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Steve Thweatt, director of design, engineering and construction services for CU-Â鶹ӰԺ’s Facilities Management department, has been named interim director of Facilities Planning, Design and Construction for the department, according to Jeff Lipton, executive director of Facilities Management. ThweattÂ’s appointment is effective immediately. Although construction and engineering services will continue to report to Thweatt, his primary initial focus will be in the facilities planning area, Lipton said.

Editors: Photographers are invited to campus move-in as volunteers help students get situated. Kittredge Complex (south of Fiske Planetarium and Regent Drive) is expected to be very active. Campus administrators also will greet students from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on both Aug. 22 and 23. A small army of volunteers will be on the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ campus Aug. 22-23 welcoming new students, helping them move in and giving directions in an effort to ease them into their new homes away from home.

Ofelia Miramontes, interim associate vice chancellor for diversity and equity at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ, has been appointed to the position on a permanent basis, according to Phil DiStefano, vice chancellor for academic affairs. The appointment was approved by the Board of Regents on Aug. 3. Her salary will be $101,260.

James Avery, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ, has been named associate dean for academic affairs for the College of Engineering and Applied Science. A CU-Â鶹ӰԺ faculty member since 1982, Avery has been one of the leaders of the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory and initiative, an innovative, nationally recognized program that led a reform of the engineering curriculum focusing on interdisciplinary, hands-on learning. Avery has served as ITLL technical director since the program was initiated in 1993.

Mary Banks has been appointed director of the CU-Â鶹ӰԺ College of Business Career Center by business Dean Steven Manaster. The Board of Regents approved her appointment at its Aug. 3 meeting. "MaryÂ’s extensive experience makes her a great fit with our needs and goals," Manaster said. "Her strong background working with the business community and students made her an outstanding candidate."

A $2.6 million National Science Foundation grant to the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ will allow scores of students from the natural sciences, social sciences and journalism fields to join forces and explore novel solutions to environmental problems.

Arctic temperatures in the late 20th century, which were the warmest in four centuries, have been accompanied by a variety of other environmental changes, according to a review paper published in mid-July by a group of the worldÂ’s leading Arctic researchers.

A University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ professor and several colleagues have identified what is believed to be the youngest massive star cluster yet detected in the Milky Way Galaxy. Known as W49, the cluster appears to contain about 100 type O stars – the hottest and most massive stars in our galaxy -- that are estimated be less than 1 million years old. The cluster also is thought to be peppered with thousands of lower mass, lower luminosity stars.

CU-Â鶹ӰԺ engineering Dean Ross Corotis led a national workshop on engineering education reform July 28 in which he detailed the collegeÂ’s successful Integrated Teaching and Learning program and groundbreaking Discovery Learning Initiative for other college educators.

Elease Robbins, interim associate vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ, has been appointed to the position on a permanent basis, according to Ron Stump, vice chancellor for student affairs. The appointment was approved by the Board of Regents on Aug. 3 and is effective Aug. 4. Robbins has held the position on an interim basis for the past year. The salary is $85,000.