Pepperdine University President Andrew K. Benton has announced he will be stepping down from his position at the end of the 2018-19 academic year. Benton, who also serves as the private university’s chief executive officer, announced he will conclude his tenure in a prepared statement to the Pepperdine community. As the seventh and longest serving president Pepperdine has seen, Benton gives his Board of Regents well more than a year to search for a successor to the position he has held at the university since 2000.
Benton is credited with leading Pepperdine into the 21st century and advancing the university into prominence among the nation’s top universities. Under his leadership, key initiatives—including the construction of the Drescher Graduate Campus and expansion of the Graziadio Business School and Graduate School of Education and Psychology—were implemented. Benton’s nearly two decades of leadership also saw the growth of the school with new campuses in Lausanne, Switzerland; Shanghai, China; and Washington, D.C. A press release issued by the school claimed one of his signature achievements was raising $470.8 million from more than 49,000 donors. In total, growth in assets increased under the Benton administration by $1 billion.
Benton is also credited with launching an innovative and unique opportunity for Pepperdine students—a partnership with one of the world’s leading sports and live entertainment companies: Anschultz Entertainment Group (AEG). The exclusive deal between Pepperdine and AEG lets students study and work closely with executives at the company and even includes a state-of-the-art classroom at STAPLES Center.
The university’s own sports teams have had their share of successes during Benton’s presidency with national titles won in men’s volleyball, men’s tennis, women’s sand volleyball, and numerous conference victories in multiple sports.
Benton is well loved by students and is often referred to as “the students’ president.” He can often be found eating with students in the cafeteria. Benton still teaches courses at the Malibu campus and, according to The Pepperdine Graphic, is “deeply involved in the lives of students.”
The Kansas native started working for Pepperdine’s central administration team in 1984, serving in various executive leadership roles. For years, he helped manage the university’s relations with the State of California, County of Los Angeles and the City of Malibu. As a highly respected voice in higher education, Benton is the chair of the nation’s largest advocacy organizations for higher education, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) and former chair of the American Council on Education (ACE). He is also past chair of the Association of Independent California Colleges. A lawyer by training, the university president received his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma Christian University and his law degree from Oklahoma City University.
Benton declined to be interviewed for this article, but did offer a statement exclusive to The Malibu Times.
“It has been our great privilege to live and work in Malibu these many years. We are grateful to the community for their support of Pepperdine and to The Malibu Times for its enduring friendship. —Debby and Andy Benton”
Benton’s tenure in Malibu was not without incident. In 2012, Benton’s son Chris was implicated but not charged in the death of a 25-year-old Malibu resident, Katie Wilkins. Authorities say Chris Benton, who had a troubled history with narcotics, was the last person to see Wilkins alive before she died of a heroin overdose at her home in Malibu. Hours before her death, surveillance footage showed Wilkins picking up the younger Benton in her car at the McDonald’s restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway. Homicide detectives had recommended Chris Benton be charged with involuntary manslaughter after Wilkins’ car was found weeks later in Woodland Hills. Authorities say Chris Benton left the scene in Wilkins’ car without consent—also a felony. Chris Benton ended up serving two years in jail after threatening his parents on the Pepperdine campus and possessing a loaded firearm registered to his father. At the time, Andrew Benton offered to resign from his post; however, his offer was turned down by the school’s board of regents.