In the Spotlight

• Violinist Ann Christensen of the Lake Oswego (Oregon) Ward has been chosen as an Artistic Ambassador. Under the sponsorship of the U.S. government, she is touring China, New Zealand, Taiwan, Korea, and Mongolia, where she will give performances, lectures, and classes featuring American composers. She is a member of the faculty at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where she directs the chamber music program.

• University of Michigan professor of sociology Arland Thornton was honored by the American Sociological Association with two awards for his book titled Social Change and the Family in Taiwan. One award recognized the book’s outstanding contribution to family studies, and the other award honored it as the year’s best book in social demography. A member of the Ann Arbor Ward, Ann Arbor Michigan Stake, Brother Thornton is a research scientist at the university’s Institute for Social Research and serves as associate director of the university’s Population Studies Center.

• James R. Bradshaw, bishop of the Newmarket Ward, Brampton Ontario Stake, has been named president of Hallmark Canada. In his new position, he is responsible for marketing, sales, strategic planning, financial planning, and human resource functions at the large greeting-card company.