General News

Pittsburgh – September 21, 2026 -- Energy Corps has named four new grantees to expand access to affordable, modern energy across East and West Africa and Tribal Nations in the United States, targeting sectors from electric cooking to AI-driven energy governance.

DanChurchAid initiative moves 1,000 refugee households to electric cooking in Kenya

DanChurchAid, partnering with Mwangaza Light and Renewvia Energy, will help more than 1,000 households -- roughly 7,500 people -- in the Kakuma and Kalobeyei settlements transition from firewood and charcoal to induction cookers. The project uses pay-as-you-go financing and a discounted daytime electricity tariff to make the switch affordable.

McLean, Virginia – September 21, 2026 -- Appian (Nasdaq: APPN) ranked #1 for the Deterministic Workflow Automation Use Case and the Platform Consolidation Use Case in the 2026 Gartner Critical Capabilities for Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (BOAT) report. The company was also named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for BOAT, based on its Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute.

Gartner evaluated 20 vendors, and Appian was the only Leader ranked among the top three across all five use cases

Gartner assessed vendors across five common BOAT use cases, and Appian scored highest on the Platform Operations and Governance Critical Capability. Gartner projects that by 2030, 70% of enterprises will shift to a consolidated automation platform orchestrating business processes, AI agents, bots, APIs and human actions, up from 10% today.

Henderson, Tenn. – September 21, 2026 -- Freed-Hardeman University enrolled 2,296 students this fall, posting an all-time-high five-year graduation rate of 71% that exceeds nine of Tennessee's public four-year universities.

Retention rate reaches 89% as new student numbers climb 5%

FHU's 89% retention rate accompanied a 5% year-over-year increase in new students. Full-time undergraduate enrollment rose 3%, while on-campus residency grew 5%, adding to a total undergraduate population of 1,806 students.

Graduate enrollment jumps 13% while international student count hits record high

Full-time graduate enrollment increased 13% this fall, bringing graduate program participation to 490 students. The university also welcomed its highest-ever number of international students, broadening its base of cultural backgrounds on campus.

Washington – September 21, 2026 -- General Lester Lyles, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), has been named recipient of the 2026 AFA Lifetime Achievement Award by the Air & Space Forces Association. The award was presented in September 2026 during the Air, Space & Cyber Conference.

Career spanned top Air Force commands and boardroom leadership

General Lyles served as Commander of Air Force Materiel Command and later as Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, roles in which he shaped modernization and readiness programs for the service. Following his military career, he took on board positions at General Dynamics Corp. and Battelle Memorial Laboratories, and chaired the boards of USAA, KBR Corporation, and USRA.

Sacramento, Calif. – September 21, 2026 -- NorCal Auto Group, a Potamkin Automotive Group company operating three Hyundai dealerships in the Sacramento region, has pushed its cumulative contributions to Hyundai Hope on Wheels past $4 million since the pediatric cancer research program launched in 1998.

Three dealerships raised $50,000, matched to $100,000 for UC Davis cancer center

Roseville Hyundai, Folsom Lake Hyundai and Elk Grove Hyundai contributed $50,000 directly to the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center earlier this year. Hyundai Hope on Wheels matched the gift, bringing the total donation to $100,000. The dealer group organized a check presentation marking the contribution at a Sacramento Republic FC match on May 2.

Purchase, N.Y. – September 21, 2026 -- Alpine Saxon Woods, a Purchase, NY-based investment firm managing over $890 million in assets, has been named to the PSN Top Guns List for Q2 2026, earning 4-, 5-, and 6-Star ratings in the All-Cap Value Universe for its Dividend strategy.

PSN awards Top Guns status across six performance-based star categories in over 75 universes

The Alpine Saxon Woods Dividend strategy qualified for the 4-, 5-, and 6-Star categories after posting an r-squared of 0.80 or greater against PSN's style benchmark over the trailing five-year period and exceeding that benchmark across the three latest three-year rolling periods. The strategy also ranked among the top ten returns in its PSN peer group for the latest three-year period.

New York – September 21, 2026 -- More than 600 importers, distributors and HoReCa operators have registered for the third edition of Vinitaly.USA, set for October 26-27 at Pier 36 on Manhattan's Lower East Side, with organizers Veronafiere and the ITA – Italian Trade Agency now extending buyer recruitment into Canada and Mexico.

Exhibition space sells out at 118,400 square feet

The full exhibition floor at Pier 36 is officially sold out, with Italian participation reaching 300 exhibitors and approximately 2,500 wine labels on display. Regional groups including Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Sardinia and the Enoteca Regionale dell'Umbria are represented alongside consortia such as Asti DOCG, Brunello di Montalcino, Prosecco DOC, Lugana DOC and Delle Venezie DOC.

McLean, Va. – September 21, 2026 -- Attain Partners has been named to Consulting Magazine's 2026 Best Firms to Work For list, marking the second consecutive year the McLean, Va.-based management and technology consulting firm has earned the national honor.

Attain Partners ranks among 10 firms in the Best Midsized Firms category

The firm is one of ten organizations recognized in the 2026 Best Midsized Firms to Work For category. The annual program evaluates consulting firms across six areas: culture, career development, work/life balance, client engagement, compensation and benefits, and firm leadership, based on confidential surveys of each firm's consultants.

Arlington, Va. – September 21, 2026 -- The American Institutes for Research (AIR) will present at more than 25 sessions during the 2026 Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE) conference, running September 23-26 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront in Baltimore, Maryland.

AIR secures Silver Sponsor status and exhibitor booth at flagship research conference

AIR will operate a booth in the Exhibitor Hall throughout the four-day event, which convenes education researchers, policy leaders, and professionals under the theme "Education and Public Trust: Evidence and Accountability in a Changing Landscape."

Fort Collins, Colo. – September 21, 2026 -- The Inner Circle has named Nicola Upright, Construction Manager at RockSol Consulting Group, Inc., a Pinnacle Professional Member Inner Circle of Excellence for her 41-year career in heavy civil road construction and transportation infrastructure across Colorado.

Career spans state testing roles to multimillion-dollar project management

Upright started with the Colorado Department of Transportation as a tester and inspector before advancing to project manager positions overseeing large-scale roadway and bridge reconstruction work. Her responsibilities have included project budgeting, materials testing coordination, team supervision and contractor-agency collaboration.