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Robert Kirshner, a Harvard University astrophysicist and author, will discuss how the light of distant exploding stars could validate one of Einstein's most controversial theories during a March 30 lecture at the University of Colorado at Boulder. "A Blunder Undone: The Accelerating Universe" will be held in Macky Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Nobel Peace Prize-winner Desmond Tutu will kick off a six-day "Stop the Silence" AIDS symposium March 29 at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The former archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, is the keynote speaker of the symposium that includes advocates and scholars from CU-Boulder and Harvard University. Tutu will discuss his new book, "God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Times," at 7 p.m. in the Coors Events/Conference Center.

Editors: Reporters and photographers are welcome to attend the symposium free of charge. Job "offshoring" and its potential positive and negative effects on the Colorado and national economy will be the topic of a March 25 symposium in Denver co-sponsored by the University of Colorado at Boulder's Leeds School of Business and the Mountain States Council of AeA, the nation's largest high-tech trade association.

Steven Manaster, dean of the CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business since 1999, today announced his decision not to seek reappointment when his current contract as dean expires on June 30. Manaster informed University of Colorado at Boulder Provost Phil DiStefano of his decision last week and began meeting with faculty members throughout the day yesterday. Manaster said his announcement comes at a time when the school needs to develop broader support to advance and secure its future.

Editor's Note: Digital photographs of earlier Engineers Without Borders projects can be obtained by contacting Carol Rowe at (303) 492-7426 or carol.rowe@colorado.edu . University of Colorado at Boulder engineering students will be part of a team traveling to Rwanda, March 19 to March 31, to work with a village decimated by genocide just short of a decade ago and now suffering from poverty, insufficient food and unsafe drinking water.

A new survey published in the Jan. 24th issue of The Economist in London ranked the University of Colorado at Boulder the 11th best public academic university in the world and the 31st best academic university globally in 2003. Also published by the European Commission and the European Union, the two-year study, which was completed at the end of December 2003, was undertaken by China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The CU Parents Association at the University of Colorado at Boulder has awarded $42,000 in grants to 22 campus organizations that help enrich student life. The grants are awarded annually to CU-Boulder organizations whose projects build community, promote diversity, improve student safety or meet other association goals.

A memorial service celebrating the life of Anthony Barker, associate dean of natural sciences and a professor of physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, will be held Thursday, March 11, at 3 p.m. in the Old Main Chapel. The service will be followed by a reception in the CU Heritage Center on the third floor of Old Main. Barker, 42, died of natural causes the weekend of Feb 28-29 at his ski condominium in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Editors: Digital photos of Manuel Lujan Jr. are available by e-mailing caughey@colorado.edu or calling (303) 492-4007. Manuel Lujan Jr., the former secretary of the interior under President George H. W. Bush who faced one of the nation's worst environmental disasters, the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, will speak at the University of Colorado at Boulder on March 17.

University of Colorado at Boulder Geography Professor Roger Barry was named distinguished professor by the CU Board of Regents at its March 4 meeting. Barry, who is director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center/World Data Center for Glaciology, headquartered at CU-Boulder, joins only 19 other CU-Boulder faculty members who currently hold the title of distinguished professor. He also is a Fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, which oversees NSIDC.