John Hsuan, Vice Chancellor of Pepperdine University “The Pepperdine community of international alumni & friends can be the light of Asia "

"The Pepperdine community, our students and alumni, are working towards a better future in the educational, social-economic and cultural spheres of the world starting in Asia."

John Hsuan, Vice Chancellor of Pepperdine University said repeatedly "Small but Mighty" to describe the University situated in beautiful Malibu California and its formidable global network of alumni in an interview with WikiLeaks Korea on the 3rd Saturday.

Hsuan leads Asian Initiatives and he is greatly interested in Korea and the Asia- Pacific as an important part of the global network.

"I have visited Korea multiples times each quarter over the past year" he said.

Hsuan often visits Korea as he desires to build a 'Pepperdine Network' around its alumni that are active in politics, economy and culture of Korea.

He is planning to hold an international symposium with the theme of "Building Bridges" in Seoul to highlight the role of Pepperdine in Korean society and beyond.

"We are all well served to seek common ground. We must focus on the good that we have in common between people, country and culture. The goal is to bring this meaning to Korea rightly through this forum", Hsuan said.

"I hope that we are going to do more internationally through this forum and I plan to advance the building of strong networks in the future as well", he said.

Hsuan said, “The part of international outreach that creates high value is ‘Network’. Having engaged with members of Pepperdine's international community, it is becoming clear how strong it is...people don't realize how strong it is.” 

“In Korea, we want to bring value to the local community and people together to realize the potential of our network. We can accomplish much together for  good. In recent years, the energy level has risen greatly for the Pepperdine community outside the United States.  Korea, I think is important because we share a common value system based on the Christian faith.  It is an important piece of common ground to build upon.”, he said.

“My goal is to be more present and impactful in Korea”, he added.

Although Pepperdine University is a prestigious universities in the United States, its recognition in Korea is growing. It is because Ivy League universities in the eastern states are relatively more publicized.

Hsuan said, "We are a highly ranked national university that believes in academic excellence with Christian values. That is what makes Pepperdine powerful because we believe in the importance of good values in the educational experience."

“For four years, students on campus interact with professors, administrators and everybody in community. They learn what it means to live in community doing the right thing and treating others well. That's how we teach and relate so being small is an advantage.”, He said.

Hsuan explained, "70% of classrooms have less 20 students."

"Professors get to know each student by name and invite them for to dinner at their homes. We have mentorship programs that instill good values with each student by experiences.", He added.

Hsuan brings 30 years of private sector experience in finance and investments as he works to connect and empower Pepperdine's formidable global network to make a greater impact for future generations.

He commenced his role at Pepperdine in fall 2016 to lead the University's global outreach for advancement both at home in Malibu and abroad to build the ‘Pepperdine Network’.
“We start in Asia and then expand globally”, he said.

Hsuan covers 11 cities all over asia. He regularly visits Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and India.

[WikiLeaks Korea=By Lee Kyung Ah]