About Moore Haus

Moore Haus

Historical Facts

A History of Pepperdine University's Moore Haus

In 1963 Pepperdine University began its "Year-In-Europe" program in Heidelberg, West Germany. From 1963 through 1965 students and visiting faculty resided in various hotels and guest houses in the city.

After considering several properties in 1965, the University purchased a permanent facility located 300 yards from the entrance of the Heidelberg Castle. The spacious and beautiful villa had been built by Prof. Dr. Endenmann in 1906.

The property belonged to a series of villas on the castle hill in Heidelberg which made architectural history because of their eclectic German Country Villa style. The trilingual (German, French, English) publication Architecture of the 20th Century (7/1907) described the house as "distinguished by its picturesque appearance."

After World War I the house was sold to the Schmitthelm family who made their fortune by manufacturing down comforters. During World War II the spacious family mansion was filled with families from Mannheim whose homes had been bombed. At the end of the war, the US occupational army confiscated the house and used it as the headquarters for the CIC, the forerunner of the CIA. For several years it was used to interrogate former Nazis and to monitor communist activities. In 1953 West Germany received limited sovereignty from the Allies and the house was returned to the Schmitthelm family. The family, having moved to a more modern home, rented out the spacious villa to the newly established Federal German army, which used it for its regional headquarters offices.

In 1965 the house was offered for sale. Pepperdine University was able to purchase the house for $ 100,000, the price it had cost to erect it in 1906. Extensive renovation converted the house into a dormitory building. Great care was taken to preserve the character of the house with its turn-of-the-century touch.

In April of 1966 the first students moved into Pepperdine's own facility named after the late J.C. Moore, Jr., Pepperdine controller and spiritual father of the Heidelberg program. The house provided space for 36 students and a faculty family as well as the program office, library, a student center/breakfast room and a spacious reception room. The house consists of four stories: a lower ground floor and three additional floors. The domestic offices were located in the lower ground floor, while the main floor was designed to receive and host guests. It now contains the apartment for the visiting faculty, the library, computer lab and the reception room. The second floor housed the living quarters of the family, and the top floor, with a breathtaking view over Old Heidelberg and the Neckar Valley, was reserved for the servants. These floors are now used to house students.

The success of the Heidelberg program made the house too small for Pepperdine's purposes. At times 20 additional students were housed in three different locations throughout the city. Under the presidency of Dr. Howard White the decision was made to add two wings to Moore Haus. The construction, in solid masonry and concrete, took only three months; soon afterwards the house was declared a historic monument which would have precluded making any alterations to the structure. The two new wings were cleverly integrated into the existing architecture and blend into the house so harmoniously that old and new sections have to be pointed out to be noticed.

Moore Haus has, as one visitor put it, an "old world charm coupled with a very collegiate feeling". Since Pepperdine purchased the house up until the year 2016, approximately 3,500 students have been able to call it their "home away from home"; many students describe their time of study in Heidelberg as their most valuable and memorable educational experience. Because of its hilltop location, Moore Haus stands commandingly as the highest house on the Castle hill and is prominently visible from the famous Philosopher's Way and the Old Town of Heidelberg. Virtually every visitor to the Heidelberg Castle, whether by bus or on foot, passes by Moore Haus. Thus, not only is Pepperdine's first European Property situated in one of the most romantic and fabled cities in the world, but it also stands as one of the town's most prominent landmarks. The property has proved to be both a good investment and a wonderful place for American students to study and live during their 20th century version of the Grand Tour of Europe.

In 2016 the Heidelberg Program was able to celebrate both the 110th birthday of Moore Haus (built in 1906) and the 50th anniversary of Moore Haus serving as a "home away from home" for countless Pepperdine students since 1965/66. The Heidelberg Program is very grateful for all of the generous donations that allowed a complete renovation of the building, turning Moore Haus into a gem that countless Pepperdine students will continue to enjoy in years to come. President Benton officially cut the ribbon at the 2016 Moore Haus Dedication Ceremony which took place on June 3, 2016, in the presence of students, alumni, faculty, friends, and many of the donors involved in this great project.

Heidelberg International Program
(Adapted and modified from the original text by Herbert Luft)

Information for Faculty-in-Residence

What does the Heidelberg Program look like?

Unlike other International Programs, the Heidelberg Program does not have classrooms in the same house where the students and faculty-in-residence live. Students and faculty-in-residence reside and eat breakfast in Moore Haus while the classrooms are in the Old Town of Heidelberg, approximately a 15-20 minute walk from Moore Haus.

The distance is similar to starting from the lower part of Drescher apartments (or the Baxter Dr. swimming pool area) and walking down to Appleby Center. This map from Moore Haus to the classrooms will help provide a visual (map). There is no viable public transportation from Moore Haus to the classrooms.

Most students stay in the classrooms all day until dinner and don't return to Moore Haus until after dinner (depending on their class schedule of course). Dinners are provided in various restaurants in town. While it is possible to take a taxi ($8-12) most walk back and forth from Moore Haus to classes and meals. After walking up the hill to Moore Haus there are steps from the gate on street level to get to the front door of Moore Haus (similar to climbing the CCB steps).

Classrooms: We have one very large classroom (all students can fit into this room), two medium sized classrooms (24 students) and one small classroom (10 students).
Multi-Media: There are laptops (PCs) in all classrooms connected to a projector. If you work with Apple/Mac, you might need an adapter to connect your laptop to the projector, or you simply bring your data on a flashdrive and use the classroom laptop. DVDs can be played through the laptops. If you plan to bring DVDs for your classes, please discuss this with Christina Wuttke in advance so that a laptop that plays US versions of DVDs will be available.
Faculty office:There is a large faculty office with two desktop computers in the classrooms and this office is shared with other faculty. Each faculty member has a little locker where he/she can lock up things.
Wifi: Both facilities, Moore Haus and the classrooms, have Wifi for the students and faculty.
Library: The library is in Moore Haus, not in the classrooms.
For further questions related to the classrooms or academic matters, please contact the
Academic Coordinator Christina Wuttke.

Visiting the Program

Visiting Moore Haus
Parents, family, and other associates of current Pepperdine Heidelberg students are welcome to visit our program facilities, Moore Haus, and enjoy our campus. While planning your visit, we encourage you to reference this page as well as our local pages for information about places to see, eat, visit, and go in and around Heidelberg.
When to visit
Please remember our participants are full time students and are balancing a strenuous academic schedule with weekend travels, and we encourage you to plan your visit in a time that will not place undue stress on them. We highly discourage visits during the following times: Orientation (first week of each semester), Midterm Exams (check with your student for their exact schedule), Educational Field Trip (no students will be in Heidelberg), Final Exams (last two weeks of each semester), Final Banquet.

Directions to Moore House

Address
Pepperdine University
Graimbergweg 10
69117 Heidelberg, Germany
Office Phone: 011-49-6221-9 02 50
Location

Map

Shuttle to and from Frankfurt International Airport
- There is a Lufthansa Shuttle available from Frankfurt Airport,Terminal 1 to the Crowne Plaze Hotel, Heidelberg City Center. Reservations must be made in advance. For prices, departure time, and to make reservations, please visit this link:

Program History

1906 The house at Graimbergweg 10 was built by Prof. Dr. Endemann.

1920's After World War I, this villa was home to the Schmitthelm family.

1940's During World War II, the house was inhabited by families from nearby Mannheim who
were bombed out by the war.

1950's After World War II, the house became the property of the United States Army.
It was used by the CIC (a precursor to the CIA) for interrogations of suspect Nazis and
to monitor Communist party activities.

1963 Heidelberg, Germany was established as the first international Year-In-Europe program
site of Pepperdine. Students participating in the first two years of the program lived in
hotels and guesthouses in the Altstadt (Old Town) of Heidelberg. They attended classes
first at the Amerika Haus and later at the Hotel Europäischer Hof.

1963-64 Howard White - Heidelberg Program Director

1964-65 J.P. Sanders - Heidelberg Program Director

1965-66 Jerry Hudson - Heidelberg Program Director

1965 Pepperdine purchased a permanent site for the program under the leadership of
J.C. Moore Jr. and Norvel Young, who was Pepperdine President (1957-1971)
at the time.

1966 In the fall, the site was named Moore Haus after J.C. Moore Jr., and the program moved
into its present day location.

1966 Glenn Boyd was the first Heidelberg Program Director in Moore Haus (1966-1973) and
later, after returning to Malibu, became the Director of European Programs (1973-1981).

1967 Sabine Luft - Prof. of German Language and Culture

1971 William Banowsky - Pepperdine President (1971-1978)

1972-73 Sharyn Moore served as Program Assistant to Glenn Boyd in his final year.

1973 Herbert Luft - Heidelberg Program Director (1973-1992)

1973 Ruth Ransohoff - Prof. of German Language and Culture

1974 Carola Cribari - Prof. of Fine Arts

1978 Howard White - Pepperdine President (1978-1985)

1980 The Tower Annex was added to the house, allowing room for 6 additional students.

1981 Bruno Lerner - Prof. of History, Humanities, German Literature

1981 Mary Drehsel joined the Heidelberg Program as Prof. of German Language and later
became the Heidelberg Academic Coordinator (1985).

1981-83 Colleen Graffy - Heidelberg Program Acting Director

1985 William B. Phillips - Dean of International Programs (1985-2005)

1985 David Davenport - Pepperdine President (1985-2000)

1986 Martin Sattler - Prof. of Fine Arts, Humanities, Political Science

1988 Classes were held from now on in their present day location in the building on
Hauptstraße 92 (third floor).

1991 Pamela Wood - Heidelberg Program Assistant (1991-1994)

1992 Fall Semester: Chip Moore - Heidelberg Program Director

1993 Spring/Summer Semester: Mary Drehsel - Heidelberg Program Director

1993 Daniel Daugherty - Heidelberg Program Director (1993-present)

1994 Irmi Cors - Heidelberg Program Assistant (1994-2001)

1997 Christina Wuttke - Prof. of German Language and Culture

1997 Summer: Mary Drehsel - Heidelberg Program Acting Director

2000 Andrew Benton - Pepperdine President (2000-present)

2001 In September, Freunde von Heidelberg was established to provide services to alumni,
organize reunions in Germany and to provide historic restoration to Moore Haus.

2001 Ulla Prokop - Heidelberg Program Assistant (2001-2015)

2002 Spring/Summer Semester: Mary Drehsel - Heidelberg Program Acting Director

2003-04 Mary Drehsel - Heidelberg Program Acting Director

2005 Charles Hall - Dean of International Programs (2005-present)

2006 In the spring, additional classrooms and a faculty office became available on the
second floor of Hauptstraße 92.

2006 In May, the 100 Year Anniversary Celebration at Moore Haus took place inviting past
residents, faculty and friends back for the festivities.

2010 Margaret Hollas-Culton - Prof. of German Language and Culture

2011 Sadly, Mary Drehsel passed away in February after a long battle with cancer.

2011 Christina Wuttke - Heidelberg Academic Coordinator

2011 Diana Bursy - Prof. of German, Psychology

2012 Willi Schwarz - Prof. of Economics, Mathematics, Philosophy

2014 Summer: Moore Haus Renovation Phase I (no summer program)

2015 Summer: Moore Haus Renovation Phase II (Music Program housed in hotels)

2015 Martina Drefs - Heidelberg Program Assistant

2016 Moore Haus Dedication Ceremony with President Benton, Dean Hall, donors, alumni,
faculty, students and friends to celebrate both the 110th birthday of Moore Haus
(built in 1906) and the 50th anniversary of Moore Haus serving as a "home away from
home" for countless Pepperdine students since 1965/66. The Heidelberg Program is
very grateful for all of the generous donations that allowed a complete renovation of the
building, turning Moore Haus into a gem that countless Pepperdine students will continue
to enjoy in years to come.