Diversity Week 2018 Recognizes Pepperdine Law's Global Community

September 21, 2018 | At Pepperdine Law, our community is rich in political, racial, and spiritual diversity which has formed a strong culture of connection among our students, faculty, and staff. Diversity Week is an annual series of events designed to bring together the entire community and recognize our multitude of unique cultural attributes through food, music, and open dialogue.

The week was kicked off with the highly anticipated Global Village Day! Tables of traditional foods, garments, books, pictures, and facts filled the atrium and represented nearly every continent.

On Wednesday, the Open Conversation discussion was facilitated by Professors Tanya Cooper and Jeff Baker. The topic was athlete Colin Kaepernick's protest against racial injustice and police brutality and Nike Corporation's recent advertisements that feature Kaepernick. Attendees discussed the multi-dimensional aspects of the issue and well as taking meaningful steps towards understanding and working towards solutions.

Thursday's event was an interfaith panel discussion with faculty panel members representing different faiths, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism, who spoke about their personal faith backgrounds and how their respective faiths inform their engagement at Pepperdine.  Our distinguished panelists this year were Professor Gregory Ogden, Professor Ahmed Taha, Dean Victoria Schwartz, Professor Sukhsimranjit Singh, and Dr. Sara Barton, Pepperdine University Chaplain (moderator).

Dean of Students Naomi Goodno said, "This week was a wonderful showcase of the rich diversity at the law school. We thank all of those who shared in the many events."