Pepperdine University

10/14/2026

Today's the day! celebrates everything that makes our community special: our faculty, staff, alumni, programs, campuses—and, most importantly, our students 🧡

Join us: givingday.pepperdine.edu

10/13/2026

Rising to her 4:50 AM alarm was how Katie Gavin Goldberg (’21, MS ’22), alumna of Pepperdine’s beach volleyball program, would often begin her mornings. Stepping outside her residence hall, Gavin would follow a pathway blanketed by coastal mist to Pepperdine University’s weight room.

Rigorous weight training and cardio at a time before most of Malibu was awake was how Gavin prepared for collegiate beach volleyball. Such drive remains reflective of Gavin’s character today.

Since earning two college diplomas—the former from Seaver College and the latter from the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School—Gavin has moved from the gritty sands of volleyball games to closing multimillion dollar deals in commercial investment sales. She is confident that her career as a student-athlete prepared her for a successfully launched professional life.

“Working for something greater than myself is the number one thing that woke me up in the morning,” says Gavin. “The whole reason I am the person I am today is because of playing beach volleyball at Pepperdine. It taught me how to be a part of a team. I learned to work toward something beyond myself.”

Read the full story: https://bit.ly/4B5X5eW

10/08/2026

10/02/2026

Karin Shaw—Pepperdine’s Vice Chancellor for Global Engagement and Development—believes a fundamental truth: “God has gifted each one of us with unique strengths, and the world needs what only you have.”

Growing up on a farm in the German countryside, Karin didn’t travel until her twenties. Stepping out of her comfort zone into a new culture didn't just expand her worldview; it unlocked her faith, her confidence, and her purpose.

Today, she’s dedicated to giving Pepperdine students that exact same gift: seeing the world through the lens of others, building cultural humility, and stepping into the doors of opportunity God opens along the way.

10/01/2026

For Pepperdine alumna and professional painter Alison Rash (’01, MA ’05), art has become a practice of resilience.

After being diagnosed with stage IIb breast cancer at age 34 and later receiving a stage IV diagnosis, Rash’s understanding of the future changed. Through 12 years of living with cancer, she has continued to paint, finding in the creative process a way to embrace uncertainty, pursue beauty, and transform hardship into something meaningful.

Her abstract paintings reflect that journey. Rather than following a predetermined plan, each brushstroke responds to the one before it, much like life itself.

This October, Pepperdine will honor Rash with the Wave of Resilience Award during Waves Weekend, recognizing the courage, faith, creativity, and community that have shaped her journey. Her artwork will also be featured in the Alumni Art Showcase alongside works by fellow Pepperdine alumni artists.

“I never want to become embittered, and my artistic practice allows me to stay vibrant,” Rash says.

Read Alison’s story and learn more about her work and the role art has played in her journey: https://bit.ly/4iYDFCf

In recognition of Rash's profound example of resilience while facing breast cancer, Pepperdine University will present her with the Wave of Resilience Award during Waves Weekend, an annual celebration for the entire University community, from October 9 ...

09/29/2026

When Kenyan marathoner Sebastian Sawe became the first person to break the two-hour barrier in a competitive marathon at the 2026 London Marathon, Pepperdine alumna Melanie Menter (’17) knew what was possible.

As an athlete science and performance specialist for Adidas, Menter has spent years working with Sawe and other elite athletes to help optimize their performance through data, experimentation, engineering, and collaboration.

Her journey to the Adidas Running Innovation team began at Pepperdine, where she discovered that her interests in athletics and science could become a career. Through three international programs, a sports medicine degree, a computer science minor, and hands-on research with faculty, Menter developed the skills and global perspective to pursue her dream.

Today, she works around the world helping athletes push the limits of human performance—and was there to witness one of those limits fall in London.

Read Melanie’s story and discover how her Pepperdine experience helped turn a passion for sports into a global career: https://bit.ly/3V9YBfz

09/25/2026

Thousands of college students from across Southern California gathered at Pepperdine this week for Unite LA, an evening of worship, testimony, and community centered on Jesus Christ.

Presented by Pepperdine’s Student-Led Ministries, the gathering featured worship from UPPERROOM and messages from Madi Prewett Troutt, Grant Troutt, and UniteUS founder Tonya Prewett. Students were invited to reflect on their faith, purpose, and relationship with Christ.

The evening continued beyond Firestone Fieldhouse as 19 students were baptized at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool, surrounded by friends and fellow students.

We’re grateful for the students, churches, speakers, worship leaders, and volunteers who came together for a meaningful night of faith and fellowship at Pepperdine.

Read more about the event: https://bit.ly/4xNGpWS

09/23/2026

How can we develop and use artificial intelligence in ways that advance the human condition?

On September 25–26, Pepperdine will bring together leading AI researchers, practitioners, corporate executives, and global faith leaders for the 6th annual Human-Centered AI Conference and inaugural Global Summit on Faith in AI.

Together, participants will explore the possibilities of AI while considering the ethical, moral, and human questions surrounding one of the world’s most transformative technologies.

The two-day event will feature leading voices from academia, industry, and faith, including Pepperdine’s first Rhodes Scholar Sean Wu and fellow alumni working in AI who are returning to Malibu to share how their Pepperdine education prepared them to lead in the field.

Join us in Malibu for meaningful conversations about technology, humanity, faith, and the future.

Register and learn more: https://bit.ly/4rnDulX

09/22/2026

Pepperdine University ascended four spots in the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings of the nation’s “Best National Universities.” For the 2026–27 cycle, Pepperdine is specifically ranked 80 (tied) out of 427 institutions of higher education—a sign of positive forward progress in an era of new rankings metrics and college analytics.

“At Pepperdine, we are committed to not just maintaining our standard of academic excellence, but furthering it,” says Lee Kats, the dean of Seaver College. “The latest U.S. News rankings illustrate our dedication to providing students with a transformative education—one that challenges them to grow as holistic people of faith, as critical thinkers, and as innovative problem solvers."

In recent years, U.S. News has been altering its ranking metrics, adding and removing categories in its overall evaluation of the nation’s universities. This process continued in 2026, as the publication again revised its ranking system to include an “Earning by Major” category, which analyzes alumni career outcomes of each institution’s individual fields of study.

The latest rankings also recognize Pepperdine across several areas that reflect the University’s distinctive approach to education:

• No. 1 Protestant Christian college
• No. 5 R2 university
• No. 12 International Program
• No. 40 for undergraduate teaching
• No. 44 Top Private College
• No. 45 for Earning by Major

Read the full story:

Pepperdine University ascended four spots in the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings of the nation's Best National Universities. For the 2026–27 cycle, Pepperdine is specifically ranked 80 out of 436 institutions of higher education, a sign of po...

09/21/2026

The Pepperdine finance community came together for an unforgettable Coastal Capital Summit!

Founded in 2023 by Ulysse Saltiel (‘25) to bridge Pepperdine’s undergraduate and graduate programs with our alumni network, the Summit serves as an annual gathering for Pepperdine students, faculty, and alumni to engage in high-level dialogue on economics, financial markets, and the future of the industry.

We are deeply grateful to our distinguished keynote speakers for generously sharing their wisdom, real-world experience, and leadership with our students:

• Megan Caywood (’12) | Founder, Caywood

• Jakob Diepenbrock | Founder, Discipulus Ventures

• Steve Hufford | Head of Investment Banking, Raymond James

• Alton McDowell | Global Head of Corporate Banking, Scotiabank

Thank you to our founders, alumni, and industry partners for continuing to invest in our students and advance the mission of the Pepperdine finance program.

09/21/2026

For Catherine Illingworth (’08), the lessons she encountered studying Dante at Pepperdine took on new meaning when her four-year-old son, George, was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease with no existing treatment.

As Illingworth navigated the uncertainty surrounding George’s diagnosis, the words and wisdom she encountered through Pepperdine’s Great Books program continued to shape her understanding of suffering, courage, faith, and purpose.

She ultimately stepped away from her academic career to launch Kylix Bio, a biotech company dedicated to accelerating promising treatments for rare pediatric diseases. After raising nearly $1 million in seven weeks through social media, Illingworth is working to move a gene therapy for CMT 4C into human trials, beginning with the treatment that could help her son.

Today, Illingworth credits her Pepperdine education and the mentorship of Distinguished Professor of Great Books Paul Contino with helping prepare her to turn a deeply personal challenge into a greater purpose.

Read Catherine’s story and discover how a life shaped by the written word is now helping shape a future for children with rare diseases: https://bit.ly/46BAdpK

09/21/2026

Each year on Founder’s Day, the Pepperdine community comes together to remember George Pepperdine and the vision that began with a single Western Auto store and grew into a university committed to purpose, service, and academic excellence.

During this year’s celebration, President Jim Gash shared the story of George Pepperdine’s humble beginnings and the faith and conviction that shaped his vision for the University.

As part of our Founder’s Day tradition, we also read George Pepperdine’s dedicatory address, reflecting on the words and purpose that continue to shape our community today.

Read the dedicatory address in the comments below.