Celebrating its 11th anniversary, the OC Music Awards kicks off on January 3rd with seven weeks of free showcases at different venues across the county. 35 local artists will compete for the titles of Best Live Band or Best Live Acoustic and a performance slot at the 2012 OC Music Awards, March 3 at the Grove of Anaheim. And, the voting is open now!

Meeting Tully James Wilkinson at a coffee shop for his interview seems àpropos considering the young, good-looking English major (his favorite author is C.S. Lewis), singer-songwriter, and college student got his musical start playing in coffee shops.

Even though he has naught but a demo out, with a nod from the OC Music Awards and a House of Blues show under his belt, “discovering” Wilkinson at a coffee shop certainly paid off in more than caffeinated highs for the performer–regardless of how “taxing” playing “two hour sets for not that much feedback” might understandably become.

But not so “taxing” that the struggle of being a full-time student, “working two or three jobs to pay for stuff,” and being “pretty busy” doesn’t make Wilkinson feel energized by a sense of accomplishment.

“Playing shows at night kind of makes you come alive,” said Wilkinson, sincerely. “So it’s all worth it in the end.”

Read more: OC Music Awards 2012: Tully James Wilkinson Is A Lyrical Storyteller With Intimate, Emotional Acoustic Entreaties http://kroq.radio.com/2012/02/05/oc-music-awards-2012-tully-james-wilkinson-is-a-lyrical-storyteller-with-intimate-emotional-acoustic-entreaties/#ixzz1mOVzXvLu

Bob Wilson, Athletic Director, states “The Vanguard University Athletic Program is committed to excellence in pursuit of our mission by providing a quality collegiate experience for our student athletes.  We have concluded that the logistics of the aquatics program do not allow for us to do so at this time.  Therefore, the decision has been made to remove aquatics from the Vanguard University Athletic Program.”

All aquatic student athletes that had eligibility remaining and who desire to return to Vanguard University to continue their education will be granted the same amount of athletic financial aid for the 2012-13 academic year as was provided for the student athlete in the 2011-12 academic year.   Other institutional aid (academic, institutional need based funds and loans) will be honored as long as each student athlete has submitted their FASFA by March 2, 2012 and continues to meet the criteria established for that aid.  Beyond the 2012-13 academic year, each student athlete will be asked to meet with the Director of Financial Aid to determine their financial aid package.

Student athletes who wish to continue their aquatics careers elsewhere will receive the full support and assistance of the Vanguard athletics staff in their transfer. Vanguard University aquatic teams will complete the 2011-2012 season.

Vanguard University Athletics sponsors 13 intercollegiate sports and is a Champions of Character program participant and award winner.  For more information about Vanguard University athletics, visit www.vanguardlions.com

Vanguard University (www.vanguard.edu) is a private, Christian, comprehensive university of liberal arts and professional studies equipping students for a Spirit-empowered life of Christ-centered leadership and service. The U.S. News & World Report has ranked Vanguard among the best baccalaureate colleges in the west in their 2011-2012 rankings of colleges and universities and The Princeton Review named VU a 2011-2012 “Best in the West” College. Vanguard is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and is only one of two members of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) with a National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) accreditation.

Current nominees the Civil Wars, two-time GRAMMY winner Diana Krall, funk artist Maceo Parker, and six-time GRAMMY winner Joe Walsh have also been added to the lineup for the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

Two-time GRAMMY winner Common, actor Taraji P. Henson, two-time GRAMMY winner Reba McEntire, and Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Diana Ross will appear as presenters.

The Civil Wars and Foster The People each have two nominations. The Civil Wars are up for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Barton Hollow” and Best Folk Album for Barton Hollow. Foster The People have nods in Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Pumped Up Kicks” and Best Alternative Music Album for Torches.

Three-time GRAMMY winners Maroon 5 are nominated in Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Moves Like Jagger” (with Christina Aguilera).

Previously announced performers include Adele (in her first live performance since undergoing vocal cord surgery last fall); Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson; Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood; Chris Brown; Glen Campbell with The Band Perry and Blake Shelton; Coldplay and Rihanna; Deadmau5; Foo Fighters; David Guetta; Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt; Lil Wayne; Bruno Mars; Paul McCartney; Nicki Minaj; Katy Perry; Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band; and Taylor Swift. Aldean, the Band Perry, the Civil Wars, Deadmau5, Foster The People, Guetta, Minaj, Parker, Shelton, and Walsh will perform on the GRAMMY telecast for the first time.

Previously announced presenters are Marc Anthony, Dierks Bentley, Jack Black, Drake, Fergie, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ryan Seacrest, Ringo Starr, and Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson.

The telecast will be hosted by LL Cool J, who has hosted “The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night” since its inception in December 2008. This is his first time hosting the annual GRAMMY Awards telecast.

The show is produced by John Cossette Productions and AEG Ehrlich Ventures for The Recording Academy. Ken Ehrlich is executive producer, Louis J. Horvitz is director, and David Wild and Ken Ehrlich are the writers.

The 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place live on Sunday, Feb. 12 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast in high definition and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The show also will be supported on radio worldwide via Westwood One/Dial Global, and covered online at GRAMMY.com and CBS.com, and on YouTube.

For Full Story

To view the Shine publication click here.

To view more information on what the Service Industry Advertising Awards are and who has recieved them click here.

The school’s Students in Free Enterprise chapter is coordinating the event.

by Caitlin Adams

In an effort to inform, educate and further the discussion into the importance of developing environmentally responsible business practices, the Vanguard University chapter of Students in Free Enterprise is preparing for the school’s annual Environmental Sustainability Conference.

The conference serves as a showcase for top business and industry leaders in sustainable and green business areas, hosted by the chapter at the University campus. This year’s lineup of speakers represents a new wave of businesses that are committed to bringing about change locally and on a larger community scale, and integrating sustainable practices into their business models.

The keynote speakers at this year’s event are Andrea Robinson of ARC Sustainability and Jennifer Schwab of Sierra Club Green Home, two companies that specialize in developing new ways of incorporating environmentally friendly practices into standard business and lifestyle models.

“Smart business leaders know that sustainability is not a trend and that restoration is the goal. Beyond being simply the right thing to do from an ethical perspective, sustainable businesses are efficient businesses. They understand the impacts of their resource use and supply chains, as well as the growing power of the informed consumer, to choose socially and environmentally responsible products,” Robinson said. “The CEOs, CFOs and companies that are going to have relevance in the future are the ones determining how to not just survive, but how to thrive sustainably.”

The Environmental Sustainability Conference will be held on Friday, Feb. 10, at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information or to register for the conference, visit Vanguard’s website.

Full story OC Metro

A service of prayer will be held on Friday, February 3rd at 2:00 pm in the Great Commission Hall on the campus of Vanguard University.

Condolences may be sent to the Department of Anthropology/Sociology in care of Cheryl Jensen.
Vanguard University | 55 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

The OC Register
Her battle with sex trade began with one kid

By YVETTE CABRERA

Battling human trafficking?

It’s no easy task.

Sandra Morgan knows this first hand.

While living in Athens, Greece in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Morgan, a pediatric nurse, came to realize that many of the people working in the city’s brothels weren’t there by choice. The question she then asked herself was what could she do about it.

Today, she’s director of the Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard University.

Fighting human trafficking is a big part of what she does.

Tomorrow, (Feb. 1) Vanguard will commemorate Freedom Day, the 147th anniversary of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States.

Yet slavery – in the form of involuntary servitude or its equally horrific cousin, “debt bondage” — is anything but abolished, even in Orange County.

In all, about 27 million people around the world – including some 100,000 in the United States – are victims of human trafficking, according the U.S. State Department.

For many who learn about that uncomfortable fact, the first instinct is to find a way to help directly. But unless you’re in law enforcement, that tactic can backfire, putting you and the people you’re trying to help at risk.

So, can the average person really make a difference?

Morgan’s career shows how it’s possible.

Full story from the OC Register

Despite a slowly recovering economy, green business continues to be one of the world’s fastest growing industries. With the rising prices of energy, “going green” is imperative now more than ever. Vanguard University’s chapter of Students In Free Enterprise will once again serve the Orange County business community and university students by showcasing top industry leaders in the reform for sustainable business. The Environmental Sustainability Conference returns Friday, Feb. 10, 2012 to Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, from 9:00a.m. to 4:00p.m.

The event’s influential keynoters are Jennifer Schwab of Sierra Club Green Home and Andrea Robinson of ARC Sustainability. Both are leaders in bringing environmental initiatives into their business culture. Jennifer Schwab is the Chief Sustainability Officer for Sierra Club Green Home. Developed to help Americans make their homes more energy efficient, SCGH educates consumers on how to improve the sustainability and health of their homes. “I am concerned about the green movement losing momentum at the consumer level. Adverse economic conditions are forcing the average citizen to focus on day to day survival, and while still sympathetic to environmental concerns, it seems that people aren’t embracing sustainable living as a top priority. That is why I am happy to speak to college students: to help instill in them a sustainable living ethic that becomes part of their everyday life, forever.” said Jennifer Schwab.

Andrea Robinson is the Founder and Director of ARC Sustainability, an environmental and corporate social responsibility consulting firm based in Los Angeles. Andrea was responsible for the comprehensive sustainability efforts and carbon footprint for the 2008 Democratic National Convention as the first-ever Director of Sustainability & Greening for the convention. “Smart business leaders know that sustainability is not a trend and that restoration is the goal. Beyond being simply the right thing to do from an ethical perspective, sustainable businesses are efficient businesses. They understand the impacts of their resource use and supply chains, as well as the growing power of the informed consumer to choose socially and environmentally responsible products. The CEOs, CFOs and companies that are going to have relevance in the future are the ones determining how to not just survive, but how to thrive sustainably.” Said Andrea Robinson.

The day will educate and empower attendees with ideas and resources for implementing innovative and sustainable business and life practices. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with speakers and prominent business leaders during the interactive workshops and exhibitor fair.

Featured Speakers include:
• Tyler Merrick, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Project 7
• Mike Levin, Executive Director, CleanTech OC
• Spencer Brown, Founder & Chief Tree Hugger, Rent A Green Box
• Jeff Duggan, Co-Owner & Founder, Portola Coffee Lab
• Evan Marks, Founder & Director, The Ecology Center
• Nicole Suydam, Vice President of Development, Goodwill of Orange County
• Kallie Dovel, Founder, 31 Bits
• Vera Chang, West Coast Fellow, Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation

The Fourth Annual Environmental Sustainability Conference continues Vanguard University SIFE’s tradition of gathering the Orange County business community for a unique and interactive educational experience. To register for the Environmental Sustainability Conference go to vanguard.edu/GreenConf. #VUGreenConf

SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise)

SIFE is an international non-profit organization that brings together the leaders of today and tomorrow to create a better and more sustainable world through the positive power of business. Founded in 1975, SIFE has active programs on more than 1,500 college and university campuses in 40 countries. Through projects that improve the lives of people worldwide, participating university students, academic professionals and industry leaders are demonstrating that individuals with a knowledge and passion for business can be a powerful force for change. For more information, visit www.sife.org. Learn more about Vanguard University SIFE at sife.vanguard.edu. CONTACT: Samantha Hawkins (916) 494-9145

More information can be found online at www.mccormick.edu/inauguration

For additional information on Vanguard University Alums making a difference in the world, visit alumni.vanguard.edu

FAIRFAX, Va. — Diverse kicks off 2012 with its annual edition recognizing rising stars in the academy. In its Jan. 5th edition, Diverse profiles 12 “under 40” scholars from around the country who are making their mark in the academy through teaching, research and service. These outstanding scholars serve as an inspiration to both students and colleagues.

Diverse, then Black Issues In Higher Education, first published its “Emerging Scholars” edition in 2002. It has remained one of the magazine’s most popular editions since its inception. Diverse editors select honorees from a pool of candidates recommended by various scholars, department chairs, university public information officers, and others.

Each scholar is selected based on research, educational background, publishing record, teaching record, competitiveness of field of study, and uniqueness of field of study.

The “Emerging Scholars” for 2012 are:

• Dr. Magdalena Bezanilla, Associate professor of  biology,  University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• Dr. Majel Boxer, Assistant professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies, Fort Lewis College
• Dr. Kristian Brown, Adjunct assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering,  Wayne State University
• Dr. Alexes Harris, Associate professor of sociology, University of Washington
• Dr. Jenny Lee, Associate professor, Center for the Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona
• Dr. Karen An-Hwei Lee, Professor and Chair, Dept. of English, Vanguard University
• Dr. Geanncarlo Lugo-Villarino, Postdoctoral fellow, Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, Toulouse, France
• Dr. Osagie K. Obasogie , Associate professor of law, University of California, Hastings
• Dr. Mariel Vazquez,  Associate professor of mathematics, San Francisco State University
• Dr. Franklin West, Assistant professor of animal and dairy Science, University of Georgia
• Dr. Byron Williams, Assistant professor of computer Science and engineering, Mississippi State University
• Dr. Frances Williams, Associate professor of engineering, Norfolk State University

For over two decades Diverse: Issues In Higher Education has been America’s premier source of timely news, provocative commentary, insightful interviews and in-depth special reports on diversity in higher education. Savvy individuals who appreciate the crucial and ever-changing role that higher education plays in the lives of students, professionals, their families, and their communities make reading Diverse a regular reading habit.