Ken Starr: A Call to Serve

I previously blogged my enormous gratitude for the opportunity to spend spring break in Malibu, California, teaching a one-week short course at Pepperdine University School of Law as the Strauss Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law. Following up on my post on Pepperdine Dean Ken Starr's imminent departure to become President of Baylor University: Baylor Magazine has a wonderful article, A Call to Serve:

The most striking thing about Pepperdine Law School Dean Ken Starr's office in Malibu–other than the spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean out the window–is the number of picture frames that line every available bookshelf and lamp table. Of course, one would expect that the office of a celebrated lawyer who has argued 36 cases before the United States Supreme Court would proudly display photos of nationally renowned figures with whom he has maintained professional associations, such as Supreme Court Justices or Presidents of the United States.

But that's not the case. In Starr's office, you'll find photo after photo of his three children–Randy, Cynthia and Carolyn–and his four grandchildren. Tucked among those photos are pages torn from coloring books, lovingly colored by those same grandchildren for their Grandpa.

This man-the man who numerous Pepperdine faculty laud as a servant leader, the man who students praise for his open door policy, the man who is consistently described by professional colleagues of every stripe as "a superb leader" and "a prince of a man"-–is the man who has answered the call to serve as Baylor University's 14th president. …

Those around Starr see his faith playing out daily in the way he lives life.

"Pepperdine is unapologetically Christian, and he is very open about his faith," says Carol Chase, associate dean for academics at Pepperdine Law. "You can walk into his office with a concern, and he will pray with you. He is a man whose faith is a part of his fiber."

Starr's approach to leadership-playing the role of "a Barnabas, an encourager," as he puts it-stems directly from his faith.

"Our Lord said, ‘I have come to serve and not to be served,'" he explains. In working with faculty, that plays out in the form of a "Round Table"–a literary reference Starr often uses to describe how equals work together to reach wise and just outcomes.

"Ken is a collaborative decision maker. He really is a great listener and believes in conversation," says Pepperdine Law Vice Dean Tim Perrin. "He did a great job here of engaging the faculty in ‘who do we want to be' and ‘how do we get to where we want to go,' and the faculty played a very active role-at his urging-in everything that has happened here."

Having played nearly every role at a university, from student to professor to dean to regent to parent of a student, Starr has learned firsthand the importance of listening to the entire university community before making any moves. …

Pepperdine leaders note that Starr followed that same path when he was introduced as dean of the law school in 2004. "He was very deliberate in saying he wasn't going to do much that first year until he knew the culture, he knew what was going on," remembers law professor Shelley Saxer. "The first year, he did a lot of listening and learning. There were even times where certain of us would try pushing, and he'd say, ‘No, not yet.'"

"He wants to make a difference, and he wants to make a difference through institutions. If those institutions aren't changing and enhancing and improving, I think he's not satisfied," adds Ed Larson, Pepperdine's Hugh & Hazel Darling Chair in Law and winner of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in history. "I've been at places where professors just want to keep things the way they are, because they're comfortable the way they are. I don't think Dean Starr is ever comfortable with the way things are, ever. He always thinks any place can be improved and enhanced."

"He has been someone who has encouraged people to stretch themselves," says Jim Gash, the law school's associate dean for student life. "And so we've got a faculty and a staff and an administration that is doing more than it's ever done in every aspect. Our publications are up. Our fundraising is up. Our predictors of student quality are up. The quality of incoming faculty, in terms of credentials, is up. The excitement level of ‘We're going somewhere' is just palpable, among students, faculty, staff and alumni." …

Starr's desire to serve and encourage doesn't stop with faculty and staff, either; it extends to students through an open-door policy in which Starr not only invites but welcomes student interaction. "When I interviewed with him to be a research assistant last spring, I was sitting out in the Deans' Suite, kind of nervous," remembers second-year law student David Rowe. "I had no idea what to expect from this guy. I get in there, and he just kind of leans back on the couch a little bit, puts his feet up, and says, ‘David, tell Uncle Ken how your experience has been here at Pepperdine.' Right there, that kind of summed him up. He's just nothing like you'd expect-in a very good way."