News Articles

The Montana Conference board of directors has invited Ken Norton to serve as the next conference president. This comes after the departure of Elden Ramirez, who recently took the call to serve as undersecretary for the North American Division. After prayerful consideration, Norton accepted and hopes to begin his duties in May 2021.

When the Shelby County, Tennessee, Health Department placed significant restrictions on area restaurants and other businesses in December 2020 because of the coronavirus, Adventist Reginald Coopwood, M.D., and his family decided to do something to help those impacted. The Coopwoods set up the “Pay It Forward Mid-South” campaign, which ran through Jan. 31, 2021. By the end of the campaign, close to $500,000 had been raised. 

This past year, hundreds of students benefited from two key financial aids offered by Andrews: the Student Life COVID-19 Emergency Fund and the President’s Student Scholarship Fund. Together, the two forms of support provided immediate crisis assistance and addressed the long-term financial difficulties stemming from the pandemic.

Widespread testing has long been touted by public health officials as one of the best ways to control the COVID-19 pandemic and save lives. In January, in keeping with this guidance, La Sierra University bolstered its disease detection efforts with the rollout of new, rapid-test equipment. On Jan. 13, 2021, the university’s student wellness services department deployed a rapid point-of-care PCR Cepheid GeneExpert Express molecular testing system.

Like many, NASA scientist R. Aileen Yingst (Andrews Academy alumna) was home watching as the NASA engineers at the Jet Propulsion Lab in California skillfully landed the small car-size rover after its seven-month journey in space. But as a member of the Sherloc instrument team, she’s responsible for helping to analyze photographs of the planet’s geology, looking for any clues in rocks or sand grains that might tell scientists whether Mars could have supported life. So when she heard the words, “Touchdown complete,” it was an emotional culmination of years of hard work.

Pain comes in all shapes and sizes. Think about all the businesses that have been forced to close. How will the hundreds of thousands who’ve lost work pay their rent? How will they explain to their families that they might soon be living on the street? You and I can both extend the list of the agonies that plague our fractured planet and the people who live here. But there is always hope, healing hope.

With phase 1 of Healthy Campus 2020® completed and now in its maintenance and sustainability stage, Oakwood University is looking toward phase 2, Healthy Campus, Healthy Community®, where the university intends to promote health beyond its campus and address the needs of community members — one neighborhood at a time — through its Mobile Market.

In February 2021, Eyes for India held its annual eye camp in Barabanki district, India. At this year's camp, the It Is Written project was able to restore sight to thousands of people.

Southwestern Adventist University president Ken Shaw has announced that he has accepted an offer to serve as the 27th president of Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee. His transition will take place at the end of this academic year.

The Southern Adventist University Board of Trustees voted unanimously on February 28 for Ken Shaw, EdD, to become the 27th president of the university. He will assume office on June 1. For the past seven years, Shaw has served as president of Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, Texas.