News

Passages

Aid worker killed in Afghanistan, Palm Beach Atlantic University president resigns, and other transitions.

Killed • Gayle Williams, a 34-year-old aid worker for Christian charity Serve Afghanistan, in a daylight shooting in the Afghan capital of Kabul. Taliban militants said they shot her because she was spreading Christianity. The British and South African national had been working with the disabled in the country for two years, and had recently moved to Kabul for safety. Serve says it has a policy against direct evangelism.

Installed • Charles H. Webb, as president of Spring Arbor University in Michigan. He has served as vice president for university development at Michigan State University since 1995.

Appointed • Jay Hein, as senior fellow and director of the Program for Faith and Service at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion. He has been director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives since 2006.

Hired • Tetsunao “Ted” Yamamori, as president and ceo of WorldServe Ministries. Before joining the Frisco, Texas-based missions organization that focuses on China and Cuba, he was president emeritus of Food for the Hungry International and international director of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.

Retiring • David W. Clark, as president of Palm Beach Atlantic University. Previously the founding provost of Regent University, Clark has served the Florida school of 3,200 since July 2003.

Died • Lois Gladys Leppard, popular children’s author, at age 84. Her best-selling Mandie series, historical adventures written from a Christian perspective, grew to 40 books and sold six million copies.

Settled • Tim and Paulita Brooker‘s lawsuit against Oral Roberts University. The former professors sued the Tulsa, Oklahoma, school in October 2007 for wrongful termination and fraud, and accused then-president Richard Roberts of misspending university funds.

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