Died Leon Morris, a prolific Australian biblical scholar, on July 24 from complications caused by hip surgery. He was 92. Morris, a self-taught theologian known for his work on substitutionary atonement, wrote more than 50 books and served as the president of Ridley College in Melbourne for 15 years. He also contributed to the NIV and ESV Bible translations and was a corresponding editor for Christianity Today.
Purchased Multnomah Publishers, a Christian publishing company best known for The Prayer of Jabez, by Random House on August 2. Multnomah will merge with WaterBrook Press, an evangelical publishing division created by Random House in 1996.
Selected Jay Hein, as the fourth director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives on August 3. Hein, founding president of the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research, replaces Jim Towey, who became the president of Saint Vincent College on July 1.
Appointed David Lee Parkyn, as the ninth president of North Park University on July 1. Previously, he was the provost and senior vice president at Elizabethtown College. Parkyn also worked as a professor and administrator at Messiah College for 23 years.