stop for several U.S. Supreme Court justices visiting as speakers and lecturers, including Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and chief justice John Roberts, as well as retired justice Sandra Day O'Connor. At other times noted California historian and author Victor David Hanson served as visiting professor at the School of Public Policy; Nobel Peace Prize-winner Muhammad Yunus addressed the University (he has also taken Pepperdine student interns); and the University has received inspiration and spiritual challenge from such leading lights in Christian thought as N. T. Wright, Martin Marty, Dallas Willard, and Os Guinness.

The early 21st century saw faculty encouraged to fully develop their areas of research expertise and pedagogical passion, allowing them to engage in the formation and development of research centers and institutes. The School of Law was especially active in this pursuit with the creation of the Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law; the Nootbaar Institute on Law, Religion, and Ethics; and the Wm. Byrne, Jr., Judicial Clerkship Institute. The Glazer Institute for Jewish Studies, the Pat Lucas Center for Teacher Preparation, the Center for Applied Research, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and the Institute for Entertainment, Media, and Culture, all recently formed, are sources of cocurricular education for students and faculty alike.

Another measure of University growth in academic reputation can be seen in the example of one particularly prominent competitive fellowship. The 2005 Annual Report noted as particularly exceptional that Pepperdine graduate Kari Filerman had been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study the Mexican banking system. Thereafter Pepperdine's number of Fulbright Scholars grew: two in 2006; five in 2008; five in 2009; and seven in 2010. The undergraduate climate created by Seaver College dean David Baird challenged students more and more to apply for prestigious fellowships, all the while ensuring students received proper support and preparation to succeed in their endeavors to be selected.

The Nimble Academy
The international emphasis in Pepperdine undergraduate curriculum continued to expand throughout the 2000s. A French culture program was introduced in Lyon, France, in 2003, and then relocated to permanent facilities in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2007. Asian study opportunities were in turn arranged: first in Japan, later in Hong Kong and Thailand, and currently with a permanent facility in Shanghai, China. Numerous other study abroad opportunities were created, allowing the international studies program to expand and contract around the shifting requirements of logistics and support in host countries.

The graduate professional programs in business, education, and psychology followed suit during this time, exhibiting their abilities to turn on a dime and change with the regional demands of the market. The Pasadena Graduate Campus opened for a time; the Irvine Graduate Campus opened and is still in existence; and the Long Beach campus briefly operated mid-decade. The University responded to the depressed 21st –century jobs market by developing several new graduate-level degrees for professionals updating their skill. In 2003 the School law offered the University's first master of laws (LLM) degree in dispute resolution. In 2007 the Graziadio School rolled out three master of science degrees in the disciplines of applied finance, global business, and management and leadership. Seaver College introduced the MFA in screen and television writing in 2009. In 2010 GSEP introduced MA degrees in school counseling and social entrepreneurship and change, and the Graziadio likewise brought out an MS in entrepreneurship.

A Pepperdine Postmodern Aesthetic: Beauty and Beautiful Living
The five challenges laid down by President Benton in 2000 were picked up in earnest, and in doing so the University readdressed what it meant to be a Christian school within the historical context of 9/11, natural catastrophes, public corporate malfeasance, and the Great Recession. The University responded by asserting hope and moral order while moving counterintuitively toward an institutional aesthetic to create beauty. Using order and serenity as a refuge for the mind and the soul drove many of the University's decisions to form fresh places on campus and establish new artistic endeavors to be sure.

In 2002 the Military Honor Garden was constructed in Stauffer Chapel plaza, followed in 2003 by Heroes Garden on the Drescher Graduate Campus, a lovely place to contemplate modern heroes like alumnus Tom Burnett, passenger on UAL Flight 93, who was called to confront suicide bombers—giving his own life to save countless others on September 11, 2001. In emotional contrast, the primary outdoor space on the Malibu campus was reimagined and dedicated as Mullin Town Square, a festive central piazza offering a focal point for community engagement and student life.

Mirroring the external changes with the internal, the University made an exerted effort to call its students, faculty, staff, and supporters to lead beautiful lives of service through curriculum taught and by administrators' leadership, urging all to utilize their resources and excellent education to assist and instruct those who have less. While sectors within the Pepperdine community have always been active in public service from the school's very beginning, within the latter half of the last decade the University has framed the role of higher education as the best means to call people to fulfill their greatest potential for creating lives of significance by applying their knowledge to human need.

Constantly Changing, Yet Unchanging
Many changes in school location, personnel, policy, and curriculum have come and gone over its eight decades, but today Pepperdine remains distinct and committed to its founder's belief that there must exist an alternative in American higher education that improves the intellect and brings the heart of the student under the influence of Christ. Each September on Founder's Day, the entire University community gathers to recall and renew the dedicatory address of George Pepperdine, in which he states the school's raison d'etre:

"I am endowing this institution to help young men and women to prepare for a life of usefulness in this competitive world and help them build a foundation of Christian character and faith which will survive the storms of life."

As long as young men and women continue to seek livelihood and spiritual calling in their lives, the mission of Pepperdine University will seek to provide both.