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An estimated 9,000 people are expected to attend the winter commencement ceremony at the University of Colorado at Boulder on Dec. 16 and those planning to drive should arrive early. Commencement begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Coors Events/Conference Center. It is recommended that guests arrive well before 9 a.m. Early arrival will give all guests time to be in their seats by 9:10 a.m. and will avoid delaying the ceremony.

University of Colorado at Boulder senior Brendan Hickey is about to graduate with a bachelor's degree in finance, and he's batting a thousand. In the baseball world, that means he's never made an out. In the academic world, it means he's never received a grade lower than an A. For Hickey, 21, of Nederland, this includes college, high school and even grade school, as far as he can remember. So what's his secret?

University of Colorado President Hank Brown said the Dec. 12 release of the state auditor's report regarding the CU and CU-Boulder athletics department and football camps "have provided a very clear road map for needed reforms." www.cu.edu/news/releases/audit/AuditReformRelease_12-12-2005.htm www.cu.edu/news/releases/audit/

Planning a ski vacation this season but you think it's too late to get into shape? Well it's not, according to Ray Browning, a fitness expert and University of Colorado at Boulder physiology researcher. "Research would suggest that you can make some gains in your strength in a four- to five-week period of time, so you have enough time," said Browning. "It's not too late, you don't have to suffer through your vacation."

A new University of Colorado at Boulder study involving laboratory rats that indicates low-intensity exercise may significantly delay the onset of congestive heart failure appears to have some promising implications for humans.

Special recognition ceremonies will be held by most of the schools and colleges at the University of Colorado at Boulder next week in addition to the main commencement ceremony on Friday, Dec. 16, at 9:30 a.m. in the Coors Events/Conference Center. The schedule of Dec. 15-16 events being held to recognize individual graduates includes: oCollege of Architecture and Planning recognition ceremony Thursday, Dec. 15, at 3 p.m. in the Muenzinger Psychology auditorium, room E050.

The University of Colorado at Boulder will hold its winter commencement ceremony on Friday, Dec. 16, at 9:30 a.m. in the Coors Events/Conference Center. Guests are asked to be in their seats by 9 a.m. and early arrival is strongly suggested due to possible traffic delays. The university ceremony is free and open to the public. The ceremony also will be broadcast live via the Web starting at 9:30 a.m. To access the webcast visit http://www.colorado.edu/commencement/ and click on the webcast link.

Alaska's rapidly disintegrating Columbia Glacier, which has shrunk in length by 9 miles since 1980, has reached the mid-point of its projected retreat, according to a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.

Note to Editors: Contents embargoed until 10:30 a.m. PST, Wednesday Dec. 7. While the rupture zones of recent major earthquakes are immune to similar-sized earthquakes for hundreds of years, they could be vulnerable to even bigger destructive temblors sooner than scientists suspect, according to analysis by University of Colorado seismologist Roger Bilham.

The Nobel Prize-winning research responsible for a new form of matter and the lowest temperature ever recorded will be discussed Dec. 17 at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Nobel laureate and CU-Boulder distinguished professor of physics Carl Wieman will present the talk, "Bose-Einstein Condensate: Quantum Weirdness at the Lowest Temperature in the Universe," at 2 p.m. in Duane Physics room G1B30.