Professor Tanya Asim Cooper Receives Pepperdine Cross-School Collaborative Research Grant

Professor Tanya Asim Cooper has received a Pepperdine Cross-School Collaborative Research Grant and has published a website and online resource center to strengthen faith communities' responses to intimate partner violence. The Pepperdine Cross-School Collaborative Research Program encourages scholarly interaction between Pepperdine's faculty from diverse disciplines and schools. Funded by the provost and chief academic officer, the grants are highly competitive and have resulted in years of exceptional scholarly work.

Longtime collaborators Thema Bryant-Davis, professor of psychology at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Tanya Asim Cooper, associate clinical professor of law at Caruso School of Law, and Roslyn Satchel, Blanche E. Seaver Professor of Communication at Seaver College, will continue their collaborative research on intimate partner violence and opportunities for faith communities to support survivors. Over the last five years, the group has received a Cross-School Collaborative Research grant and has launched In Search of Sanctuary, an online resource center to strengthen faith communities' responses to intimate partner violence. The group has also led powerful workshops with churches in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

"As a female minister, I've been intentional about teaching and bringing awareness to abuse," shares Naima Lett, co-pastor at Hope in the Hills in Beverly Hills, who participated in one of the workshops. "This is the first time that I've seen an organized effort from the faith community to provide tangible resources to equip our leaders on how to respond to intimate partner violence personally, corporately, and legally."