Southland: Malibu and the South Coast

       The Mayor went down south this past weekend for a special occasion: graduation.   Our own Minister of Manufacturing and Industry was awarded a Master Degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University in Malibu.  Malibu is that famous coastal city so familiar to Angelenos and the Hollywood set.  Long the home of celebrities and notables, the seaside community continues to be a rare and secure environment for those special few who can afford to live there.
      Pepperdine was founded in 1937 as a private institution and continues to this day to provide a top quality advanced education.   Our Minister attended graduate seminars for the last 2 1/2 years, taking courses in financial analysis, accounting, project management, and corporate strategy.   His cohort of about 20 individuals participated in team building and project completion.  Communication and planning were the watchwords involved in all course work.  Our Minister joins others from Tahoma who have achieved similar academic levels.  Among our group of civic leaders include those who have attended the following schools:
     San Jose State University, San Jose, CA
     Tulane University Medical School, New Orleans, LA
     Pennsylvania State University, College Station
     Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO
     California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo, CA
     California Polytechnic, Pomona, CA
     Univ. of California at Los Angeles, CA
     Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO
     George Washington Univ., Wash, DC
     Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO
     San Francisco State Univ., San Francisco, CA
     Golden gate Univ., San Francisco, CA

      The ceremony included about 240 graduates.  Speakers included school officials and board members.  An honorary Doctorate degree was awarded to Calin Rovinescu, the chief execuative of Air Canada, Canada's largest airline that employs 30,000 people across the world.   He earned degrees at the Univ. of Montreal, and the Univ. of Ottawa.  In November 2015, he was appointed the 14th chancellor of the University of Ottawa.  He practiced law at Stikeman Elliott LLP where he was a managing partner.
     Cedric Watkins II spoke on his career since receiving his MBA from Pepperdine in 1980.   He has been chief executive of the Watkins Group since its founding in 1987.   He has served on many boards and has advised many more.  Much of his professional life has involved communications businesses and advertising agencies.
     It was a great day for all involved and the coastal fog was gone by the end of the ceremony.  Traffic was intense on the PCH-normal.