SHANNON KELLY
News Editor
The Pepperdine Board of Regents has appointed, as its newest member, a former senior vice president of the popular dating Web site, eHarmony.com. Alumna Marylyn M. Warren, wife of the company’s founder alumnus Dr. Neil Clark Warren, will sit on the advancement and public affairs committee of the university’s chief governing body.
“There are several things about Marylyn that I just love,” said President Andrew K. Benton. “She is a very kind and gentle woman, yet very accomplished, very involved in the community of faith and a very successful development officer in her own right.”
Warren’s professional experiences include serving 11 years as vice president for financial development at The Huntington Library where she raised $153,000,000 and acted as liaison to the Library’s Board of Trustees and Board of Overseers — skills that Benton says are invaluable for her position on the board.
Keith Hinkle, vice president for advancement and public affairs and chief development officer, echoed Benton’s sentiments. “We are just delighted to have someone with her background and experience on the committee that overseas fundraising,” he said. “We have a lot of great people on the committee, but she comes in with actual experience, which supplements and adds to the wealth of knowledge.”
Warren will sit on the advancement and public affairs committee, one of eight standing committees on which the regents serve. Its responsibilities include overseeing fundraising, assisting in the solicitation of gifts to the university, working to support and strengthen Pepperdine’s reputation and reviewing fundraising reports and how those funds are applied to the university.
Almost half of the regents are Pepperdine alumni — an attribute that Benton says is an important asset for the board.
“It’s good to be called back to our roots periodically and remember that it wasn’t always Malibu,” Benton said. “It’s good to keep us humble.”
Tim Phillips and Agustus Tagliaferri, also alumni, are new to the Board, but were elected in June, whereas Warren was elected in December.
Phillips graduated from Seaver in 1988 and later founded his own business, Phillips and Company Securities. He will serve on the advancement and public affairs committee alongside Warren and will also sit on the investments committee.
Tagliaferri, a Graziadio graduate, served on the University Board before he was appointed to the Board or Regents in June.
Glen Holden, a retired United States Ambassador and long-time Board of Regents member was, like Tagliaferri, a University Board member before he was elected to sit on the Board of Regents. He says he appreciates the board’s process of recruiting and electing new members.
“They do a lot of planning and looking for a certain kind of people who believe in certain things about Pepperdine that we feel are very special,” he said. “We try to find members who share those views.”
According to President Benton, 39 of the 40 Board of Regents seats are filled, but he says there is no rush to fill the last position. “I’d rather do it right that do it fast,” he said.
While they contribute professional knowledge and a “wealth of experience,” as Hinkle described, the Regents also share a common, immense appreciation for the university’s values and mission.
“They are people who really know Pepperdine,” Benton said.
02-22-2007
