Jessica Biber
Staff Writer
Picture Pepperdine University. What do you see? The library or the cross tower? Students studying or students in a prayer circle? Does the spiritual life remain in the Church of Christ tradition or are there influences from various denominations? These are some questions the Pepperdine Spiritual Life Committee hopes to answer this year.
The Spiritual Life Committee is a team of faculty President Benton appoints at the beginning of each school year. Committee members meet once a month and represent various academic divisions of Pepperdine University.
The team takes an interest in the spiritual life at Pepperdine and oversees convocation. According to the Pepperdine University website, the Spiritual Life Committee is responsible for “planning faith based events, uniting the student body at large.”
Each year the committee employs a different approach to accomplish these goals.
This year’s chair, Professor Lincoln Hanks, decided to promote discussion among faculty and administration about spiritual life at Pepperdine. “I compiled questions and gave them to my committee,” Hanks said. He wanted the questions to serve as a foundation for his team so members could gain feedback from their divisions “in their own style and fashion.”
Some questions address the prominence of Pepperdine University’s Church of Christ affiliation. Others tackle the topic of scholarship monies, and how much money should be given to which denominations, taking into account the school-wide survey from 2005 that shows 20 percent of students are from a Church of Christ background. Some questions ask how much religious affiliation should be a part of the employment process for prospective faculty. There is an overall examination of the vitality of Pepperdine’s spiritual life and the responsibility of the University to foster such an environment.
Faculty responses to these questions will remain confidential. But Hanks hopes they will promote dialogue about faith at Pepperdine.
So far, the process is in the beginning stages. After all faculty members reply, the committee members will discuss the beliefs of their specific divisions. Several other administration members, such as Provost Darryl Tippens, will speak to the committee and offer expertise about the subject.
The committee members hope their discussions will point out areas that are working well and areas that are not in the domain of spiritual life at Pepperdine University.
If certain areas need more or less funding, the committee will make requests to the administration.
Over the years, the involvement of dedicated faculty members is what has strengthened the spiritual environment of Pepperdine. “I graduated in 1994, and I’ve seen on the part of the faculty and the administration and the students a huge shift,” said Executive Assistant Stephanie Cupp for the Center for Faith and Learning. “The Provost made spiritual life his main focus. Richard Hughes started the Center for Faith and Learning and went after the Lilly Endowment Grant. D’Esta love came as chaplain. There are key people that have really made the spiritual life their focus.”
For some students, knowing a committee exists is a great reassurance.
“I have gotten involved through University Ministry and Club Convo,” said freshman JoAnne Baldwin. “But I think it’s a great idea to have a committee for this topic. I think that one of the most important things is community. If this committee provides another arena for kids to get together and have a spiritual community, that would be a great thing.”
The Graphic will publish the committee’s findings as soon as the data is collected and released. Until then, faculty and administration remain an integral part of the shaping of spiritual life at Pepperdine.
12-02-2006