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Alan Cass, regarded as a leading world authority on the life and legacy of big band leader Glenn Miller, will receive an honorary degree in recognition of his work from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Cass, who built the Glenn Miller archive at CU-Boulder, will receive the Doctor of Humane Letters award at the commencement ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 7.

University of Colorado at Boulder Emeritus Professor Mark Meier, one of the worldÂ’s leading glaciologists, has been named 1999 winner of the International Hydrology Prize by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences. Meier will be presented with a medal by the IAHS and the International Geophysical Union July 21 at a ceremony in Birmingham, England. Meier has spent nearly 50 years studying the worldÂ’s glaciers and ice sheets and pioneered the role they play in EarthÂ’s hydrological cycle, including sea level change.

The catastrophic draining of two gigantic glacial lakes in CanadaÂ’s Hudson Bay region some 8,200 years ago appears to have caused the most abrupt, widespread cold spell on Earth during the last 10,000 years, according to a group of scientists.

Some may find philosophy to be mind-boggling, but 28 Colorado high school students will take philosophy head on at the Summer Philosophy Institute on the CU-Boulder campus on July 25-31. Participants, who are in grades nine through 12 or are incoming freshman, will live in CU residence halls and attend six hours of class each day involving lectures, debates and readings of classical and contemporary philosophers. The classes consist of lectures and discussions on such topics as personal identity, existentialism and environmental ethics.

Nick Petry, whose company Petry Construction Co. built many commercial and public buildings on the Front Range, and his wife, Nancy, have donated $1 million to CU BoulderÂ’s Construction Engineering and Management Program. Their gift establishes an endowment which will support hands-on learning for undergraduate and graduate students in construction engineering and construction project management. "I want CU to have one of the best programs in the region that prepares students to become leaders in the construction industry," said Nick Petry.

Colorado high school students will discuss the meaning of life, existentialism and other perplexing topics at the Summer Philosophy Institute of Colorado the week of July 25-31 on the CU-Boulder campus.

EDITORS: Volunteers will be at the park on Saturday, July 17, from 10 a.m. to about 3 p.m. to build play structures, install art works and plant trees and flowers. Lafayette Gardens is at 11700 So. Boulder Road. The best way to enter the Peace Park area is by going east on South Boulder Road and take a right (south) on Avalon (which is 2 blocks east of Public Road). The very first right (which has no name) is the entrance into Lafayette Gardens. The Peace Park is immediately on the left.

Attention Westerners: the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado at Boulder has a question for you. What, as a recent transplant or a longtime resident, is the information that every Westerner needs to know? In preparation for a new publication, history Professor Patricia Nelson Limerick and geography Professor William Riebsame are investigating what Westerners think about their region, using an interactive survey on the Internet and a series of community meetings.

The University of Colorado at Boulder-based BioServe Space Technologies Center will be flying experiments ranging from ladybugs and butterflies to biomedicine and water purification on a space shuttle slated for launch July 20.

MEDIA ADVISORY Ken Rutherford will appear at a July 15 news conference at the University of Colorado at Boulder as part of the Adopt-A-Minefield initiative within Colorado. Rutherford, who grew up in Boulder and attended the University of Colorado, lost both his legs when a vehicle he was driving in Somalia ran over a landmine.