Search Committee to interview in closed sessions

The Arizona Board of Regents announced the final four candidates for the UA presidency yesterday, which could end the search process more quickly than anticipated.

Tom Campbell, Deborah Freund, Yash P. Gupta and Robert N. Shelton have been announced as the final candidates and will be visiting the UA campus for interviews and community forums over the next week. [Read article]

'Bible Jim' draws crowd with antics, rebuts with whistle

Three traveling campus preachers attracted students' attention yesterday as they preached controversial religious messages and lectured to a half-laughing, half-angry crowd of more than 100 students about the nature of sin and salvation.

The interaction between students and preachers was nearly hostile. A man calling himself "Bible Jim" fielded students' questions and attempted to control emotional rebuttals and explosive arguments with a whistle, which he used frequently to squelch the loud yelling. [Read article]

Healing songs, prayers lift hopes for ailing prime minister's recovery

Students held a candlelight vigil on the UA Mall last night for peace in the Middle East and for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who remains comatose in a Jerusalem hospital.

About 20 students came to the vigil at the Alumni Plaza to sing a song for healing for the prime minister and recite prayers of peace.

"In light of the recent downfall of Sharon's health, we thought it was important to show our support and solidarity for Israel," said Drew Alyeshmerni, a Judaic studies senior. [Read article]

Students, faculty can borrow free for up to 4 hours

Students can now borrow laptops free for up to four hours as part of a student government $20,000 laptop-loan program that starts today.

Current UA students and faculty members who find themselves unable to afford a computer or are in need of one on campus in the most dire of situations now have the chance to borrow a laptop.

The laptop-loan program is designed to provide accessible technology to all UA community members on campus, said Rhonda Tubbs, the Associated Students of the University of Arizona senator who spearheaded the effort. [Read article]

The Eller College of Management Executive Master of Business Administration program is opening new doors near Phoenix next semester to add more students to its enrollment, taking a $400,000 chunk out of the Eller College's annual budget, officials said.

The expansion will add a UA hub just outside Phoenix for MBA students who wouldn't normally enroll at the UA because of the 100-mile commute to Tucson, said Brent Chrite, associate dean and director of Eller College MBA programs. [Read article]

Space-rock magazine has roots in UA scientists

Space-rock junkies have a new fix in the form of a meteorite magazine with a UA connection.

UA planetary scientist Larry Lebofsky and his wife Nancy, a former editor and outreach educator at the Steward Observatory, will serve as editors for Meteorite Magazine, a new quarterly aimed at anyone with an interest in these interplanetary rocks.

"For me personally, this is very intriguing," said Lebofsky, whose background in asteroids has led to a fascination in unearthly rocks. [Read article]

Things you've always never wanted to know

China's Beijing Duck Restaurant can seat 9,000 people at one time.

In the U.S., a pound of potato chips costs 200 times more than a pound of potatoes.

Nabisco's Oreo is the world's best-selling brand of cookies at a rate of 6 billion sold each year. The first Oreo was sold in 1912.

The largest human organ is the skin, with a surface area of about 25 square feet. [Read article]