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The University of Colorado at Boulder will implement several changes in its commencement ceremony this spring. The College of Arts and Sciences, ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ-BoulderÂ’s largest, will hold special recognition ceremonies for all of its graduates, estimated at about 1,700. The college plans to conduct as many as 30 ceremonies at the department level, with some small departments clustering along interdisciplinary lines, before or after the main commencement ceremony at Folsom Stadium on May 15.

The rate of minority engineering freshmen at the University of Colorado at Boulder returning for their sophomore year reached an all-time high of 87 percent in fall 1997, nearly double the national average.

John D. Hoag, professor emeritus of art history at the University of Colorado at Boulder, will present a series of lectures on Mayan art this spring at the Boulder Public Library Auditorium. The series, which is free and open to the public, will begin on March 24 at 6:30 p.m. Subsequent lectures will be presented on March 31, April 7 and April 14, all at 6:30 p.m. in the library auditorium.

Joseph Piper, president of Integra Bio-Health in Boulder, and his wife, Lisa, are thanking ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ-BoulderÂ’s Center for Entrepreneurship by giving it a 5 percent interest in the future earnings of the new venture funds general partner interest. Piper, who will finish the MBA program in entrepreneurship and finance at the College of Business in May, recently started the company with his partners and classmates Thomas Bleyer, Theresa Jamerson and Hans Lundin.

Professor Laurel Rasplica Rodd, chair of the ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ-Boulder department of East Asian languages and literatures, has received the 1998 Scholarship Award from the Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers. Rodd was cited for her "contributions and dedication to the teaching profession" by the professional association of all foreign language teachers in the state. The award was presented in a ceremony on Feb. 26.

Two ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ-Boulder students will drink beer and take field sobriety tests under the watchful eyes of a ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ police officer March 17 as part of a campaign to promote student safety during this year's spring break. ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ-Boulder's spring break begins March 23 and runs through March 27.

Meetings with various ethnic minority student organizations at the University of Colorado at Boulder are being arranged by ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ-Boulder administrators to foster productive communication about minority student concerns, according to Ron Stump, dean of students. Meetings are being sought with the leadership of established organizations to obtain feedback on minority issues raised recently on the Boulder campus.

Three science instruments launched Feb. 26 aboard a $5 million satellite designed and built by ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ-Boulder students, faculty and engineers have been turned on and are returning data, said project scientists.

A partnership between three School of Journalism and Mass Communication professors and a Boulder marketing consulting firm will develop advertising and marketing messages for non-profit organizations. Ads for People will develop strategic marketing plans and create print and broadcast ads. The team of former New York advertising executives has been selected by the National Interfaith Hospitality Network (NIHN) as its first client. NIHN is a network of more than 40,000 volunteers who turn churches and synagogues into shelters for the working poor and their children.

With spring already in the air, Boulder area youngsters may be anxious to get outside during Spring Break, coming up for most local schools March 23 through March 27. Science Discovery, an outreach program of the University of Colorado at Boulder, may have just the prescription. “Spring Break Adventure,” a daily program for children ages 7 through 9, combines outdoor activities, games and excursions with crafts, experiments and science explorations for a week of integrated learning and adventure.