VOLUME 18 | ISSUE 2 | 2020
SPP Responds to
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC CRISIS
W
hile transitioning our remaining spring semester classes to an online format and supporting our students who’ve had their lives upended, the School of Public Policy has engaged directly with the COVID-19 crisis. In ways both practical and theoretical, through our programs and alumni, SPP is responding to the pandemic at the local, state, and national levels.
• Online Crisis Mapping for Southern California: Our Homeland Security
Advisory Council initiative (HSAC@SPP, see details on page 6) is on the front line of this region's COVID-19 response, consulting directly with emergency officials in cities and counties to launch the SALUS online crisis map. This evolving platform provides the public with essential information about food and emergency services and has been placed on the main website of the City of L.A.’s response. Notably, two SPP alumni and a second-year student intern are currently working at HSAC@SPP. Pandemic Crisis continued on page 2
The Braun Family Endows the Dean’s Chair
T
he School of Public Policy is proud to announce the endowment of the Braun Family Dean's Chair through the generous support of the Carl F. Braun Residuary Trust.
The Braun family members have been longtime friends of Pepperdine, with Hank and Ginie Braun among the University’s greatest supporters, funding many important projects over the decades. The Henry A. and Virginia B. Braun Center for Public Policy was dedicated in 2003 on the University's Drescher Graduate Campus. Pete Peterson (MPP ’07), current dean, is the first to step into this endowed dean’s position at the School of Public Policy. “I’m honored to be the first to serve in the Braun Family Dean’s Chair,” Peterson said, noting, “this endowment marks another commitment by the family toward preparing public leaders who can work across differences to address our toughest policy challenges, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”