Fresno Pacific provost is stepping down

Fresno Pacific University Provost and Senior Vice President Steve Varvis is stepping down from his role but will stay on at the 3,500-student private school as a professor.

Varvis was hired in 1985 and has served in a number of administrative positions since then, including dean and vice president for enrollment. Varvis also taught history during most of that time.

Plans are in place to secure an interim provost who will take over in June when Varvis officially resigns, university spokesman Wayne Steffen said.

On the university’s blog, Varvis said he is excited for his primary focus again to be teaching.

Geomatics Club hosts conference

The Fresno State student-run Geomatics Engineering Club hosted its 55th annual conference Friday and Saturday, giving students an opportunity to check out the latest technologies in land surveying.

Held at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in downtown Fresno, the conference attracted more than 20 industry professionals covering a broad area of topics, including global positioning systems, geographical information systems and unmanned aerial systems.

More than $1 million in scholarships have been awarded through the conference, including a $5,000 award this year by Towill Inc. The club is part of Fresno State’s Lyles College of Engineering.

West Fresno Middle getting fit

Students from West Fresno Middle School are taking the challenge to get healthy this year with a new program called “No Walls Gym.”

West Fresno Middle School has teamed up with Kids Moving Inc., a nonprofit committed to empowering kids through physical activity, to provide a free community fitness program held in the middle school’s gym.

Located at 2888 S. Ivy Ave., classes are held Monday through Friday in both mornings and evenings and are open to all ages.

Auto scholarships available

Scholarship applications are now available online for students interested in automotive service careers from the Automotive Services Council Education Foundation.

Scholarships range from $1,000 to $2,000 and are awarded to qualified California high school seniors who plan to enroll in post-high school technical or academic training, as well as California college undergraduates in the automotive service field who satisfy certain criteria.

Applications can be found at http://asc-ef.org/scholarships and are due March 31.

Collegian staffers to be honored

Students from the Fresno State newspaper, The Collegian, have been nominated for 13 awards this year by The California College Media Association, competing against other state universities including University of California at Berkeley and the University of Southern California.

Award nominations include best website, best editorial, best column, best news video and others.

Nine current and former Collegian staffers placed this year, including Tim McAtee, Jesse Franz, Ricardo Cano, Darlene Wendels, Megan Bronson, Paul Schlesinger, Laura Maciel, Jonathan Roque and Troy Pope.

Several Collegian students will visit Universal City in February to attend the annual California College Media Association banquet.

Marching band leader gets award

Fresno State’s Bulldog Marching Band leader Jason Cruz will be the first-ever recipient of the Fresno State Alumni Association’s Bulldog Pride Fund drum major award.

Cruz will be honored in the fall at the Top Dog Alumni Awards Gala, receiving a $2,000 award as the first recipient of the $50,000 fund, raised by the Alumni Association.

Cruz, who graduated from Edison High School, is majoring in music education.

Ethics Center panel to discuss ISlam

The spring 2016 Leon S. Peters Ethics Lecture Series starts Tuesday with a panel discussion on Islam, the Islamic State and American politics at 5 p.m. in McLane Hall Room 121.

The panel features Imam Seyed Ali Ghazvini, of the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno; Fresno State alumna Sumaya Attia, an online journalist for Satifs.com, who lived in Egypt for 13 months to cover the country’s post-revolution progress; Vincent Biondo, professor of religious studies; Andreas Borgeas, member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors; and Rabbi Rick Winer of Temple Beth Israel.

They will discuss the ongoing issues and dialogue revolving around the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and Islam in American politics. The event is co-sponsored by San Joaquin College of Law.

This story was originally published January 30, 2016 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Fresno Pacific provost is stepping down."