(Sept. 1, 2005) The Accrediting Council for Collegiate Graphic Communications (ACCGC) appointed Dr. Ervin A. Dennis as its new managing director. Dennis replaces Dr. Adrian Bernagozzi who served as Acting Managing director for the past three years and brought the organization to its present growth and recognition. Bernagozzi, associated with the movement to create the ACCGC since 1995, served on the Executive Task Force that drafted the Accreditation Manual for Baccalaureate Programs in Graphic Communications, and the Bylaws of the Council. He served on the Transition Board that founded the ACCGC in 1998, and continued to serve on the ACCGC Board of Directors from 1998 to 2003. He also served as the ACCGC Treasurer and as President before becoming Acting Managing Director. Dennis, well known for his years of service to graphic arts education and industry, retired from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls in 1998 after 25 years, where he served as a Professor of Graphic Communications. Most recently he served as an elected official in the Iowa House of Representatives. Dennis was instrumental in helping develop and organize the ACCGC from the very beginning of the Council. Dennis holds four degrees including a Doctor of Education degree from Texas A&M University, a Masters of Arts degree and Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Northern Colorado, and an Associate of Arts degree from Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska. He served in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, and prior to joining the University of Northern Iowa Dennis held teaching positions at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Texas A&M University, California University of Pennsylvania, and Central High School in Fargo, North Dakota. Author and co-author of six graphic communications textbooks and supporting materials, Dennis also created two graphic communications overhead transparency series, served as editor of the international Industrial Teacher Education Directory of Institutions and Personnel for 25 years, and published articles in professional publications. Dennis is well known for his service on many association boards and committees in the graphic arts field. He also has served on public school boards of education, on a community college board of trustees, a statewide community college board of trustees, and serves on Chamber of Commerce and Rotary International committees. Dennis has been married to his wife, LaVada, for 45 years and they have three adult sons, and two young grandsons. Dr. Harvey Levenson, ACCGC president and head of Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department, said: "Dennis' appointment is the first salaried appointment of the Accrediting Council. It brings a new level of seriousness to the ACCGC as a stable and vital organization committed to bringing standards to graphic arts education programs that will create the best prepared employees for our industry. As business and commerce are increasingly looking to alternative media to get their messages out, the survival of the printing industry depends on a growing pool of qualified professionals who can rebuild the industry in a way that advances the superiority of print for certain forms of communication. The ACCGC is committed to helping build such a workforce through high stands on the education level which will then transfer to industry through graduates coming out of ACCGC-accredited programs." "I believe," Levenson continued, "that Dr. Dennis is of the caliber and has the experience to lead these important efforts. He is well known and respected in education and industry, and has the leadership background to bring the ACCGC to its next level of growth." Dennis said, "ACCGC has been a long time coming, but its time has come! The need to confirm and re-affirm quality academic programs in graphic communications technology and management is critical to the future of the industry. Changing technology and management methods dictate the need for graphic communications academic programs to be up-to-date. The ACCGC accreditation process is and will be a significant contributor to the need for excellence in academia and business/industry."