Regents appoint Shelton to 3-year term to start July 1

Robert Shelton from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill was chosen Friday to be the 19th UA president.

The Arizona Board of Regents voted unanimously on the appointment at 2:30 p.m. Friday, after meeting in an executive session that began at 10 a.m. in the "Swede" Johnson building.

Shelton will begin his three-year appointment July 1 to succeed

current President Peter Likins, who will retire this summer at the age of 70. [Read article]

Former UNC provost now backs UA

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - When Robert Shelton was informed he was the new UA president, one of his first reactions was, "How can I get two basketball tickets?"

Shelton, the former executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, was behind the Arizona bench when the Wildcats (13-7, 6-3 Pacific 10 Conference) lost 86-69 to the Tar Heels (12-5) on Saturday. Although Shelton still has a semester's work to do at UNC, he said he will "shift his allegiance out West." [Read article]

I eavesdrop. A lot.

I know you're not supposed to and you're certainly not supposed to admit to it, but I'm ready to stand up for my hobby. Some people have stamp collecting, some people have astacology (studying and collecting crayfish - look it up if you don't believe me); I listen to conversations I'm technically not a part of.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events and small minds discuss other people." She may well have added that the truly petty mind listens to strangers talk about other people and then subjects still more people to the whole affair by writing a column about it. [Read article]

Fire twirling, sword swallowing on club's weekly agenda There's a little pyromaniac in all of us. Blame our caveman instincts, but our fascination with this force of nature - both destructive and life-sustaining - starts with childhood, where experiments with a Zippo lighter and your mother's industrial-sized can of hairspray gives you hours of fun and, if you're lucky, a brand-new set of eyebrows. [Read article]