Honor and support were the overwhelming themes at a ceremony Friday morning meant to celebrate the women who contributed to and are remembered in the Women's Plaza of Honor.

Organizers predicted about 400 people came out for the dedication, which featured Gov. Janet Napolitano, who spoke about the importance of honoring and appreciating women, and the Tohono O'dham singers, a mariachi band from Tucson High School. [Read article]

A UA student died last week after being in a coma for almost a year.

Friends and family gathered at St. Pius X Church on the east side of town Friday to pay their last respects to Sharlene Willingham, a 48-year-old family studies and human development senior who died after being hit by a car and contracting a fatal infection while in a coma.

Willingham was crossing the street on campus at North Campbell Avenue and East Second Street at 12:36 p.m. Oct. 18 when she was hit by a car and fell into a coma. Willingham, who wanted to be a family counselor, was a compassionate person who could relate to other people with ease, said Lenora Tanaka, a close family friend who spoke openly about Willingham at her funeral. [Read article]

Flagstaff- Regents discussed the effects inadequate state funding has on tuition at Friday's board meeting at Northern Arizona University.

The Arizona Board of Regents listened to a report from the Tuition Study Workgroup, which had been examining tuition possibilities for the past six months.

While no official decisions were made, the regents discussed two areas addressed by the workgroup: complying with Senate Bill 1517 and the timing of tuition setting. Both of these categories have an impact on how tuition changes are made. [Read article]

The greek community's fifth annual "CatWalk," which benefits the Bobbi Olson Endowment for Cancer Research, is open this year to the rest of the Tucson community for the first time.

This fundraiser helps raise cash to benefit ovarian cancer research in memory of UA men's basketball head coach Lute Olson's wife, Bobbi Olson, who died of ovarian cancer in 2001, said organizers Sarah Miller and J.R. Allen. [Read article]

Police are handing out 300 free steering wheel locks and giving the campus community tips for preventing theft as part of their anti-theft awareness month.

Last year there were 1,168 thefts on campus, including 417 bike thefts and 63 vehicle thefts, according to police reports.

The University of Arizona Police Department is hoping to bring that number down by handing out locks, having bike registration drives and educating students on prevention tips for identity theft, personal item theft, bike theft and car theft, said Sgt. Eugene Mejia, UAPD spokesman. [Read article]

FLAGSTAFF - Regents approved guidelines for the UA presidential search committee Friday, spelling out how committee members must conduct themselves when seeking out prospects and interviewing for the position.

The proposed guidelines, similar to ones used in previous search committees to elect Arizona State University President Michael Crow, outline the responsibilities of the search committee, describe the process of how they must assess the qualifications of the prospects and how the committee's work will comply with both the Open Meeting Law and Public Records Law, according to the issue's executive summary. [Read article]

Bylaw allows UA to pay for Polk's funeral

An NCAA bylaw allowed the university to foot the bill for UA women's basketball center Shawntinice Polk's funeral yesterday in her hometown of Hanford, Calif.

Polk died Sept. 23 after collapsing in McKale Center after a blood clot traveled from one of her legs to her lungs and caused cardiac arrest, said Dr. Eric Peters, Pima County's deputy chief medical examiner. [Read article]

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