April 9 ceremony honors 138 university retirees

Nearly 140 retiring employees were honored earlier this month at the 2002 Retirement Awards Program.

The April 9 event recognized the contributions of 138 employees who are retiring from the University of Arizona.

One hundred twenty employees attended the ceremony, which was held by the University of Arizona Retirees' Association.

The turnout was unusually high, according to the UA Special Events Office.

"I feel the special qualities of this place exist because of people like you who have been committed to this institution many years of your life," UA President Peter Likins said to the crowd.

"This dynamic university will continue to build on the strong foundation you have laid, and do so with the confidence that your contributions are solid and able to support our future hopes and dreams."

Cold War negotiator will present award to UA veterans

A UA alumnus who led negotiating talks between the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War will present an award tomorrow morning at a gathering to honor student accomplishments of UA military servicemen.

David Smith, a 1975 graduate of the University of Arizona, led the U.S. team seeking to negotiate an agreement to allow deployment of defenses against the growing threat of ballistic missiles until the demise of the Soviet Union in late 1991.

As the current chair of the UA AFROTC Alumni Organization, Smith has set a $50,000 scholarship endowment goal for Air Force ROTC scholarships, as well as an immediate fund for annual scholarships for students.

Tomorrow's event marks the first time in almost 10 years that cadets, midshipmen and officer candidates from four branches of military service will assemble to show their Wildcat pride and and be honored for their accomplishments as UA students.

The ceremony begins at 6:30 a.m. at Sancet Field.

Saturday begins better hearing and speech month

Free hearing screenings will be available on campus this Saturday to kick off better speech and hearing month.

The free screenings, which are being offered by the University of Arizona speech and hearing sciences department, will give people a chance to find out how much their hearing has deteriorated and what to do about it.

An estimated 28 million Americans have a hearing loss that can be treated, said audiologist Marilyn Dille, UA Hearing Clinic director.

Although one out of every three people have hearing loss by age 65, it is so gradual people may not realize they have a problem. It is easy to assume that other people just aren't speaking clearly.

"Even a very slight hearing loss can have an impact on your daily life," Dille said. "Hearing loss is treatable and there is no reason for anyone to miss all the important sound of life."

Audiologists, who specialize in preventing, identifying, assessing and treating hearing disorders, recommend that people over the age of 45 get a yearly hearing checkup.

Audiologists are certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and in Arizona are licensed by the sate.

Hearing aids and other devices can be prescribed to help people with hearing loss, or audiologists can teach people with hearing loss how to concentrate on hearing all sounds.

The free hearing screenings will be this Saturday at the UA hearing Clinic in the Speech and Hearing Sciences building at 1131 E. Second St. The screenings will be available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.