John Newson, director of university bands at Howard University in Washington, D.C., has retired from his position after 25 years. Before he became director in 1993, Newsom had served as associate director of university bands since 1986. During his tenure, the band, entitled Showtime, performed at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, at Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, at the opening of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and at numerous National Football League halftime shows.
James Lucas, director of human resources at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is retiring after almost seven years at the institution. During his tenure at UNCSA, he reestablished an employee appreciation program, rebuilt the Title IX program, converted the manual payroll process to an electronic time entry system, introduced electronic files and workflow for all job postings and on-boarding processes, and introduced a required diversity and inclusion training course to all employees. Earlier, he had 30 years of experience in human resources including serving as an administrative specialist with the U.S. Air Force, as a human resource analyst for the City of Winston-Salem, and as the human resources manager at the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
