The Best and the Worst of the Week
Lilly Endowment Inc.
has awarded a grant of nearly $2 million to Dillard University for a program designed to support students interested in pursuing theological vocations. The grant for the program, "Vision Quest," will fund lectures, seminars, new course development and other spiritual activities. The Lilly Endowment had originally given Dillard a $47,000 planning grant in February to develop the program.
Kenneth Harl,
an archaeologist and Tulane history professor, was one of two professors in America to win Baylor University's Robert Foster Cherry Great Teacher Lectureship. The winners split $25,000 and provide a week-long series of lectures at the Texas university. Harl, the author of two books on ancient Roman culture, has studied extensively in Turkey and is a Fellow of the American Numismatic Society, among numerous other accomplishments.
Willie Walker Jr.,
a former New Orleans police officer, admitted he collected an inflated insurance claim after forging the signature of an NOPD administrator on an insurance document. Walker, a Fifth District officer who quit under investigation, pleaded guilty last week in federal court to mail fraud. After being injured on the job, Walker submitted a claim that was more than $1,000 over the legitimate amount.
Nathan James Johnson,
a Hammond businessman, pleaded guilty to bilking the federal Medicare program of $4.4 million, stealing more than $100,000 from an employee pension plan, and failing to disclose that his company, Mid-South Rehabilitation Agency, did business with another agency he owned. Johnson submitted Medicare claims for bills his patients had already paid. He also admitted he made a threatening phone call to a grand jury witness in the case.
