DECATUR, Ga. — Drivers of trucks and service vehicles won’t be able to keep their engines humming while at Agnes Scott College — the college is the first educational institution in Georgia to prohibit idling on campus, according to The Clean Air Campaign, a not-for-profit organization that works with partners, Georgia employers, commuters and schools to encourage actions that result in reduced traffic congestion and improved air quality.
Truck and service vehicles drivers on campus will now be required to turn off their engines while making deliveries. “No Idle Zone” signs will be placed in the three areas where service and delivery vehicles frequently operate while on campus. Drivers will be expected to cut off their engine upon arrival and restart engines only after loading or unloading is complete and the vehicle is ready to depart. The new policy excludes safety and emergency vehicles, electric vehicles and trailer engines used solely to control freight temperatures.
The policy was created to reduce wasted fuel, improve air quality on campus and in the region and to protect campus workers, students and visitors from potentially harmful emissions.
ALMA, Mich. — Alma College’s Board of Trustees appointed Jeff Abernathy, vice president and dean at Augustana College, as the 13th president of Alma College, effective July 1. Abernathy’s appointment to succeed Saundra Tracy, who is retiring in June, follows a national search by a 16-member search committee that included trustees, faculty, students, administrators and alumni.
JACKSON, Miss. — As of January 1, Belhaven College officially changed its name to Belhaven University. The reasons behind the name change are numerous, and President Roger Parrott has written an extensive letter to explain both the reasons for the change and to answer questions raised by individuals. The letter, along with a video of the announcement, can be found on the December 1 news release: “Belhaven College to Become Belhaven University.”
HASTINGS, Neb. — Phillip Dudley, president of Hastings College since 2000 and economics professor for nearly 40 years, will retire from the presidency effective July 2011.
The school’s Board of Trustees will launch a nationwide search for his successor in the coming months.
Following Dudley’s retirement, he will move to Omaha, where he’ll work for the Hastings College Foundation, which manages the college’s fund-raising and alumni activities.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Johnson C. Smith University welcomed Malcom-Jamal Warner to campus. Warner is best known as the fun-loving “Theo” on the ’80s sitcom The Cosby Show. Warner’s most recent acting role is on the comedy Sherri. In addition to acting and directing, he is an accomplished jazz musician. Warner met with JCSU drama students along with students from the Northwest School of the Arts in an informal setting. Students had the opportunity to ask questions about being both in front of and behind the camera.
MARYVILLE, Tenn. — The Maryville College Board of Directors announced that William T. “Tom” Bogart, dean of academic affairs and professor of economics at York College of Pennsylvania, will be Maryville’s 11th president. Bogart, 46, will assume his new duties on campus July 1. He will succeed President Gerald W. Gibson, who is retiring at the end of the academic year.
TULSA, Okla. — Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim and New York Times columnist Frank Rich will appear together on stage for a conversation about the musical arts.
Sondheim and Rich will speak at 7:30 p.m., April 19, at the University of Tulsa. The event is free and open to the public.
Sondheim is considered the most important artist to work in the American musical theater in the past half century. He has collaborated on more than a dozen landmark shows, written countless standard songs and been an influential force in bringing the Broadway musical into the modern age.
Rich is an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times. He has also worked as the paper’s chief drama critic and Arts and Leisure front-page columnist.