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A highly regarded author of children's books and adult poetry, Gary Soto, will be the featured speaker at the Virginia Westerberg Children's Literature Conference at the University of Colorado at Boulder on Nov. 8. About 500 people are expected to attend the 28th annual event, including teachers, librarians, writers, artists, storytellers, parents and others. Soto, of Berkeley, Calif., is the author of several books for children, including "The Tortilla Factory," "Baseball in April, "Off and Running," "Pool Party" and "Neighborhood Odes."

Critical Incidents Team Helps Â鶹ÒùÔº Deal With Serious 'People' Problems Working behind the scenes at CU-Boulder on some of the most troubling situations that any university must deal with -- the injury or death of a student -- is a group of professionals known as the Critical Incidents Response Network. When calls come in on a variety of people-related problems, the team members from 10 university offices activate an internal message network to share information and coordinate their responses with other members of the group.

Official census figures at the University of Colorado at Boulder have confirmed predictions of increased enrollment topping 25,000 for the fall semester. The data also show that students are taking heavier course loads than in the previous year. CU-BoulderÂ’s total headcount stands at 25,109, or 487 more than fall 1996, an increase of about 2 percent. Â鶹ÒùÔº enrolled in about 326,500 credit hours, an increase of nearly 2.4 percent.

The Academic Advising Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder will hold a series of town meetings this year where students can share needs, ideas and concerns about advising with staff members who will be implementing changes in the CU advising system. The first two meetings will be held from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15, and from noon to 1 p.m. Sept. 23 in the University Memorial Center Forum Room. The meeting on Sept. 23 will focus on the special needs of transfer students.

Several top science faculty from the University of Colorado at Boulder will turn their attention from college students to helping develop younger minds on 10 Saturday mornings this school year. Professors will intrigue youngsters with demonstrations of physics, chemistry, biochemistry and astronomy. Examples include simulating lightning bolts, exploring atomic spectra, freezing air, detonating contact explosives and “listening” to light. Now in its 21st year, the popular CU Wizards series is set to begin Sept. 27.

Campus interview schedules have been finalized for the four candidates for the position of vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Internationally known American Indian artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith will present the opening keynote lecture in a series bringing cross-cultural perspectives on the arts to the University of Colorado at Boulder. Smith is an activist and spokeswoman for contemporary American Indian art and a painter and printmaker who exhibits internationally.

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt will make a policy address on climate change at 7:15 p.m. Monday, Sept. 22, at the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theater on the University of Colorado campus. The speech is free and open to the public, but space is limited and seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. In case of inclement weather, Babbitt will speak in Macky Auditorium.

Scores of scientists from around the world will be in Colorado Sept. 20 to Sept. 23 for a conference on the prehistoric environment of the Bering land bridge, believed to be the migration corridor for the earliest North Americans. The conference was organized by the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Massachusetts with funding from the National Science Foundation. The three-day event will be held at The Nature Place Conference Center near Florissant, Colo.

Fiske Planetarium at the University of Colorado at Boulder will continue its tradition of hosting monthly “star talks” by noted CU astronomers this fall. The live presentations for adults and children 12 and over will include use of the star projector, special effects and the latest images from NASA and major observatories.