Dean's Speaker Series
Pepperdine Caruso School of Law has a well-earned reputation for welcoming distinguished scholars, judges, government officials, and leaders to campus to share their views on important current issues with our community. Our speakers, like our community, have diverse perspectives and believe that we all benefit when we engage in meaningful dialogue with each other in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
Through the years, we have hosted a dozen Supreme Court Justices on campus to share their varying judicial philosophies, from Harry Blackmun to Sandra Day O'Connor, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Antonin Scalia.
Caruso Law holds several high-profile events each year with esteemed guest speakers, including our annual graduation ceremony and law school dinner, as well as symposia and the William French Smith Lecture Series. In recent years we have hosted speakers such as English Court of Appeals Lord Justice Mary Mance Arden, California Governor Jerry Brown, Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, American Bar Association President Linda Klein, and Federal Communications Commission Chair Ajit Pai.
A recent peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Legal Studies examined the political ideologies of all law school faculties and determined that the Pepperdine Caruso faculty is the most ideologically diverse in the country [Adam Bonica (Stanford), Adam Chilton (Chicago), Kyle Rozema (Northwestern), and Maya Sen (Harvard), The Legal Academy's Ideological Uniformity, 47 J. Legal Stud. 1 (2018)]. The chart below has more details of the article's findings.
Caruso Law launched a Dean's Speakers Series in 2019 to enrich the intellectual life and enhance the diversity of speakers on our campus.
2022-2023 Speakers
Danny Drysdale: Director, The Prayers of Both Could Not Be Answered Documentary
September 28, 2022
Abraham Lincoln's Use of the Bible In His Second Inaugural Address
Morse Tan: Dean, Liberty Ambassador-at-Large
November 10, 2022
The Role of the State Department in Global Justice
Lecturer of Law at UCLA Law School, Special Advisor to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, and Deputy Managing Director at the Federal Communications Commission
February 1, 2023
Accessibility, Diversity, and Digital Discrimination
Michael Paulsen: Distinguished University Chair and Professor University of St. Thomas School of Law
February 15, 2023
The Supreme Court's Decision in Dobbs: Law, Politics, or Morality?
Jeremiah Smith Jr. Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
February 23, 2023
Justice and Poverty in Biblical Law
2021–2022 Speakers
Former Dean, George Washington and Wake Forest
Former Dean, George Washington and Wake Forest
February 23, 2022
Faith and Black Leadership
Of Counsel, Jones Day
September 16, 2021
A Conversation with Judge Ann Claire Williams (Ret.): Insights and Lessons Learned
Founder and Executive Director, Justice Revival
January 20, 2022
Why Equal Rights? The Story Behind Justice Revival’s #Faith4ERA Campaign
Founder, Homeboy Industries
March 31, 2022
The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness
2019–2021 Speakers
2020-2021
Executive Director and CEO, Christian Legal Society
April 7, 2021
The Road From Babylon to the Christian Legal Society
Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law, UCLA
March 11, 2021
Protecting Free Speech in 2021 and Beyond
Trauma Therapist and Life Coach; Host, "In The Light with Dr. Anita Phillips"
February 2, 2021
Deconstructing Us: Self-Interrogation at the Intersection of Christian Worldview and Social Justice
Eugene Cho: Pastor and President/CEO, Bread for the World
Sharon Brous: Founder and Senior Rabbi, IKAR
January 26, 2021
The Intersection of Faith, Social Justice, and Racial Reconciliation
Deputy Global Tax Policy Leader, PwC
Assisting Priest for Engaging Faith and the Workplace, St. John's Church (D.C.)
November 17, 2020
Where Is God At Work? Love Thy Colleague: Being Authentically Christian at Work
McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton
October 19, 2020
Campus Illiberalism and the Future of Higher Education
Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law, Emory
September 14, 2020
Critical Race Theory: Fighting Racial Bias in the 21st Century
2019–2020
Former Dean, George Washington and Wake Forest
February 24, 2020
Preparing the Next Generation of Diverse and Dynamic Leaders
U.S. Solicitor General
January 20, 2020
The Rule of Law and the Role of the Solicitor General
Disability Advocate
November 11, 2019
Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
September 11, 2019
A Republic, If You Can Keep It
Nominate a Speaker
The Pepperdine Caruso Law community is invited to participate in developing a robust roster of speakers with diverse backgrounds and perspectives for the Dean''s Speaker Series. Submit a speaker or topic for consideration by completing this form. All submissions will be considered and evaluated based on programming needs.
Ideological Diversity of Caruso Law Faculty
