Mar. 12, 2011

Starr Portrait to Watch Over Pepperdine

By Ben Adlin Daily Journal Staff Writer Pepperdine University School of Law unveiled a commemorative portrait of former dean Kenneth W. Starr at a ceremony March 4. The former solicitor general and federal appellate judge served as dean at Pepperdine from 2004 to 2010, when he left to become president of Baylor University in Texas. Painted by artist Richard Morris, the portrait will be displayed in the dean's conference room. Pepperdine president Andrew K. Benton spoke at the event, lauding the "Starr legacy" and thanking Starr for his many accomplishments, which include expanding academic programs, attracting well-credentialed professors and boosting the school's U.S. News & World Report ranking to 55. Feats aside, Starr said he would most remember Pepperdine's "culture of caring and loving our students and that's pretty rare in the academy." A testament to that tight-knit community, all of the law school's past deans attended the unveiling, which also allowed guests the opportunity to meet incoming dean Deanell Reece Tacha, formerly a judge on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Pepperdine law professor Thomas G. Bost is serving as interim dean until Tacha takes office in June. Asked how he hopes the school will remember his tenure, the former dean replied with a joke. "I just hope they don't hold too many grudges," he deadpanned. "They could, and probably should."