JESSICA BEERS
Staff Writer
When Steven Lemley first spotted his future wife across a crowded library it was love at first sight. “She had a book on reserve and I wanted it so I asked her how long she planned on having it for,” Lemley said. “She said to me that she would keep it until she was through. I knew I liked her immediately.” For Lemley, all that was left was mustering up the courage to ask her out. But there was one other obstacle, Emily Lemley quickly adds, “He had to break up with his girlfriend first.” He quickly responds, while turning a shade of red, “Yes, that’s right.”
Lemley grew up in the New Mexican countryside, in camp adjacent to a refinery where his father worked as superintendent in the small town of Bloomfield. Lemley describes Bloomfield as unlike anything he’s ever experienced since. “I was able to develop a great preparation for life there as there was a high degree of diversity, I also developed a great love for the outdoors,” Lemley said. “As a child I roamed the hills and explored the remains of ancient Native American villages, coming across structures that had never been discovered before.” He returns every couple of years to visit although he has no family or friends left there. “It is a magnetic place,” Lemley said.
What then could have motivated him to permanently leave the serenity of the great outdoors for the suburbs of Los Angeles? A girl.
After graduating high school in 1963, in a class of only 36, Lemley left his small town to attend Lubbock Christian University in Texas. It was there he met his future wife. Shortly after they began dating she informed him she would be transferring to Pepperdine University where her father was then President Norvel Young. He felt he had no choice but to follow her. “It was important for me to find that person and she was a perfect match,” Lemley said, “I knew Pepperdine was a fine institution so I followed her and transferred in as a junior.”
A week after Steve arrived at Pepperdine, Emily left to study abroad in Heidelberg. “We looked at it as a positive thing because we thought it would be healthy to spend some time apart,” Lemley said. Their time apart was suppose to be an entire academic year, but one semester into his time at Pepperdine, Lemley followed her yet again. “Around December a spot opened up for the following Spring semester,” he said. He jumped at the chance, “I was in Heidelberg the following semester,” he said. “Our love blossomed in Heidelberg,” Emily Lemley said.
He graduated from Pepperdine the following year, 1966, with a B.A. in history and two years later the and Emily were married. He went onto receive his Masters Degree in History in 1970. Now an Associate Professor of Communication, Lemley has been a part of the University’s staff for almost 20 years and a part of the school for close to 42 years. He is one of the few remaining people on campus, who can describe what it was like to go to school on the Los Angeles Campus before its relocation in 1972. During his time at Pepperdine, Lemley studied under professors whose names we know as the names of the buildings on the Malibu campus. “I studied under Howard White and Frank Pack,” Lemley said. “Also, Jerry Hudson, the founding provost of the Malibu campus.” Hudson influenced Steve to return to Pepperdine in 1972 to become the Associate Dean at 26 years old. “I treasure and value those memories,” he says of learning from the early mentors.
Lemley went on to earn his Ph. D. in Communication from the Ohio State University in 1973. This break from his studies in history he credits to wanting to make a difference. “I was out to change the world,” he said. “Perhaps unwisely I thought it would be more relevant to become a communications professor, It was very naive on my part, but it moved me.”
Today Dr. Lemley, as he is known to his students, is still teaching communications. He has settled in Thousand Oaks with his wife Emily, and has taught full-time within the communications division for the past five years. Before he became an associate professor of communications, he served as Pepperdine’s provost and prior to that, he served as the President and Dean of Lubbock Christian in Texas, a place the couple primarily raised their family. Today their family consists of their three grown children, their spouses and four grandchildren spread out across California, Texas and Tennessee. “My grandchildren range from four months to four years,” Steve says as he proudly displays one of the various photographs of his family displayed on top of his desk.
His academic interests lie in the areas of history and rhetoric and are combined in one of his favorite classes he teaches here on campus, “Rhetoric as Reality: Great Speeches in Recent History. “The class enables me to talk about great moments in rhetorical history,” he said. According to Lemley, Winston Churchill is the greatest orator in history. “There may have been better political leaders but rhetorically he has done things no one else has and it could almost be said he kept Britain alive through his spoken words.” His passion for the celebrated politician includes a bust of Churchill sitting on a shelf in his office.
His passion for communications and teaching has made a difference on the lives of his students. “I had him for Communications 200 last year and even though he’s not my advisor I could go to him for anything,” said Robin Vansteenberg, a junior. “I’ve even called him at home for advising.” But his interaction in the lives of students extends beyond the call of duty, “He really cares about who you are as a person,” Vansteenberg said. “He’ll stop you and genuinely ask you how your day is. He is someone who is so positive in his own life that it builds others up both academically and personally. Interacting in the lives of his students is something Lemley accredits as ‘the most fulfilling part.’
On Wednesday, Feb. 15, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, he and his wife of 38 years spoke at a convocation entitled, “Friends for the Journey: Making Friends in Marriage,” as part of the relationship series. There they told their story and spoke of the challenges and rewards that come with a marriage. He and his wife could now be considered seasoned veterans on speaking out about what has made their marriage successful as they have spoken to young couples in a number of different places including their own church over the years.
The convocation presentation was no different. They discussed what it was like to marry young, and the challenges that can come along with that. “You go through three stages in any marriage,” Emily Lemley said. “At first you believe you have everything in common, than you believe you are complete opposites and that can be difficult, but the third stage is balance and you have to hang in there, because the third stage is the best.” The main theme of the convocation was ‘finding a friend in marriage,’ “Emily is my best friend,” Lemley said. “That is one of the greatest treasures of our marriage.”
So what then is the key to success for a man who has remained happily married for 38 years, while raising three children, and making a difference in lives of countless others? For him the answer is not simple. “The success of marriage occurs on a personal basis,” he said. “I believe there are as many reasons for successful marriage as there are successful marriages.”
However, he does believe that for him and his wife, their success in marriage is due to their devotion to one another. “It is commitment,” he said. “You have to enter into a marriage with the idea that this is a commitment for life. It also helped that we both genuinely liked each other in addition to loving one another,” he said. “We have our own individual interests and accomplishments but we built our lives together.” It is something that they are both grateful for, “A long, loving marriage, is one of the greatest gifts and accomplishments of life,” Emily Lemley said. “It makes life fun, exciting and bearable.”
Commitment seems to be the reason for Lemley’s success in his professional life as well. “I want to continue growing in this profession,” he said. “As long as there is a need to teach in communications, I will be here.” That is a commitment we can all benefit from.
03-08-2006
