College of Art & Design president resigns

Alan Barkley has resigned as president of the Laguna College of Art

and Design.

Barkley will leave at the end of August to take the post of Dean

of the College at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Connecticut.

He has served as president of the Laguna Beach school since 1997.

“Alan has been a great asset to the college during this

significant period in our history, and it is with great regret that

we accept his resignation,” said board chair Shirley Rush, a Laguna

Beach resident. “Under his tutelage, student enrollment grew sharply

and faculty and student accomplishments gained far-reaching

prestige.”

Barkley created new programs and extended the school’s presence in

the art world and in Laguna Beach, according to Rush.

The search for a new president is underway. An interim president

will be in place before Barkley leaves, and the board anticipates a

smooth transition, Rush said.

“It has been a privilege to have been part of this great college

and this warm community,” said Barkley. “I have been blessed with a

wonderful faculty and staff, a supportive board, talented students

and [wife] Linda, and I have made life-long friends here.

“At the same time, we look forward to the challenges and

opportunities of a new academic environment and a new community in

Old Lyme, Conn.”

Before taking the office of president in the Laguna Beach college,

Barkley held senior academic positions in other art institutions,

including Ontario College of Art And Design in Toronto and the Emily

Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver.

American Legion plans Independence Day event

The public is invited to join the veterans, Auxiliary Ladies of

the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars in their

Independence Day celebration.

This year, the group will honor the “Greatest Generation,” the men

and women who helped to win World War II. It will feature speakers

who participated in the war.

The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday at Legion Hall, 384

Legion St. in Laguna Beach.

After the ceremony, a picnic lunch will be served to everyone.

Prior to the ceremony, 8 a.m., the Veterans Flag Team will be

installing U.S. Flags along Laguna’s streets.

For more information, call Richard Moore at (949) 376-6340.

Group holds annual Bastille Day dinner

The Alliance Francaise de la Riviera Californienne, Inc. will host

its annual Bastille Day dinner at Villa Romana Trattoria.

A three-course meal with a chicken entree will be served. The

event will begin at 7 p.m. next Friday. Villa Romana is at 303

Broadway. The cost is $45. Reservations will be required.

Information: (949) 497-6220.

Tour of Corporation Yard set for Tuesday

Mayor Cheryl Kinsman and Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson will give

public tours of the city’s Corporation Yard in anticipation of a

California Coastal Commission hearing on whether the city can build a

new maintenance yard at the ACT V parking lot. The City Council

approved moving the city’s maintenance yard from near the

intersection of Laguna Canyon Road and Forest Avenue to ACT V in

December 2003.

Councilwoman Toni Iseman, who opposed the move and served as mayor

when the December vote was made, also sits on the California Coastal

Commission. Iseman and Coastal Commissioner Sara Wan have scheduled

an appeal for the Commission’s July 15 meeting that would deny the

city permission to build a yard at Act V.

The tour will begin at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Guests will meet with

Kinsman and Pearson at the flag pole in front of City Hall, 505

Forest Ave. Information: (949) 497-3311.

Local named president of national group

Laguna Beach resident Richard Felix was named the first president

of the United Christian College Fund.

Felix served as president of Azusa Pacific University from 1990 to

2000. He earned his PhD from the University of Notre Dame and holds a

postdoctoral certificate from Harvard Business School. He was

scheduled to start his new job on Thursday.

The fund supports 172 Christian colleges and universities in the

United States and 23 other countries. The organization was created by

the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities in 2003.