ATLANTA — Agnes Scott College has submitted a comprehensive, long-term Climate Action Plan (CAP) as part of a commitment made with about 650 other colleges and universities across the country to reduce their impact on the environment. Agnes Scott’s CAP outlines strategies and 5-year targets designed to achieve “climate neutrality” by around 2037.

As part of its commitment to climate change, Agnes Scott also has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by about 6 percent since the college documented its baseline greenhouse gas inventory in 2008. The college achieved energy savings through setting standard building temperatures during operating hours, minimizing building operating schedules and encouraging behavioral changes such as switching off lights, computers and printers.

Since submitting its baseline in 2008, Agnes Scott’s other sustainability achievements include a 20 percent reduction in landfill waste (26 tons), a reduction in water usage and a policy that all renovation and new construction will be designed for LEED Silver or higher. In the past year, Agnes Scott has introduced a single-stream recycling program that eliminates the need to separate recyclable items, begun composting food waste and installed motion-detecting light sensors throughout campus.
  
WAUKESHA, Wis. — Carroll University and the University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee have formed a partnership that will provide opportunities for students to earn both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering in Waukesha County.
 
Under terms of the agreement, students can earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Physics at Carroll University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering or a Master of Science Degree in Engineering at UWM. These dual-degree programs will require students to attend Carroll for three years and UWM for two years. Students may choose to earn a second undergraduate degree at UWM or a master’s degree. Requirements for those options are different.
 
Carroll students taking advantage of the partnership will be required to complete all UWM admission requirements. UWM will admit all Carroll students who have completed Carroll’s three-year pre-engineering program and meet certain criteria.

CALDWELL, Idaho — For the third year in a row, The College of Idaho has enrolled one of its largest freshman classes and the college is the largest it has ever been, according to enrollment figures released Sept. 30.

The college has 356 new students, including freshman and transfers, an increase of 8.9 percent over last year. There are 1,013 total students this year, an increase of 7.3 percent.

Last year, the college enrolled 327 new students, including freshman and transfers, and had 944 total students. Before fall 2008, the largest the school had ever been was 940 students in 1971.
   
POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — At College of the Ozarks, students considering an undergraduate nursing degree now have the opportunity to concurrently enroll in the Army ROTC “Nurse Cadet” program.

Nursing students who are Army ROTC cadets have an opportunity for a unique summer nursing experience through the Army ROTC’s Nurse Summer Training Program (NSTP).

The paid, three-week NSTP assigns cadets to Army hospitals throughout the United States and Germany and introduces them to the Army Medical Department, as well as the roles and responsibilities of an Army Nurse Corps Officer. One-on-one clinical experience will allow cadets to hone patient skills, develop problem-solving techniques and become comfortable with developing professional skills as a member of the U.S. Army Healthcare Team.

ELKINS, W. Va. — Davis & Elkins College President G.T. “Buck” Smith has announced official enrollment figures for the fall 2009 semester, breaking all records for new full-time students in more than 60 years.

The number of new full-time students is 310, an increase of more than 50 percent from a year ago. The total number of full-time students is 625, an increase of 22.3 percent in one year.

College officials credit the increases to a new, more personalized approach to recruiting. Another key factor for the unprecedented enrollment increase may have been the decision in March by the College’s Board of Trustees to lower tuition for all full-time students.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Eckerd College has announced its highest fall enrollment numbers in the college’s 51-year history.

“Eckerd College has 1,842 full-time equivalent students currently enrolled,” said Lloyd W. Chapin, vice president for Academic Affairs and dean of faculty. “This final number is 41 students over and above our overall projected goal for the Fall 2009 term.”

Eckerd College full-time equivalent numbers at a glance:

Fall 2006 - 1817
Fall 2007 - 1817
Fall 2008 - 1801
Fall 2009 - 1842

The final enrollment numbers are consistent with other positive college indicators: residence halls are at capacity with more than 80 percent living on campus; enrollment numbers for the Program for Experienced Learners adult degree program is up 3 percent; the giving rate for alumni exceeds 35 percent; and the college has raised $70 million toward its $80 million campaign goal.

MONMOUTH, Ill. — After a week of buzz around campus that Monmouth College’s all-time enrollment record could be broken, it was announced that 1,379 students are enrolled for the fall semester, eclipsing a mark that has stood since Lyndon B. Johnson was the nation’s president.

When the nation’s economy bottomed out last fall, colleges like Monmouth began bracing for a drop in enrollment. Planning for a decline of 200 students — roughly 15 percent — was a worst-case scenario.

The previous high in Monmouth’s 156-year history came in 1967-68, when 1,367 students were enrolled. Shortly thereafter, the student population began what would be a steady decline, eventually reaching a low point in the early 1990s when enrollment was just below 600 students. But it has steadily increased since, with last year’s figure at 1,328 students. This year’s record enrollment represents nearly a 4 percent increase from the fall of 2008.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Peace College President Laura Carpenter Bingham announced that she will conclude her tenure as the college’s ninth and first alumna president next summer, after 12 years in office.

Under Bingham’s leadership, Peace College has completed its transition to, and established its identity as a four-year baccalaureate institution, grown its campus and expanded its facilities, deepened and strengthened its academic program and set a succession of record enrollments.

During Bingham’s tenure, Peace added a Leadership Studies curriculum, the only such program in North Carolina; an innovative Teacher Education program in partnership with Wake County Public Schools that leads to dual certification in elementary and special education; and this year launched evening degree-completion programs. Early on, Bingham asserted the place of athletics in the development of women and leadership opportunities, joined the NCAA, added three sports and led Peace to become the first women’s college to join the USA South Athletic Conference.  

PIKEVILLE, Ky. — On behalf of the Board of Trustees at Pikeville College, President Paul Patton announced that James Hurley has been named vice president and special assistant to the president.

Hurley, of Pikeville, has been the principal of Belfry Middle School for the past five years. As an educator, he has served in numerous leadership and administrative roles, including as assistant principal, dean of students, teacher and athletic coach.

“I’ve employed James Hurley to communicate the attributes of Pikeville College to the schools, students and parents in our service area of central Appalachia. With his background, he can relate to and connect with the students who could benefit from an experience at Pikeville College,” Patton said.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — On Sept. 25, Trinity University’s Board of Trustees elected Dennis A. Ahlburg to serve as the university’s 18th president. Ahlburg will assume the presidency Jan. 1.

Ahlburg is an internationally respected authority on the impact of population growth on development and the economics of higher education.

“Trinity University is an outstanding institution and I look forward to working with the board, faculty, staff, students, and alumni as we move Trinity to the front ranks of the nation's leading liberal arts colleges,” said Ahlburg in accepting the position.

Ahlburg succeeds John R. Brazil, who announced his retirement from the presidency in January 2009.

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Tusculum College reached a historic milestone with the entrance of its 2009-10 residential class with 370 new students — an increase of 5.7 percent over last year’s record.

The registration total was announced by Jacquelyn D. Elliott, vice president for enrollment management for Tusculum College, who said that the number includes 310 entering freshmen, 53 transfer students and seven new international students.

“Tusculum College’s residential program continues to grow for a number of reasons,” she said. “Our admission focus is on a more structured search, and we are more focused in how we reach out to potential students in the Appalachian area.”

Tusculum, which has a tradition of reaching out to first-generation college students, did so again, with 38.5 percent of the fall entering class listed as first-generation college students.

DUBUQUE, Iowa — On Sept. 24, University of Dubuque President Jeffrey F. Bullock announced the retirement of John R. Stewart, vice president and dean of academic affairs, effective June 1, 2010.

“I am profoundly grateful to have had the opportunity to serve God in this place since 2001,” Stewart said. “The University is an exciting place to work and is well-positioned to move into the most productive period in its more than 150-year history.”

A national search, including internal and external candidates, will be conducted to fill Stewart's position.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Bill Robinson has announced that his 17th year as president of Whitworth University will be his last — making him the second longest-serving and one of the most influential presidents in the school's 120-year history.

Robinson became Whitworth’s 17th president in July 1993. During his tenure, the number of freshman applications to Whitworth has increased 518 percent, enrollment has grown by 60 percent and retention and graduation rates have reached record highs well above national averages. More than $83 million in campus improvements have been made, including a new center for the visual arts, a landmark general academic building, three new residence halls and several outdoor athletics facilities. Financial support from alumni and friends has increased steadily, contributing to an increase of nearly $75 million in the university's endowment before the recent market downturn.

“Perhaps no president in Whitworth’s history has done a better job than Bill Robinson of understanding and articulating Whitworth’s unique educational mission to hold up Christian conviction and intellectual curiosity as complementary rather than competing values,” said Michael Le Roy, vice president for Academic Affairs and dean of faculty.

SPOKANE, Wash. — David Myers, an award-winning social psychologist and researcher who received the Gordon Allport Prize for his studies of group influence, will relate religiosity to human flourishing in his lecture, “A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists: Musings on Why God Is Good and Faith Isn't Evil.”Myers will speak Oct. 7 at Whitworth University. Admission is free. For more information, please call (509) 777-4263.

Myers, a Whitworth trustee and a 1964 alumnus, is a professor of psychology at Hope College. His lecture will be based on his 2008 book of the same title, in which he responds to arguments posed by “new atheists,” who assert that all religions are not only false, but dangerous. The new atheists offer stories of atrocities committed in the name of religion. They also point to studies that indicate that countries with the highest rates of happiness, life expectancy, and education are also relatively secular.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — The Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, who holds the highest elected position in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), visited Wilson College Sept. 21, to speak about “Spirituality in the Age of Twitter” and lead a worship service that made use of new media.
 
Reyes-Chow is moderator of the 2.3 million-member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and founding pastor of Mission Bay Community Church in San Francisco. He is a prolific blogger and social media user. In his lecture he discussed his views on social networking and the future of communities of faith.

“To reach a generation that lives and breathes online, we must abandon the assumption that technology and social networking have no place in discovering, nurturing and/or living out community,” Reyes-Chow has said. “Just as the arrival of the printing press, telephone and automobile changed the culture of the church, technology must also be embraced and utilized faithfully.”