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Despite layoffs and dampened consumer confidence, the ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ economy will continue to grow in 2002, although at a slower pace than during the 1990s, according to ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder economist Richard Wobbekind.

Special recognition ceremonies will be hosted by most University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ at Boulder schools and colleges in addition to the main university commencement ceremony on Friday, Dec. 21, at 9:30 a.m. in the Coors Events/Conference Center. Following is a schedule of special events in the schools, colleges and departments to honor the graduates, their families and guests. * Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. in Muenzinger E050, College of Architecture and Planning recognition ceremony, with reception to follow in the Environmental Design Building, room 134.

The University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ at Boulder on Dec. 13 filed a request for a declaratory judgment in Boulder County District Court, asking the court to declare that Boulder County commissioners exceeded their authority when they voted the county new power to regulate development of the ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder South campus. The university filed the request following Boulder County's November vote to change the county's land use code. University officials opposed the passage of the new regulations in public sessions before Boulder County commissioners on two occasions.

The University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Board of Regents has authorized the campus to enter into negotiations with Trammell Crow Residential, a Denver-based, diversified commercial real estate services firm, for the development of a new student apartment-style residential complex at Williams Village. The Board of Regents also approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Boulder on the development of the project at its Dec. 13 meeting. The Boulder City Council approved the agreement last month.

The Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory at the University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ at Boulder has won a three-year, $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop a hands-on, pre-engineering curriculum for students in grades three through five. The grant from the highly competitive Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education was awarded to engineering faculty member Janet deGrazia, who is the director of outreach for the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory in the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder Leeds School of Business Dean Steven Manaster and Dean of Continuing Education Anne Heinz have appointed Deanna Knowles as director of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥'s Center for Business Education. "Deanna's extensive background in business development will greatly benefit the Center for Business Education's goals to provide quality continuing education in business," said Manaster.

Two University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ at Boulder researchers working with GenoPlex Inc. in Denver have identified a biological switch that controls lifespan in tiny worms, a finding that could have applications for mammals, including people.

New University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ at Boulder research indicates the massive Columbia Glacier in Alaska will continue to increase its rate of recession over the next decade, possibly retreating as much as 10 miles in that time and creating a new fjord. The findings represent more than 25 years of study of the glacier by ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder Emeritus Professor Mark Meier of the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research. Meier will present his findings Tuesday Dec. 11, at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, Calif.

The University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ at Boulder will confer 1,898 degrees on Friday, Dec. 21, during university commencement ceremonies at the Coors Events/Conference Center. The commencement ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. and last about an hour. Guests are expected to be in their seats by 9:10 a.m. and early arrival is strongly suggested due to possible traffic delays. The ceremony is free and open to the public and no tickets are required.

Editor's Note: A press briefing on the subject with Armstrong will be held 11 a.m. Monday Dec. 10 in room 112 of the Moscone Center in San Francisco. New Study Shows Early Signals Of Climate Change In Earth's Cold Regions Global mean temperatures have risen one degree Fahrenheit over the past 100 years, with more than half of the increase occurring in the last 25 years, according to University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ at Boulder Senior Researcher Richard Armstrong.