Despite the chilly weather early Saturday morning, the UA Aerial Robotics Club was out in the desert flying its small-scale airplanes.

Club members were testing groundbreaking research, trying to construct planes that will fly ÷ not with direction from onboard pilots, but with the help of computers, cameras and global positioning system technology.

The Tucson International Modelplex Park Association, east of the Tucson Mountains, is the hangout for the club that met to demonstrate its latest innovation: a 2-ounce Styrofoam glider that can be launched from a 4-foot-long plane in midair and land on a specific target. [Read article]

About 18 months after President Peter Likins announced plans to reshape the university, many of the people responsible for actually implementing that new mission say it has been slow to catch on.

And even the university's top two officials acknowledge they still have work to do persuading the administrators most directly responsible for carrying out the mission to embrace the new priorities.

In interviews, several deans and department heads still spoke of the new mission, Focused Excellence, largely in terms of issues like program cuts and long-term plans to reconstruct certain academic areas. [Read article]

Two months after the light at East Sixth Street and North Park Avenue was slated for installation, officials at Facilities Design and Construction say they are still waiting on some signatures that would approve the design plans.

"It's being installed on a city street, so we have to coordinate and get approval through the city," said Melissa Dryden, program coordinator for Facilities Design and Construction. [Read article]

When professor Gerald Swanson teaches economics, his students listen attentively, stay awake and actually show up to class.

It's pretty unusual, considering Swanson teaches 360 students in a lecture hall.

But Swanson's class isn't the stereotypical large lecture class plagued by disruptive or sleepy students.

That's because Swanson, an economics professor for 34 years, has mastered the art of teaching hundreds of students at the same time. [Read article]

Rain and wind couldn't stop the UA's first Relay For Life Friday.

Nearly 500 students, faculty, alumni and cancer survivors walked or ran for 15 hours to raise $32,000 for the American Cancer Society.

The relay began at 6 p.m. on Friday and lasted until 9 a.m. Saturday, with 36 teams participating.

Tents lined the soggy infield of the Drachman Stadium as students tossed footballs and laughed despite the rain and wind that swept through Tucson Friday, bringing temperatures down to 43 degrees. [Read article]

Freshman outfielder has heard some rumors and has Îhair that's too cute for words'

Wildcat: Hi, I'm Claire from the Wildcat and you're on the spot. So tell me about the cute hair that your teammates keep teasing you about.

Nix: My cute hair is just too cute for words.

Wildcat: Tell me what it feels like to hit a home run.

Nix: Oh, your adrenaline is just so high, and you're pumped, and it's fun. [Read article]

Things you always never wanted to know

TODAY

1692 ÷ The Salem Witch Hunt begins in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

1932 ÷ Charles Lindbergh III, the newborn son of aviation hero Charles Lindbergh, is kidnapped from the family's new mansion in Hopewell, N.J.

1961 ÷ President Kennedy issues Executive Order 10924, establishing the Peace Corps under the Department of State.

TOMORROW

1836 ÷ During the Texas Revolution, a convention of American Texans meets at Washington-on-the-Brazos in modern-day Texas and declares the independence of Texas from Mexico. [Read article]