ELISHA SOCH
Staff Writer
“It’s hard to put it in a way that doesn’t sound ultimately cheesy, but I believe deeply in personal growth.” These are the words of Loretta Long Hunnicutt, associate professor of history at Pepperdine University, who says she tries to leave students with “a better appreciation of the world around them.”
Since coming to Pepperdine in 2003, Hunnicutt has worked hard to make that happen.
In addition to her work as a professor in the undergraduate program at Pepperdine, Hunnicutt is also the director of the graduate program in history.
Hunnicutt resides in Thousand Oaks with her husband Dwayne and her four-month-old daughter Alyssa. She is still on maternity leave from normal work and is only teaching one class this semester, the Social and Intellectual History of the U.S.
“She’s able to make her class seem relevant to me even though I’m not a history major,” said senior Matthew McAuley, a political science major who is taking Hunnicutt’s history class as a G.E. He said that the class has given him an appreciation for the different to look at history.
Hunnicutt received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Pepperdine. She worked her way through the undergraduate history course requirements in three years, receiving her B.A. in history from Seaver College in 1992 at the age of 21. She earned her M.A. in history in 1994. Hunnicutt then continued to pursue education at Georgetown University, where she graduated with a Ph.D. in American history in 1993. Hunnicutt was just 27 years old.
“She worked really, really hard,” said Judy Long, Hunnicutt’s mother, in a phone interview. Long said watching Hunnicutt receive her Ph.D. was one of her proudest moments.
After graduation, Hunnicutt taught at Abilene Christian University for four years. She returned to Pepperdine at the invitation of Seaver Dean David Baird, one of her former teachers, when a job opportunity in woman’s history opened up.
Hunnicutt chose to focus on woman’s history in her junior year at Pepperdine when she had to write a 20-page paper in one of her classes. She says she didn’t know what to write on until Baird encouraged her to write about a woman’s role in history.
Hunnicutt agreed with some skepticism. “I’d always associated woman’s history with man-bashing,” she recalled.
Instead, the paper gave birth to a life-long interest in the subject. Hunnicutt is currently writing a book covering the history of women’s missionary societies.
“It’s a really big project,” she says of the book, which has been in progress for more than seven years. It’s a tough addition to an already full workload of teaching, mothering and directing the graduate program.
Hunnicutt has worked with the graduate program for two years and sees her success there as one of her top achievements at Pepperdine University. Because she went through the same program herself, Hunnicutt is well aware of the challenges involved. In the hopes of helping students overcome those challenges, she created a handbook to aid students in their pursuit of an M.A. in history at Pepperdine.
The graduate program is a small program, with only four to five students passing through each year. However, Hunnicutt said she likes this because it allows for a lot of one-on-one time with her students.
“She has taken an active role in teaching and administering the history graduate program,” said Constance Fulmer, the Blanche E. Seaver Chair of English Literature. “She has been a faithful teacher and a role model.”
Hunnicutt’s kind attitude and dedication shine through in her personal life as well. Soon after taking a teaching position at Pepperdine University, she met her now-husband Dwayne Hunnicutt at Conejo Valley Church of Christ.
“They started seeing each other and it blossomed into a wonderful marriage,” said Long. The couple was married almost four years ago in the Pepperdine Chapel.
“She and her husband really care about other people,” said Stacy Stivers, a Seaver college freshman who met the Hunnicutts at Conejo Valley Church.
The couple’s first child, Alyssa, was born four months ago.
“We love it,” said Hunnicutt about parenting. She said that she hopes to have more children eventually.
This ambitious professor of history has set other goals for herself as well. Hunnicutt said that she eventually hopes to complete her research projects and do some writing. She also hopes to improve her teaching skills.
“You can never stop learning to be a better teacher,” Hunnicutt said.
04-16-2007