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After a one-year national search, the Program for Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ has a new director. Patricia Sullivan, who arrived this summer to take the reins of the program after 14 years at the University of New Hampshire, is eager to build it into one of the major strengths of the university.

Sept. 20 is "Italian Day at CU" for Colorado high school students who will be treated to an authentic Italian dinner and college language classes courtesy of the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ's department of French and Italian, the Outreach Grant committee and the Office of Community Affairs.

Several top University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ science professors will once again bring the world of science to young minds during the 2002-03 CU Wizards program beginning Saturday, Sept. 28. Physics Professor John Taylor, also known as the original "Mr. Wizard," opens the season with "How Things Move." The free hour-long show will begin at 9:30 a.m. in Duane Physics room G1B30.

University of Colorado students will oversee the dismantling of their 800-square-foot solar home on Saturday, Sept. 14, for transportation to the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon contest in Washington, D.C. A crane will lift the home in seven pieces onto three waiting flatbed trucks starting at about 10 a.m. and continuing until at least 2 p.m. The home has been under construction for the last two months in the parking lot of the Home Depot store at 1200 Dillon Road, Louisville.

A campus health and wellness fair for University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ students, faculty, staff and community members will be held in the Glenn Miller Ballroom of the University Memorial Center on Tuesday, Sept. 24, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Among the programs and services to be featured are chiropractic screenings, chair massage, nutrition consultation, information about cholesterol screenings, women's health information, smoking cessation, acupuncture and chi kung, the art of developing vital energy for health and spiritual cultivation.

"Networking with CU Alumni: You Have a Friend in the Marketplace," a special panel discussion for students, will be held Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 4 p.m. in Old Main Chapel. The panel is part of Career Services' three-day effort to provide several events related to job and career searches. The event is sponsored by the CU Heritage Center and Career Services. Panelists include CU-Â鶹ӰԺ alumni Ruth Keesling, an animal conservationist; Tony Ortega, a Denver-based artist; Richard Ortner, a 7News meteorologist; and Juliet Wittman, a journalist for Westword.

The University of Colorado has joined a consortium of universities and federal agencies to help improve the scientific base for managing ecosystems in the rapidly changing cultural and environmental landscapes of the Rocky Mountains.

Kathy Escamilla, associate professor of education, is an expert on bilingual education who has worked with individuals and school districts in Colorado to help them develop English as a Second Language programs. Escamilla believes bilingual education is an important option for local school districts and should remain so.

Hilda Borko, a professor of education at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ, has been named president-elect of the 20,000-member American Educational Research Association, the world's largest organization of educational researchers. She is the fourth CU-Â鶹ӰԺ School of Education faculty member to hold the presidency of the highly regarded organization.

Tickets for the talk on Saturday, Sept. 14, by Hanan Ashrawi at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ are sold out, according to representatives of the Cultural Events Board, a program of the student government. The talk is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Glenn Miller Ballroom in the University Memorial Center at Broadway and Euclid Avenue. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for the talk. Because of additional security for the event, people are encouraged not to bring purses and backpacks in order to expedite screening prior to the talk.