Following is a summary of Division III news published between December 22-January 9.

•         Presidents have elected four colleagues – all who have served on Division III’s Presidents and Chancellors Advisory Group – to begin four-year terms on the division’s Presidents Council this year. The new members, whose terms will begin at the Council’s April meeting, are Kendall L. Baker of Ohio Northern, James E. Bultman of Hope, James W. Schmotter of Western Connecticut State and Ronald R. Thomas of Puget Sound.

•         Six vacancies on the Division III Management Council will be filled when delegates to the NCAA Convention elect new members January 17. Nominees are Kathryn A. “Kitty” Baldridge, faculty athletics representative at Gallaudet; William Klika, director of athletics at Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham; Fredina Ingold, director of athletics at Penn State-Altoona; Chris Martin, commissioner of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin; Jeff Martinez, director of athletics at Redlands; and Charlyn Robert, director of athletics at Nichols. The Council also will welcome a seventh new member, Mary Jo Gunning of Marywood, who was selected to fill an unexpired term.

•         Student-athletes who mobilized to aid flood victims in Minnesota, conducted a variety of fund-raisers in Pennsylvania and built relationships with grade-schoolers in New Jersey are this year’s recipients of National Association of Division III Athletics Administrators awards honoring community-service projects and activities. The schools – St. Mary’s (Minnesota), York (Pennsylvania) and Stevens Institute – each will receive $1,000 contributions to their general scholarship funds as recipients of NADIIIAA/Jostens Community Service Awards NADIIIAA/Jostens Community Service Awards for projects during the 2007-08 academic year.

•         Even in the midst of the diversity of Baruch College, tennis student-athlete Mikheil Sumbatashvili from the Republic of Georgia still manages to stand out.

•         Wisconsin-Platteville basketball student-athlete Brianna Klaas , who missed last season while battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma, played January 3 against an opposing team and coach who raised funds last year for cancer research in Klaas’s name.