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A panel discussion on "The Future of Ranching in the West" will be held May 29 at 3:30 p.m. in the Â鶹ӰԺ Public Library Auditorium, followed by a barbecue and square dance. The event is co-sponsored by the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ and the Â鶹ӰԺ Public Library Foundation. The panel discussion and square dance are free and open to the public. The panelists are: oMel Coleman, president and founder, Coleman Natural Beef oBetty Shawcroft, former president, Colorado Cattlewomen

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a joint release of Brown University, Carnegie Institution of Washington D.C., National Science Foundation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Colorado, University of Oregon, University of Washington, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Visuals are available (see end of release). Under the South Pacific, a new picture emerges of Earth's most volcanically active area.

Theresa Hernandez, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ, is one of 16 people in the nation selected to participate in a special two-year national security program. The Defense Science Study Group is designed to inform outstanding scientists in their early careers about technical aspects of national security issues, especially in fields that have not traditionally been associated with critical defense needs. It is run by the Institute for Defense Analyses for the U.S. Department of Defense.

The Child Learning Center in the department of speech, language and hearing sciences at CU-Â鶹ӰԺ has completed construction of a new classroom loft donated by the Flatirons Kiwanis Club in Â鶹ӰԺ. In 1996 the Flatirons and the Foothills Kiwanis Clubs merged and the Flatirons club donated its remaining funds to build the loft in the Child Leaning Center. The loft is in memory of Everett Luce and Les Grote, two former Flatirons Kiwanians who volunteered much of their time and energy to the children at the center.

The University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ has been selected by NASA as one of 11 initial members of the space agency's new Astrobiology Institute that will focus on interdisciplinary research regarding life in the universe. The 11 academic and research institutions were selected from 53 proposals submitted to NASA. CU-Â鶹ӰԺ's new Center for Astrobiology, which will be headquartered at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics under the direction of LASP Research Associate Bruce Jakosky, will be funded by a five-year, $3 million NASA grant.

Excavations of a Pueblo site in the Four Corners region linked to the Chaco culture that once dominated the Southwest indicate the site was still occupied well after the collapse of the ancient empire about 1125.

* The Bluff Great House excavation is a cooperative project involving CU-Â鶹ӰԺ, the Southwest Heritage Foundation and Abajo Archaeology, a private contract firm in Bluff. The foundation was begun in June 1994 when Indianapolis businessman Skip Lange purchased the land from a local Bluff resident specifically to support the great house excavations and preservation of the archaeological site. The foundation is a non-profit corporation and contributions are tax-deductible. The National Geographic Society has provided the primary research funding during the past two summers.

The Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ has selected five journalists as Ted Scripps Fellows in Environmental Journalism. They will embark next fall on a two-semester program, taking classes in environmental science and policy and conducting independent research.

Members of the CU Board of Regents have asked the Â鶹ӰԺ campus to delay implementation of the revised Sexual Harassment Policy to allow more discussion and consideration of proposed changes in the policy. Specifically, members of the Board asked for more information about the change in regard to amorous relationships between two people where an evaluative relationship exists, and about the addition of the position title "supervisor" to the list of employees who must report alleged incidents of sexual harassment.

The first students of the innovative Roaring Fork Teacher Education Project will graduate this week from the University of Colorado at Â鶹ӰԺ. The one-of-a-kind program houses future teachers in the Roaring Fork Valley near Aspen, Colo., where they live together and perform community service in addition to teaching. By being part of the community the students learn about the lives of their students outside of the classroom, according to Liz Meador, co-director of the Roaring Fork project.