GSEP Alumnus Dr. Mike Moodian Reappointed by California Governor to State Commission on Judicial Performance

Mike Moodian, Pepperdine EdD 2007, has been selected by California Governor Jerry Brown to again serve on the independent commission responsible for investigation of judicial complaints as well as meting out appropriate discipline to those state judges found guilty of misconduct. He was first appointed as one of the 11 commissioners in 2015, and will now serve a new term through 2021. Moodian and the other commissioners are assigned a jurisdiction that includes all of California's superior court judges as well as the justices of the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. As described by state documents, the position requires Moodian and his colleagues to "protect the public, enforce rigorous standards of judicial conduct and maintain public confidence in the integrity and independence of the judicial system."

In addition to his work with the State of California, Dr. Moodian also serves as a college professor at Chapman University's College of Educational Studies, as a chair of the Santa Margarita Catholic High School Consultative School Board, a founding chair of the United Nations Association of Orange County Advisory Board, a member of the UC Irvine Olive Tree Initiative Advisory Board, and as an executive board member and former chairman of the World Affairs Council of Orange County. In 2009, he edited "Contemporary Leadership and Intercultural Competence", a textbook that examines the application of cultural comprehension to organizations and the measurement of cultural competence. This title was cited by the Association of American Colleges & Universities in establishing national learning standards.

Dr. Moodian is currently a blogger for the online news aggregator Huffington Post, as well as an occasional commentator on several television and radio programs. He has written a short book on the ranch history of South Orange County and North San Diego County, and often speaks to K-12 groups and community organizations about South Orange County's indigenous American activity, the Portola Expedition, Mexican governance of the land, and 20th century ranching activity. In 2012, Moodian was one of 18 Americans and the only Californian to be selected by the European Union to travel to Brussels as a citizen diplomat, discussing educational policy with EU officials.

About his prestigious reappointment to the State Commission, Moodian says: "Serving our state within this capacity has been one of the great honors of my career." He also attributes his role on the commission to the rigorous training he received at Pepperdine within the EdD in Organizational Leadership (EDOL) program, specifically because of its focus on ethics.

Indeed, administrators describe Pepperdine Graduate School of Education and Psychology's EDOL program as a place to strengthen and develop leadership skills, as the coursework equips students with the knowledge and the ability to recognize, harness, and channel forces of change in order to transform organizations for optimal success and growth. As an alumnus, Dr. Moodian clearly embodies the values and ultimate mission of the Graduate School.