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He died 22 years ago this month and yet Elvis Presley is as popular in death as he was in life. Since his death, Elvis has risen from pop idol to religious icon. People make pilgrimages to his house in Memphis. They build shrines to him in their homes, covet his pictures, paintings and figurines -- actions suggesting a spiritual figure of importance for many people.

The College of Engineering and Applied Science at CU-Boulder has published a new book on the life and contributions of former CU president and civil engineering professor Roland Rautenstraus. "RAUT: Teacher, Leader, Engineer," by Richard Weingardt, traces the life of CU's 12th president from his roots as a minister's son growing up in small town Nebraska and Kansas to his tremendous impact on the University of Colorado and on the state, through its transportation and educational systems, and land-use policies.

CU-Boulder’s Office of Community Relations and the CU Bookstore joined forces last spring to collect used textbooks from CU students as they prepared to leave campus for the summer. At the end of each semester, students have the option of selling their textbooks back to the bookstore, although many books do not meet the criteria for "buy back." At the end of the spring ‘99 semester, however, more than 1,500 books fell into that category.

Leadership changes are underway in two student services areas at the University of Colorado at Boulder, according to Ron Stump, interim vice chancellor for student affairs. A. Eldridge Greer was named director of Counseling and Psychological Services: A Multicultural Center, effective Sept. 1. Greer succeeds Darcy Sease, who will retire from the university after 32 years of service on Aug. 31. Terri Bodhaine was named permanent director of Disability Services. The appointments were approved at the Board of Regents meeting on Aug. 5.

Darcy Sease, director of Counseling and Psychological Services: A Multicultural Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is retiring on Aug. 31 after 32 years of service, according to Ron Stump, interim vice chancellor for student affairs. "We will miss Darcy's efforts and wise insight regarding diversity and her enhancement of the learning environment for students in general. She has been a valued colleague who has not received the wide recognition that she truly deserves," said Stump.

The University of Colorado at Boulder is one of just 15 institutions nationwide chosen to take part in a new program of postdoctoral fellowships in the humanities. The two-year fellowships, each worth a minimum of $30,000 per year, were recently announced by the Princeton-based Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. CU-Boulder shares the honor of hosting the fellowships with such institutions as Harvard, Yale, the University of California, Berkeley, Northwestern University and New York University.

Vice President Al Gore announced this week the declassification of 59 reconnaissance images of the Arctic Ocean for use by scientists studying climate change, including teams from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Washington.

University of Colorado at Boulder geological sciences Associate Professor Paul Weimer has been named the Bruce D. Benson Endowed Chair of Petroleum Geology, pending approval by the CU Board of Regents Aug. 5. Weimer, a petroleum geologist, has played a key role in mapping underwater sites in the northwest Gulf of Mexico in partnership with several private oil companies in recent years. He specializes in seismic and sequence stratigraphy and basin analysis and their applications to petroleum exploration and development.

Zan Johns, a long-time employee of the University of Colorado at Boulder, has been named director of human resources, pending approval by the Board of Regents at their Aug. 5 meeting. The appointment will be effective Aug. 6. Johns has been interim director since November 1997, when former Director Shari Robertson transferred to a new position to lead the Office of Sexual Harassment Policy.

The University of Colorado Board of Regents will be presented Thursday, Aug. 5, with a Grandview Terrace development plan that reflects a compromise reached between Historic Boulder and the Boulder campus with participation and involvement by the City of Boulder. Grandview Terrace is a transitional area between the city and the main campus of the university, north of University Avenue and east of Broadway.