In one of his last duties as public relations director, Wiley College's Larry Acker recently represented the school in a conference that lured educators from institutions worldwide to England.

The 44-year-old Greenville native will be starting a new position Monday as head of the five-person PR department in Beaumont's Lamar University, but not before he got one last chance to speak for Wiley.

Acker said the seven-day conference was held at the historic Oxford University from July 2 to July 9. It is a yearly event designed to spotlight issues facing higher education in general, regardless of what country the school is in.