Jim Gash

James Allan Gash (born 15 March 1967) is an American legal scholar and academic administrator who is the president of Pepperdine University.

Education Gash received his Bachelor of Arts in finance with highest honors from Abilene Christian University (ACU) in 1989. While at ACU, Gash was the place kicker for the Abilene Christian Wildcats football team.

In 1993, Gash graduated with highest honors with a Juris Doctor from the Pepperdine University School of Law in 1993. While in law school, he served as the editor-in-chief of the Pepperdine Law Review and finished at the top of his graduating class. Before being named president of Pepperdine, Gash served as the director of the Sudreau Global Justice Program at the Pepperdine University School of Law. On 14 February 2019, it was announced that he would become the eighth president of Pepperdine University, succeeding Andrew K. Benton. He was inaugurated on 25 September 2019.

Legal aid in Africa In 2009, Gash began providing legal aid in Africa and especially in Uganda. Over the next decade, he worked to reduce the backlog of juvenile cases, helped institute plea bargaining in the nation's justice system, and became the first American to argue a case before the Ugandan Court of Appeals. In 2012, he was named special advisor to the High Court of Uganda, In 2013, Gash won the Warren M. Christopher International Lawyer of the Year award, given by the California Lawyers Association.

Publications and Film Gash is the author of several academic law review articles, with a focus on punitive damages. In 2016, Gash told the story of his work in Africa in the book Divine Collision: An African Boy, an American Lawyer, and Their Remarkable Battle for Freedom. He is also the subject of a documentary called Remand, which covers his work in Uganda.