Dean of Seaver College

Integrated Strategic Plan

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Foreword

It has been rightly observed that we never rise higher than our dreams. Nor are we likely to stumble accidentally into greatness. Rather, we must illuminate the path we intend to take with as much clarity as possible. In April, 1998, the Pepperdine University Strategic Planning Committee adopted the Seaver College Integrated Strategic Plan. This plan presents a comprehensive picture of the college as it is and an image of what it hopes to become.

What is presented here is the all-important introduction to that larger plan. The goal of this introduction is to paint with a broad brush what is detailed with considerable specificity in the complete planning document – laying out what we believe ourselves to be and helping us see our way into the future.

Thanks are due to the dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Pepperdine University faculty members, staff persons, and administrators who have contributed their time and energy to the development of this plan.

David Baird
Dean of Seaver College

Mission of Seaver College

Seaver College exists to provide a link between the knowledge and wisdom of the past and present with the challenges of the future. The college is essentially a community within the larger Pepperdine University community which integrates several groups: teachers committed to a life of instruction and scholarship; students preparing to assume responsible roles in contemporary society; staff members, volunteers, and donors committed to advancing the goals of the community; and administrators and regents charged with helping to achieve these goals.

Seaver College is primarily undergraduate and residential. It is selective in enrollment and committed to high academic standards. Its task is to prepare persons of diverse economic, social, ethnic, and religious backgrounds to become moral and intellectual leaders and to challenge them to value service above material success.

To accomplish this task, Seaver faculty members, administrators, and staff members serve as role models, both as professionals and as human beings who are committed to excellence and motivated by personal faith in God. Students benefit from many small classes, a nurturing campus environment, opportunities for diverse social interaction, and individual attention from these teacher-mentors.

Seaver is a liberal arts college. As such, it nourishes and transmits the noblest ideas of Western culture – the achievements of science and technology as well as the artistic, intellectual, and ethical heritage of the Western world. At the same time, the Seaver curriculum and co-curriculum also reflect a modern, global world view much broader than that of the West and more complex and egalitarian than in former times. Nor does it isolate itself from the nature of life and the economic realities of our own age. Therefore, many subjects are studied that are not included in the traditional categories of the liberal arts. Nevertheless, the college is completely committed to the spirit and intent of the traditional baccalaureate: the sharpening of the mind, the ennobling of the heart, the broadening of the vision, and the cultivation of the arts of speaking and writing which result in civilized and fruitful discourse. It is likewise devoted to the relentless search for truth in an atmosphere of freedom of inquiry: to think, to question, to doubt, to believe, and to affirm.

Seaver College places the students' total development at the heart of its educational strategy. The college therefore recognizes the importance of both the curriculum and the co-curriculum. It strives to effect the total development of the student – intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual – and to lay the foundations of lifetime learning. It recognizes that learning takes place constantly, in every facet of the student's life, and therefore seeks to integrate and direct this complex of experiences toward its developmental goals.

Since there is a significant correlation between the degree of individual student involvement in the life of the college and success in effecting student development, concerted effort is made to maximize the involvement of each student in the larger life of the college.

Seaver is a Christian college. As such, it affirms in undergraduate and graduate programs that there are sources of truth deeper than those of secular culture: Moses, purveyor of divine laws; Amos, crying out for social justice and unfeigned piety; Paul, overwhelmed with both the reality of sin and the joy of forgiveness; and ultimately, Jesus of Nazareth, in whom God is uniquely revealed, and by whose death and resurrection all humankind can receive reconciliation with God. The study of religion and the opportunity for corporate worship are integral elements in the Seaver experience. A commitment to Christian beliefs regarding the origin, nature, and destiny of humanity permeates the curriculum. The college's ties to the Churches of Christ call it to a serious commitment to Biblical Christianity. Thus, in its mission, Seaver College seeks to remain true to the most profound insights of the religious movement which constitutes its heritage.

The Seaver Faculty

Community. Seaver College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences is a community of scholars within Pepperdine University sharing the ongoing process of intellectual discovery and personal growth. The faculty forms the nucleus of this community, and its interaction with students is the community's central activity. The Seaver faculty draws its strength from both its commonality and its diversity.

Commonality. Seaver faculty members share the following qualities and values:

• Excellence and satisfaction as teachers of undergraduate students. Seaver's primary mission centers on its impact on students, especially undergraduate students. Seaver faculty members therefore strive to be excellent teachers – well-prepared, fair, enthusiastic, innovative, and constantly improving. The priority which they place on teaching can be seen in such things as the level of energy expended in preparing for instructional activities, creativity in using varied methods of instruction, and sensitivity to student needs and questions in and out of the classroom.
• Thorough academic preparation. Seaver faculty members have acquired the highest appropriate degrees in their areas of teaching and research. This initial preparation becomes the basis for continued intellectual growth, active participation in professional organizations, and contributions to the disciplines of academic specialization.
• Strength of character worthy of emulation. The ideal relationship between teacher and student at Seaver College is more than mere academic interaction; therefore, faculty members at Seaver seek to be role models as well as academicians. While this fact does not imply that faculty members lack the right to private lives beyond the confines of the college, it does call attention to the Seaver philosophy of educating the whole person and recognizing that such an education extends beyond the classroom. The faculty's strength of character, maturity, and ethical clarity are integral to the heritage it seeks to pass on to students.
• An inquisitive spirit. The love of learning and a critical approach to knowledge are the beginning of scholarship. The Seaver faculty views learning and discovery as exciting and takes special joy in them. The faculty is in fact a community of life-long learners who have never stopped growing intellectually. Research at Seaver is not a sterile professional exercise but rather the natural fruit of an inquisitive spirit. Seaver faculty members often share their research with the wider scholarly community through publication or oral presentation, and the spirit which generated these discoveries is highly valued.
• A devotion to Christian moral and ethical values based upon a personal spiritual commitment. The power of these values is dependent upon an honest allegiance to them. Consequently, Seaver College, as an independent, church-related institution, gathers scholars who are themselves unreservedly committed to such values and who discipline their own lives by them. A significant majority of faculty base their commitment to such values, and their daily lives, on a personal faith in Jesus Christ, and live out that faith in their churches and communities.
• A sense of servant hood. One of the paramount Christian values is this: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant." While it is the responsibility of the University to provide adequate support and compensation to the faculty, excellence in the respected serving professions comes from within. This fact not only influences the activities of the Seaver faculty within the University but also results in service to the larger community through the religious, civic, political, social, and cultural life of the local communities in which faculty members live.

Diversity. The strength of the Seaver faculty consists not only in its commitment to shared values, but also in its diversity. This diversity broadens the students' horizons and contributes to an objective search for truth. The faculty exhibits a balance between age and youth, varied levels of experience, and differing rank and tenure status. Men and women are both represented. Faculty members have varied undergraduate and graduate experiences, cultural and racial heritages, and areas of special interest and expertise. Individual faculty members excel in various ways and with varying combinations of teaching, research, and service. The makeup of the faculty reflects the university's strong historic relationship to the Churches of Christ while fully recognizing the valuable contributions of those who, while not members of the Churches of Christ, complement and share a commitment to the mission of Seaver College.

Seaver Administration and Staff

Commonality. Administrators and staff members at Seaver College plan, structure, organize, supervise, coordinate, and carry out tasks which facilitate the work of the faculty and the interaction of faculty members and students, and which provide the co-curricular environment in which student development occurs. They share with the faculty the responsibility for achieving the college's goals within the framework of its mission statements. They must therefore share many of the same qualities and values which characterize the faculty. These include:

• Thorough preparation. Seaver administrators and staff members have adequate experience and/or professional preparation to perform with excellence, and a strong interest in constantly improving performance and skills.
• Strength of character worthy of emulation. Administrators and staff members interact with students daily and in those interactions teach by example. In demonstrating a service orientation, maturity, and ethical clarity, they serve as role models along with the faculty. This aspect of their responsibility is no less important than the specific tasks which they perform.
• A devotion to Christian moral and ethical values based upon a personal spiritual commitment. The power of these values is dependent upon an honest allegiance to them. Consequently, Seaver College, as an independent, church-related institution, appoints administrators and staff members who are themselves unreservedly committed to such values and who discipline their own lives by them. A significant majority of them base their commitment to such values, and their daily lives, on an active personal faith in Jesus Christ, and live out that faith in their churches and communities.
• A sense of servant hood. Administrators and staff members understand themselves to be servant leaders, recognizing that commitment to Seaver's mission and the welfare of the Seaver faculty and students is the primary factor in every decision made, every task accomplished, and every personal interaction undertaken inside or outside the college.

Diversity. Diversity is as significant among administrators and staff members as among the faculty and students. These groups, therefore, all exhibit diversity in cultural and racial heritage. Men and women are both represented. The makeup of the administration and staff reflects the University's Christian character, and within Christianity its strong historic relationship to Churches of Christ, while fully recognizing the valuable contributions of others who complement and share a commitment to the mission of Seaver College. Regardless of race, creed or cultural origins, all staff members and administrators will demonstrate a high level of competence.

Implementation and Evaluation. It is the responsibility of those who hire, supervise, and evaluate staff and administrators of the college to ensure that those under their supervision reflect the qualities noted above.

The Seaver Student

Seaver College is committed to the concept that the total development of the student is the heart of the educational enterprise. The student body of Seaver College consists primarily of full-time residential students. A description of the Seaver student must include both those qualities that initially won admission to a selective program and those that the student and society at large should expect the college to add or to enhance during the period of matriculation.

All incoming students should share the following characteristics:

1. An outstanding record of academic performance and service activities that indicates emerging maturity and promise of continuing growth.
2. Strong moral character evidenced by past actions, such as explicit examples of mature ethical and moral decision-making, responsible and productive behavior, exhibition of a spirit of servant hood, and commitment to volunteer participation in institutions such as church, school, and nonprofit public service agencies and projects.
3. An inquisitive mind and a willingness to learn.
4. Creativity and special talents, especially the capacity for leadership – professional, personal, and social.

Exposure to intellectual, social, and cultural diversity is also essential in the liberating process of education. The student body of Seaver should therefore include persons of differing economic and social status; geographical origins, both foreign and domestic; and racial and cultural heritage.

The Seaver student body should represent a diversity of religious heritages, Christian and non-Christian, while at the same time reflecting the University's Christian character and its relationship with Churches of Christ.

The Seaver curriculum emphasizes both breadth (through general education) and depth (through a concentration in one discipline). All graduating students should share the following characteristics:

• The ability to continue the quest for knowledge and insight and to adapt to constant changes spurred on by the excitement of discovery and aided by an understanding of the nature and techniques of intellectual research.
• The ability to think clearly, logically, independently, and critically – to synthesize and integrate knowledge, not simply to accumulate it.
• The ability to communicate and to understand the communication of others: to read, to listen, to speak, and to write effectively.
• A broad cultural perspective, defined by an exposure sufficiently broad to ensure familiarity with the history, literature, philosophy, and achievements of Western culture, as well as a sense of the global interaction between Western and non-Western civilization. This would naturally include a developed aesthetic sense capable of appreciating the arts, a grasp of the basic process of scientific discovery, and knowledge of the present state of human understanding of the physical and social world.
• Moral integrity and a sense of personal values, seen as a capacity and willingness to make value judgments based on a serious consideration of Christian ethics. While students may or may not accept these views as their own, they will be encouraged to consider seriously the question of Christian values in making life decisions.
• An enhanced potential for service in a chosen profession, in public life, and in the support of cultural life of a chosen community. Seaver students will be leaders – leaders, however, of a special kind, exercising leadership for the common good rather than for mere personal or material gain.