Pepperdine Business School Receives $15 Million Pledge

Pepperdine University has received a $15-million pledge for its School of Business and Management, one of the largest gifts ever to an American business school.

The three-year pledge from George L. Graziadio, the head of Imperial Bancorp, and his wife, Reva, will allow the Culver City-based school to add 19 members to its faculty, an increase of nearly 30%.

Graziadio has also agreed to lead an endowment drive to raise $10 million more during the next four years.

The school plans to rename itself the George L. Graziadio School of Business and Management.

In a written statement, Graziadio lauded Pepperdine’s “resourcefulness,” which he said appealed to him as an entrepreneur.

The business school was a pioneer in providing mid-career MBAs and now offers classes at centers in Culver City, Encino, Long Beach, Irvine and Westlake Village, as well as at the university’s Malibu campus.

It plans to use some of the gift to explore ways to electronically link those satellite centers.

The 2,500-student school is seeking accreditation with the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business and hopes that the boost in endowment caused by the gift will help it attain that status.