Pepperdine School of Public Policy Appoints Abbylin Sellers as Edward L. Gaylord Professor of Public Policy

The School of Public Policy (SPP) is pleased to announce Dr. Abbylin Sellers as the Edward L. Gaylord Professor of Public Policy. Sellers joins the full-time faculty following her service as a visiting professor at the School of Public Policy since 2022.

With expertise rooted in the American founding, faith and politics, and welfare policy, Sellers will teach two courses in the Fall: Great Ideas: Ethics, Culture, Markets, Politics, and Technology, one of SPP’s distinctive core offerings, and Seminar in Political Issues: 20th Century Welfare Policy, an elective for the American Politics specialization.

“It is such an honor to join the full-time faculty at the School of Public Policy,” stated Sellers. “I relish the opportunity to further advance liberal arts learning fastened to the Christian faith as well as cultivate deep thinkers who can evaluate and consider various perspectives and points of view. It truly is a joy to teach and mentor SPP students, helping them as budding policy makers consider how they can best steward their gifts to serve the public good. My hope is to encourage students to not fixate on the lofty goal of changing the world, but to bear witness to it through their actions as a person of influence in their respective spheres of the policy sector and in their own local communities.”

Sellers brings a wealth of academic and professional experience to the position. She earned her PhD in political science from Claremont Graduate University, holds a master of public administration from Regent University, and received a bachelor’s from Westmont College. She has served as a member of the faculty at Azusa Pacific University since 2012, most recently as a faculty fellow in the university’s Honors College.

Sellers was awarded the James Madison Memorial Fellowship in Washington, DC, in 2021, and was named a 2022-2023 Fulbright Scholar to teach American constitutionalism and democracy in Japan at Yokohama National University and Hosei University (Ichigaya, Tokyo).

“Since beginning her time with us as a visiting professor in 2022, Prof. Sellers has quickly established herself as a deeply respected faculty member by her students who appreciate not only her teaching, but her community-building,” said Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy. “I'm delighted that we were able to bring her on in this full-time position, teaching core classes in the qualitative side of our unique MPP curriculum. I look forward to her helping to prepare future public leaders here at SPP for years to come.”

The Edward L. Gaylord Professorship was previously held by Dr. Steven Hayward, who has since transitioned to Visiting Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy, overseeing the school's new Energy, Environment, and Economics Lab.