Leonard K. Firestone

In 1972, Leonard Firestone was the former president of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.¹ Firestone was a friend of Nelson Rockefeller, and a supporter of Republican political causes. He served as US Ambassador to Belgium under Richard Nixon.² He was a member of the President's Board, a group of potential donors courted by chancellor Norvel Young and president William Banowsky, and his name now graces the Firestone Fieldhouse.³

In 1970, Firestone was approached by Young and Banowsky, who offered to name the Los Angeles campus Firestone College in exchange for $4 million over several years. Firestone refused, claiming Pepperdine's LA campus was unlikely to survive long in its urban location. He did offer, however, to contribute to the new Malibu campus.²