Wednesday was a very special day at Pepperdine Caruso Law:  Shane Claiborne spoke over lunch in our Dean's Speaker Series on Amazing Grace: Christianity and Justice and over dinner at our Dean's Bible Study on Luke 7:22. Shane did a spectacular job in both settings and was incredibly gracious to our students, staff, and faculty.

During Launch Week last month, we gave every one of our 1Ls a pin with our theme for this academic year: "We Belong and Pursue Truth as One." After the well publicized conflicts over diversity and free speech at other law schools, we want to chart a different course and read this statement to our 1Ls and to the audience at the beginning of Shane's luncheon talk: 

At Pepperdine Caruso Law, we love God, we love our students, and we love each other.  We are called to better the world by strengthening our students for lives of purpose, service, and leadership through a rigorous and transformative legal education built on two foundational, symbiotic commitments: academic and research excellence, and Christian faith and values.

Our commitment to academic and research excellence impels us to engage in the rigorous pursuit of legal knowledge and critical thinking, and to vigorously debate ideas for the betterment of society.  Our commitment to Christian faith and values drives our fearless pursuit of truth, and anchors our scholarship, pedagogy, and community engagement upon transcendent values, such as integrity, respect, and belonging.

Our fusion of these two pillars yields abundant benefits in legal scholarship, education, and training that transcend the sum of their individual parts.  We appreciate that knowledge, faith, and community are gifts from Above, to be stewarded for the glory of God and for our flourishing.  We thus elevate the aim of our work and discourse, which is to advance what is virtuous, through respectful dialogue in a community of belonging, for the betterment of each other, our nation, and our world.  By embracing our diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, we enhance our unity in this high purpose and promote a thriving community among us.

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