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When 29-year-old Frances Whiteley of Â鶹ӰԺ receives her bachelorÂ’s degree at the University of ColoradoÂ’s winter commencement Dec. 20, sheÂ’ll be continuing a tradition in her family that dates back to the earliest years of the university. FrancesÂ’ great-uncle Richard Henry Whiteley, Jr., was a member of CUÂ’s first graduating class, the Class of 1882, which had six graduates. Four years later, in 1886, her great-aunt Helen Florence “Ella” Tyler, became the first woman to graduate from CU.

Some 1,937 students, including 24 who earned double degrees, will receive diplomas in winter commencement exercises Saturday, Dec. 20, at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ. Of the 1,961 degrees to be awarded, 1,350 will be bachelorÂ’s degrees, 440 will be masterÂ’s degrees, 160 will be doctoral degrees and 11 will be law degrees. The ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Coors Events/Conference Center. The ceremony kicks off with a procession of graduates, faculty and administrators led by Jim Williams, dean of libraries, as commencement marshal.

A CU-Â鶹ӰԺ built satellite known as the Student Nitric Oxide Explorer has been approved for shipment by NASA officials to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for a Jan. 19 launch.

New findings by a University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ research team indicate Earth is alternately peppered by extremely high-energy electrons from the two giants of our solar system, the sun and Jupiter.

Three finalists for director of Facilities Management at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ are scheduled to visit the campus for interviews this month. The finalists are James Demarest, executive director of the Facility Management Department at Illinois State University; James Ellis, director of land planning and infrastructure management for Jefferson County; and Elizabeth Lander Medlin, associate vice president of the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers and former assistant director of the Department of Physical Plant at the University of Maryland.

The University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ will launch a pilot employee bus pass program early next year in cooperation with the RTD ECOPASS system and the City of Â鶹ӰԺ, according to Paul Tabolt, vice chancellor for administration. Specific dates will be announced after agreements with the city and RTD have been finalized. The campus has made a decision on a plan for financing CU-Â鶹ӰԺ’s portion of the programÂ’s costs, Tabolt said.

The Study Abroad Program at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ has awarded $124,123 in scholarship aid to 153 students enrolled in study abroad programs this year. The aid comes from alumni donations, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education Diversity Fund, foundation donations and the programÂ’s auxiliary accounts. CU-Â鶹ӰԺ enrolled 625 students in study abroad programs during the 1997-98 academic year, including summer ‘97. Â鶹ӰԺ 34 percent applied for scholarships.

CU-Â鶹ӰԺ Chancellor Richard L. Byyny will host a book signing for the "Atlas of the New West," a project of the Center of the American West, on Thursday, Dec. 4, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Center for British Studies on the fifth floor of Norlin Library. William Riebsame, a professor of geography who headed up the project with CU-Â鶹ӰԺ cartography director James Robb, will give a slide presentation about the atlas at the beginning of the program.

A memorial service for Reuben Zubrow, a University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ professor who taught economics to more than 30,000 students, will be held on Dec. 5 at 4 p.m. in the Old Main Chapel on campus. A small reception is scheduled to follow at 5 p.m. in the Heritage Center.

State Representative and CU alumnus Gil Romero (D-Pueblo) will discuss “Politics and Public Service” at the University of Colorado School of Law Dec. 3. The one-hour “brown bag” session, which is free and open to the public, will begin at noon in Room 103 of the Fleming Law Building. The event is sponsored by the dean’s office. A member of the Colorado House of Representatives since 1984, Romero serves on the Legislative Joint Budget Committee, the House Appropriations Committee and the state Community Corrections Advisory Council.