Pepperdine University is a coc University?

[Pitts S2C]

Last week, I was in Sothern California and drove past Pepperdine University in Malibu. I drove up to the security gate and asked to drive around the campus. It's a beautiful place that's very hilly and located close to where many of the celebrities live. Huge pool with tennis courts, baseball & track field. That place is nothing like Florida College where I attended.

Is that really a coc school?

[KLP]

Hey, that is the same question we asked when we drove past big a big cocsof church building spoortin' a steeple, bus, fellowship hall, and swing set.

[faithfyl]

A very expensive college, as well.

[agricola]

It is coc -affiliated, but is a very 'liberal' variety coc.

[JKendallDane]

It was always considered to be associated with the coc, but clear back in the early 1970's even, it was never seen as a "true brotherhood" college by most "less than progressive" congregations.

The congregation I grew up in refused to even consider it as an "acceptable" place to go.

[B.H.]

I have an internet aquantience who is a counselor by profession. He got a masters in Pepperdine and he said when he was a student there you never would have guessed the Church of Christ religious beliefs had anything to do with it. When someone told him it was a Church of Christ college he thought they were talking about Mormon. And my friend is not Church of Christ.

[faithfyl]

It was always considered to be associated with the coc, but clear back in the early 1970's even, it was never seen as a "true brotherhood" college by most "less than progressive" congregations.

The congregation I grew up in refused to even consider it as an "acceptable" place to go.

Now I am more curious about how it did become affiliated with the C of C.

[agricola]

I believe it was founded as a coc college, and has not (so far) officially left. Like Vanderbilt started out as a Methodist school - there is barely a vestige of that left, but the mere presence of the Divinity School (at Vanderbilt) is because it started off originally affiliated with the Methodist church.

They don't hide that it is a 'Christian' university, but the specific denominational affiliation is buried a bit deeper:

This is Pepperdine

Students choose Pepperdine for the possibilities that a faith-based university committed to academic excellence and Christian values provides. At Pepperdine, you will be strengthened for a life of purpose, service, and leadership.

In 1937, George Pepperdine created and endowed his namesake institution to provide the best education possible, led by administrators and mentors who support Christian principles.

On September 21, 1937, the new campus of George Pepperdine College hosted 2,000 attendees gathered to witness the opening of the school. Speakers that day included California governor Frank Merriam, Los Angeles mayor Frank L. Shaw, the college's first president Batsell Baxter, and founder George Pepperdine. Among the crowd were the college's first students, 167 young men and women from 22 states and two foreign countries. Mr. Pepperdine clearly stated his intentions for the school on that day: "Our college is dedicated to a twofold objective: First, academic training in the liberal arts . . . Secondly, we are especially dedicated to a greater goal—that of building in the student a Christ-like life, a love for the church, and a passion for the souls of mankind."

The mission statement:

Mission

Pepperdine is a Christian university committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values, where students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service, and leadership.
Vision

Pepperdine University will be a preeminent, global, Christian university, known for the integration of faith and learning, whose graduates lead purposeful lives as servant-minded leaders throughout the world.

Our vision statement declares what we intend to become. George Pepperdine envisioned an institution that would transform students' lives so that they would, in turn, impact culture. He imagined a vast body of alumni—men and women conscious of their good fortune, recipients of the generous gift of a Christian education—who would feel the moral imperative to serve others sacrificially. Hence, the school's motto: "Freely ye received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8).
Affirmation Statement

As a Christian University Pepperdine affirms:

That God is

That God is revealed uniquely in Christ

That the educational process may not, with impunity, be divorced from the divine process

That the student, as a person of infinite dignity, is the heart of the educational enterprise

That the quality of student life is a valid concern of the University

That truth, having nothing to fear from investigation, should be pursued relentlessly in every discipline

That spiritual commitment, tolerating no excuse for mediocrity, demands the highest standards of academic excellence

That freedom, whether spiritual, intellectual, or economic, is indivisible

That knowledge calls, ultimately, for a life of service.

[agricola]

The first place I found a direct ref to the coc was under 'spiritual life' - no denomination was mentioned in 'about us' or 'history'.

Christian values, firmly rooted in the Church of Christ heritage, are at the heart of Pepperdine. We invite you to examine, challenge, and grow your faith regardless of your spiritual background.

Pepperdine is founded in the Churches of Christ tradition, which has served as the University's spiritual foundation for more than 75 years. We envision the University as a place where people of all faith backgrounds treat one another with care and respect.

AND - finally - under 'church relations':

From the time of its founding as George Pepperdine College in 1937, Pepperdine University has always valued its special relationship with the Churches of Christ. George Pepperdine served as an elder in the Church of Christ for nearly 40 years, and a majority of the administration and faculty for the past 60 years have also been active members of a local congregation of the Church of Christ.

Spiritual Life, Church Relations - Tower

In 1968, Pepperdine College in Los Angeles announced that it had accepted an offer of 138 acres of land at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu Canyon Road in Malibu. In exchange for this gift, Pepperdine agreed to develop a new campus in the coastal community. In that same historic year, an administrative decision was made to establish an office of Church Relations to insure that the college would always maintain a vital relationship with the Churches of Christ. When the Malibu campus opened in 1972, the ties between Pepperdine University and the Churches of Christ continued to be one of the distinguishing characteristics of the school.

For more than 30 years the office of Church Relations has devoted its energies to strengthening the ties between the university and the church. The primary ways in which this has been accomplished have been the annual Bible Lectures, faculty/staff preaching opportunities, ministers luncheons, the work of the Associated Women for Pepperdine, and the Won by One singing group.

In addition to these various ministries, the office of Church Relations works closely with the Religion and Philosophy Division of Seaver College, the Boone Center for the Family at GSEP and the Institute for Dispute Resolution at the School of Law, to build bridges to the church constituency that has spiritually nurtured the institution for more than 70 years.

[faithfyl]

Interesting.