VCU emergency system and sirens to be tested

Virginia Commonwealth University will test its emergency communication systems, including 10 sirens on the Monroe Park and MCV campuses, at noon today. The sirens will be audible beyond the two campuses.

The full test will include the sirens along with text messages, digital signs, e-mails and Web site information. The test also will include new emergency notification "Alertus" devices that are being installed in classrooms and residence halls. The Alertus devices set off an alarm, strobe light warning and large text digital display with emergency messages.

The system will sound a fast, up-and-down wail for three minutes. After a one-minute pause, a steady wail for one minute will signal all-clear to end the test.

Youths in foster care to get education help

A community college program designed to help foster-care youths continue their education will hold its inaugural forum Sept. 13.

Andrew Bridge, author of the memoir "Hope's Boy," will speak at the Great Expectations Education Forum. Anne Holton, Virginia's first lady, will moderate a listening session with foster youth.

Bridge, who was in foster care as a youth, is a graduate of Harvard Law School who has devoted his career to children's rights.

The forum will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. It is free, but registration is required. Register at www.GreatExpectations.vccs.edu or by calling (804) 819-4961.

An estimated 8,000 children are in Virginia's foster-care system. Virginia has the highest percentage of foster-care youth who age out of the system without permanent family support.

Ferrum College reports record enrollment

Ferrum College began classes this week with a record number of students, the third consecutive year of significant enrollment increases.

About 650 new students began classes Monday, with a total enrollment of more than 1,300 students.

The college built a three-story residence hall on the west side of campus that houses 120 students. Margaret M. Clark Hall is named in memory of Ferrum's former registrar and longest-serving staff member.

John Tyler Community College Board to meet

The John Tyler Community College Board will meet at 3 p.m. Sept. 11 on the Midlothian Campus, 800 Charter Colony Parkway.

The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held in the Administration Building, room B207. A sign-up sheet will be made available 30 minutes before the meeting begins for anyone interested in addressing the board.

Lincoln's leadership legacy to be studied

The University of Richmond's Jepson Leadership Forum will focus on Abraham Lincoln's legacy of leadership this season.

The eight-session season will begin at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 with a talk by Richard Carwardine, Rhodes professor of American history at the University of Oxford. He will discuss "Wonderful Self-Reliance: Abraham Lincoln's Leadership" at the Alumni Center.

The second session will feature UR President Edward L. Ayers, who will speak Oct. 7 on "What Lincoln Was Up Against: The Context of Leadership."

For the forum schedule, visit www.jepson.richmond.edu/events/forum08/index.htm.

The programs are free and open to the public, but tickets are required. To reserve a ticket call (804) 289-8980. For group tickets, contact Sue Robinson Sain at (804) 287-6522.

Appointments

Alvin J. Schexnider will become the interim president of Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton at the beginning of October.

Schexnider has served as a faculty member and senior executive at more than half a dozen institutions, including Virginia Commonwealth University and Norfolk State University. From 1996 to 2000 he was chancellor of Winston-Salem State University. He later served as interim president of Norfolk State University.

Schexnider will succeed Charles Taylor, who announced last month that he was leaving the college on sabbatical.

Stephanie G. Adams has been named the associate dean for undergraduate studies at the VCU School of Engineering. Adams, former associate dean of undergraduate education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is a native of Norfolk.

-- Karin Kapsidelis

Karin Kapsidelis reports on higher education. Contact her at (804) 639-6119 or kkapsidelis@timesdispatch.com.