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Wearing brightly colored, squishy clogs in Paris might be fashion suicide, but it's a gambit Cassandra Thill is willing to take to polish her French, forge global alliances and learn the ropes of international marketing. For the next year, the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ junior will study at L'Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, better known as Sciences Po. Outside the realm of France's public universities, Sciences Po and other Grande Écoles or "great schools" are said to produce most of the country's business and political leaders.

Former astronaut Loren Shriver will speak to University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ students, faculty and staff this week about his experience in space and other highlights of his 30-year career with NASA.

Colorado residents age 55 and over can sit in on classes at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ without paying tuition through a longstanding program that will be available during the upcoming fall and spring semesters. Senior Auditors, created by the CU Board of Regents in 1973, enables nontraditional students to attend most regularly scheduled daytime classes without paying tuition. Participants will not receive academic credit for courses they audit, however, and the program excludes Spanish, Portuguese and Continuing Education classes.

University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ students and administrators accompanied by city officials and police officers will conduct goodwill walkabouts on University Hill and in two other neighborhoods this fall to educate students about safe and responsible off-campus living and celebrating.

A University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ team excavating an ancient Maya village in El Salvador buried by a volcanic eruption 1,400 years ago has discovered an ancient field of manioc, the first evidence for cultivation of the calorie-rich tuber in the New World.

The exuberant spirit of small-town America will infuse Â鶹ӰԺ this fall when the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ marching band kicks off the 2007 football season with performances on the Pearl Street Mall. More than 200 band members will treat mall visitors to high-energy choreographic moves and musical prowess during this year's Pearl Street Stampedes, which take place on Fridays before home games.

Volunteers from a variety of campus groups will be available to help new students move their belongings into residence halls at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ Aug. 21 though Aug. 23 as New Student Move In begins next week. New students will be moving in Aug. 21 through Aug. 23 in categories corresponding to their school and college enrollment, according to Paula Bland, residence life assistant director for Housing and Dining Services.

The University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ was ranked 35th among the nation's public universities offering doctoral degrees in U.S. News & World Report's undergraduate rankings released today in the magazine's 2008 edition of America's Best Colleges. CU-Â鶹ӰԺ was tied for 35th with the University of California, Santa Cruz. In the ranking of all doctoral universities, public and private, CU-Â鶹ӰԺ was tied for 79th with UC-Santa Cruz and Brigham Young University.

University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ researchers are now forecasting a 92 percent chance that the 2007 September minimum extent of sea ice across the Arctic region will set an all-time record low. The researchers, who forecast in April a 33 percent chance the September minimum of sea ice would set a new record, dramatically revised their prediction following a rapid disintegration of sea ice during July, said Research Associate Sheldon Drobot of CU-Â鶹ӰԺ's Colorado Center for Astrodynamics.

The effects of global energy use on the climate and the impact climate change will have on future generations are among the topics to be discussed during an Aug. 30 symposium at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ. "The Global Energy Crisis: Climate Change, Mitigation and Adaptation," will be presented in the University Memorial Center, room 235, at 6 p.m. The event is the 12th annual CU-Â鶹ӰԺ Graduate School symposium, traditionally held on the first Thursday of the new fall semester.