London

Dr. Darlene Rivas

Darlene Rivas is a Professor of History and Latin American studies and received her PhD at Vanderbilt University. Her work focuses on U.S. foreign relations and transnational social and political movements in the 20th Century.  Believing that play facilitates active learning, especially in the living/learning environment abroad, she integrates Reacting to the Past role-playing simulations in her courses.  She and her husband Mike have participated in the Lausanne and Heidelberg programs and are eager to explore London and the UK with Pepperdine students!

Corinne Novell

Corinne Novell is an Assistant Professor of Marketing of Teaching and has been at Pepperdine since 2019. She received her PhD from the University of Florida. Her research applies and interdisciplinary perspective drawing on marketing and psychological theories to investigate people’s motivations and decision-making across consumer and performance contexts. Her teaching approach centers on immersive learning and experiential activities to help students translate their knowledge and skills to real world environments. She and her husband love food and are excited to take on London’s ethnically-diverse culinary offerings.

David Strong

Dr. Strong previously served as Faculty in Residence in two summer programs: London in 2003 (with three young kids) and Florence in 2011 (by that time, with five kids). Dr. Strong also lived in northern Italy for two years as a missionary for the LDS Church. As a result of these past experiences, he has personally felt the many positive effects of living abroad. London is his favorite city in the world to visit: the history, culture, churches, choirs, music, shows, museums, food, sports, parks, markets, buses, rain, people, and so much more. Dr. Strong feels very fortunate to finally get to live there and to help his students also fall in love with London. He is looking forward to connecting the math courses he teaches to London and the rest of Europe.  

Dr. Strong's wife, Leticia, a violist in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is just as excited to join him in shaping the community of our program and helping you (our students) have a happy and life-changing fall semester in London. We can't wait to start exploring and experiencing London with you, and we are eager to share some of the tips and lessons we have learned during our past visits there. We hope to help you feel at home during your time in London, and we are looking forward to having you up to the faculty flat for food, games, and conversations!