MSOD Heritage
Founder's Message
"Like Lewis and Clark, the MSOD student will lead an expedition into unknown territory—the organization of the future and its service to mankind. My founding vision for the program was to help people discover themselves and pursue the practice of organization development. After 22 years of leadership in the field, the power for that vision is still clear."
Pat Williams
MSOD Founder
Our Mission
The Pepperdine University Master of Science in Organization Development (MSOD) program prepares leaders in the art and science of managing strategic change; inspires the OD profession to rigor and relevance; and in collaboration with its alumni, strives to be a positive force in the world. As part of the George L. Graziadio Business School, the MSOD program focuses on the role OD practitioners play in improving organization performance and realizing human potential.
The program's unique educational process integrates strategic leadership, change management, and personal and professional growth to create values-oriented change practitioners who address the critical competitive issues facing organizations and their members.
As the leader in OD education, we seek to be at the center of debate and conversation on the issues and advances that shape the future vitality of OD. The MSOD program accepts the responsibility to inspire the field toward rigor, relevance, and global citizenship.
More than 1,300 MSOD alumni distinguish themselves around the world by influencing values-based choices in organizations and by their contributions to the field. As principled advocates of stewardship, compassion, and responsibility, they generate economic and emotional prosperity for the individuals and organizations who are their clients, for the OD profession, and for society at large.
Our Values
We believe that the best practitioners of strategic change:
- are principled advocates of stewardship for each other, our environment, and society
- see change as valuable only in the context of a meaningful goal, be it personal, social, or economic
- infuse change with a concern for organization productivity, quality, and learning
- know that a full life requires centeredness developed through intellectual, social, spiritual, and emotional sophistication
- pursue authenticity, compassion, moral courage, and integrity through continuous discovery of self
- take responsibility for their own learning and for contributing to the learning of others
- leverage mixed learning modalities to create powerful insights and superior results