Heidelberg
Program Staff
Eyal Pinkas
Manager of Operations and Student Care
Instructor of Humanities and Fine Arts
Faculty-in-Residence
2026-2027
Gretchen Batcheller
gretchen.batcheller@pepperdine.edu
Professor of Studio Art - Painting & Drawing
Gretchen Batcheller is a Blanche E. Seaver Professor of Studio Art and teaches a wide range of courses in painting and drawing at Seaver College. This coming academic year will be her 13th year at Pepperdine University. As an undergraduate, she studied for two years in Dresden, Germany, and as a graduate student she studied for one year in Rome, Italy. She has previously served as Faculty-in-Residence in Heidelberg (AY 2018–2019), in Florence (summer 2015 and 2019), and in Lausanne, Switzerland (spring 2023). Her art courses are designed to take full advantage of the city’s landscape, architecture, and cultural resources, offering students a deeper, more immersive connection to Heidelberg. Gretchen teaches students at all levels and is known for creating a welcoming, encouraging environment—helping even the most nervous beginners feel confident and successful in making art. She is fluent in German and also speaks great "restaurant" Italian and French. She will be accompanied by her family—Gus Peterson, her husband; her daughter, Winefred (10); and her son, Orrin (7). Gretchen and her family are excited to grow, explore, and share in this new adventure with you all!
2027-2028
Joel Fetzer
Distinguished Professor of Political Science
Social Science Division, Seaver College
Joel S. Fetzer, Professor of Political Science, received his bachelor's in English and Government from Cornell University in 1988 and his doctorate in Political Science from Yale University in 1996. Following postdoctoral studies in International Relations at the University of Southern California, he was Assistant Professor of Political Science at Central Michigan University for two and a half years before moving to Pepperdine University in 2001. Fetzer's research interests and publications are in the fields of international migration, ethnic relations, religion and politics, and indigenous rights in the regions of Western Europe, North America, and East Asia. He is the author or coauthor of seven books: Selective Prosecution of Religiously Motivated Offenders in America (Edwin Mellen Press, 1989); Public Attitudes toward Immigration in the United States, France, and Germany (Cambridge University Press, 2000); Muslims and the State in Britain, France, and Germany (with J. Christopher Soper, Cambridge University Press, 2005); Luxembourg as an Immigration Success Story: The Grand Duchy in Pan-European Perspective (Lexington Books, 2011); Confucianism, Democratization, and Human Rights in Taiwan (with J. Christopher Soper, Lexington Books, 2012); Open Borders and International Migration Policy: The Effects of Unrestricted Immigration in the United States, France, and Ireland (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015); and Religion and Nationalism in Global Perspective (with J. Christopher Soper, Cambridge University Press, 2018). He has also published numerous journal articles and book chapters on related topics. Professor Fetzer teaches Immigration Politics and Ethnic Relations, Comparative European Politics, Public Opinion and Voting, East Asian Politics, Modern Asian Political Philosophy, Government and Politics of Developing Areas, State and Local Governments, and Indigenous Peoples of North America. In his free time, Joel enjoys biking, ice skating, learning foreign languages, and collecting, restoring, and using antique film cameras. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son.