David M. Frings, a geologist with 30 years of experience with the Southern Company and Alabama Power Company, has been named the first director of the Oak Mountain Interpretive Center of Samford University. He began duties March 27.

Frings is also mayor of the city of Alabaster, where he has served since 2000. Alabaster has 25,000 residents, 170 employees and an annual budget of $25 million.

Frings holds a bachelor of science degree in geology with a minor in biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is a Licensed Professional Geologist in Alabama and a Certified Municipal Official.

At the Southern Company, he was safety and compliance leader from 2004-March 2006; senior geologist, 2002-2004; retrofit supervisor, 1999-2002; and supervising geologist, 1998-1999. He began with Alabama Power as a junior geologist and advanced to supervising geologist.

The Oak Mountain Interpretive Center is a center for environmental education, ecological research and family recreation. It is located in Oak Mountain State Park, the largest park in the state of Alabama. The Center is a collaboration between Samford University, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Alabama Wildlife Center and the Friends of Oak Mountain.

The Center's mission is to promote appreciation for Oak Mountain State Park as a natural habitat and to provide a hands-on interactive educational experience that enables children and adults to learn about Alabama's biodiversity, students and teachers to research its wonders, and all visitors to understand the importance of environmental stewardship. It offers academic courses and community education classes for adults ranging from academic credit courses in Biology to special interest classes such as Alabama Birding.