William S. Banowsky

In 1972, William Slater Banowsky was president of Pepperdine University. His term began January 1, 1971, when his mentor Pepperdine president Norvel Young assumed the role of chancellor.¹

Banowsky was a graduate of sister-school David Lipscomb College in Nashville. He worked as Young's assistant at Pepperdine briefly in the 1960s while studying for his doctorate at USC.² He then became the minister of the Broadway Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas, one of the largest congregations in the churches of Christ at the time. He returned to Pepperdine as executive vice president in 1968.¹

As president, Banowsky spent most of his time making the Malibu campus a reality: raising funds, approving architectural plans, and overseeing construction. He spent over 80% of his time on these external pursuits, delegating most internal operations to a team of administrators including executive vice president Howard White.¹

Banowsky was highly skilled as a fundraiser, bringing in many tens of millions of dollars in donations to support the construction of the Malibu campus. He formed a special relationship with donor Blanche Seaver, who would give over $160 million to Pepperdine over the course of many years.³

Part of Banowsky's success as a fundraiser was due to his ability to connect with donors over their shared conservative politics. Banowsky was involved in Republican politics in California, chairing Nixon's re-election campaign in LA county in 1972,⁴ and serving in other roles throughout the years. Many of the donors Banowsky targeted were similarly involved, including Seaver, Margaret Brock, and Leonard Firestone. In 1972, he had a weekly television program on KNBC called "The Sunday Show."

In 1978, Banowsky left Pepperdine to serve as president of the University of Oklahoma. He was succeeded in Malibu by Howard White.