Hachette India

Divine Collision

Jim Gash

Jim Gash, former Los Angeles lawyer and current president and CEO of Pepperdine University, tells the amazing story of how, after a series of God-orchestrated events, he finds himself in the heart of Africa defending a courageous Ugandan boy languishing in prison and wrongfully accused of two separate murders. Ultimately, their unlikely friendship and unrelenting persistence reforms Uganda's criminal justice system, leaving a lasting impact on hundreds of thousands of lives and revealing a relationship that supersedes circumstance, culture, and the walls we often hide behind. Jim and Henry's story, and the larger narrative of Ugandan criminal justice reform, was featured in a documentary by Revolution Pictures.>

Jim Gash

After majoring in finance at Abilene Christian University Jim Gash continued his education at Pepperdine University School of Law. During his first year of law school Gash decided that his career goal would be to return to teach at Pepperdine where his passion for the law was ignited and his spiritual life was enriched by the faculty administration and community. As a professor he has taught Torts Evidence and International Human Rights. While at Pepperdine he has devoted himself to advancing the rule of law in developing countries including traveling to Uganda more than twenty times with Pepperdine students and alumni to assist that country in its justice reform efforts. Most recently after being associate dean for strategic planning and external relations and professor of law he has been named the eighth president and CEO of Pepperdine University effective August 2019. Jim is married with three children and lives in Malibu California.