Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business Comes to Former Ambassador College Campus Pasadena

When the Worldwide Church of God sold the lower half of the Ambassador College around 2004, it became the home of Maranatha High School.  Maranatha is a high ranking college prep Christian High School that has an excellent reputation for academics.  The school has poured millions of dollars into restoring the former Grove Terrace men's dorm into a state of the art classroom facility.  They've restored the College Gym and Natatorium to its former glory, as well as the handball courts.

The track was resurfaced a few years ago with a new field of outdoor artificial grass.  They removed the old track and turf along with the west fencing and made it into a regulation size football field.  High Intensity field lights have been installed to illuminant the football field for Friday night football games.

The Student Center was also restored and functions as the Student Center for the High School.

Maranatha also owns the Hall of Administration, that has been reportedly sold to a Chinese development company that plans on building condo's.

Now, the Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business and Management has moved onto the property.

A New MBA Program Comes to Pasadena

By GARY MANGIOFICO




(PASADENA STAR NEWS) — For too long California has been ranked near the bottom of national surveys identifying the “best states to do business.” Whether it is Chief Executive Magazine that ranks California dead last at No. 50 or CNBC’s ranking that has California near the cellar at No. 40, California is not depicted as a positive place to do business.

While the reasons for California’s position are plausible, do such rankings as these tell a story about Pasadena? Hardly.

Pasadena is uniquely positioned to provide businesses with the workforce that can make them successful and at the same time lift up the whole region’s economy.

Pasadena has a unique and highly skilled workforce that rivals any other geography in the state and the nation. More than 43 percent of adult residents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. More than 19 percent of adults age 25 and older have earned a graduate degree. Nearly 87 percent of local residents are in white-collar professions.

These stats are one of the top reasons that Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management has decided to expand our Fully Employed MBA program to Pasadena. Through a partnership with Maranatha High School, the Graziadio School is offering MBA classes at one of the region’s finest college preparatory institutions. 

Read the entire article here.

Public More Concerned About College Demolitions Than The WCG Ever Was

It is pretty sad that the public cares more about our buildings and grounds than the Old WCG ever did.  It was quit obvious that the church was eager to get away from the property and divorce it's self from it.  When the sale process was going on many WCG members wondered why the church did not hold the title to the land but lease it out.  It would have had a perpetual income coming in from property leases.  It was sold for pennies on the dollar and here we are today.

Ambassador College's Modern Honeycomb Has Been Destroyed

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And another underrated but beautiful mid-century building bites the dust: we've heard from a few places (including these photos) that the honeycombed Fine Arts Building at Pasadena's Ambassador College has been demolished. The Ambassador was run by the Worldwide Church of God from 1947 through 1990; the Fine Arts Building was designed by Peter J. Holdstock and built in 1966 (it matches the adjacent Science Hall). (The campus was used pretty mouthwateringly in Tom Ford's mid-century porn film A Single Man). In the mid-aughts, there were big plans to redevelop the whole campus, but they all sort of petered out in the recession; in 2010, OC developer City Ventures picked up part of the project and revived plans to build condos and senior housing. Sarah Gilbert of the LA Conservancy's Modern Committee tells us via email that the project includes demolition of three buildings--the Fine Arts, Science, and the Hall of Administration (also by Holdstock). ModCom asked Pasadena to reconsider the demolitions when it extended approvals in January 2012, but no dice. Goodbye Fine Arts, we'll miss you.
· Pasadena's Ambassador West Project is Back On [Curbed LA]