ALUMNI AWARD

Katie Zacharia’s Alma Mater Hit by Alumni Revolt: ‘I’m Ashamed’

And the alumni of the year award goes to..

Newly installed White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia’s alma mater is under fire for its fawning tribute to the former law student.

Pepperdine University, a private Christian school where Zacharia earned her bachelor’s and law degrees, is facing alumni scorn after a school spokesperson lavished praise on the new press secretary in several social media posts.

“Katie is a valued member of our Dean’s Council. We are proud to see her take on this important role in public service and represent the Pepperdine community on a national stage,” an Instagram post from the school captioned a smiling photo of Zacharia, 41. "

The statement also included praise from Dean Paul Caron, who said he “will be praying for Katie as she takes on such an important public service role.”

But her fellow alumni didn’t share the same sentiment.

“As a Pepperdine graduate, I’m ashamed to see my alma mater celebrating this,” a user who identified as Waldmansheeranfamily wrote in a comment that was “liked” nearly 600 times.

“As an alumni I’m disappointed to see this celebrated. This administration is destroying the rule of law,” another commenter who identified as lawyerfabi wrote.

Several other commenters accused the university staff of deleting negative sentiments under the post. “Are some alumni opinions more valid / important than others?” one person questioned.

A university spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions from the Daily Beast regarding allegedly deleted comments.

Others targeted Zacharia’s first press briefing on Tuesday morning, which drew criticism across the political spectrum. “No public speaking classes at Pepperdine apparently,” one person wrote.

Zacharia, who frequently appeared on Fox News and the far-right Newsmax, though not on either channel’s payroll, cut the briefing short after just 14 minutes.

The Trump appointee took only three questions, all from conservative outlets: Breitbart, Fox, and the Daily Mail. Despite the friendly line of questioning, she struggled to answer, including when asked how she plans to balance her new role with time for her children.

“The idea of not spending evenings with my kid, kids are completely unacceptable, so my president, err excuse me, my husband, that’s a good one, my husband is out here, is out here for the week,” she said, laughing awkwardly.

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Zacharia has been married to film producer Tyler Zacharia for at least a decade. The couple has four children under 12.

Zacharia is also under fire over her mysterious legal record. Though the pundit claims she has been a practicing attorney, the independent outlet Popular Information says no publicly available evidence shows Zacharia ever passed a bar exam or was admitted to the bar in any state.

Her LinkedIn also states that she worked as an associate at Zhong Lun Law Firm, an elite Chinese law firm.

Her work in China does not establish that she passed a U.S. bar exam or was admitted to practice in any state.

“Oh, this just gets better and better. Passed the bar in China, huh?” one person commented on Pepperdine’s post.

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Laura EspositoBreaking News Reporter

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