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Each year Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ-Boulder’s program review process begins with a gathering of the community. The annual Academic Forum is an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to engage in a collaborative conversation about the units undergoing review. This year's process focuses on a cross section of units involved in the study of life and environmental sciences. Please join us this Oct. 10 starting at 1:30 p.m, to talk about the significant ways that these units are shaping Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ-Boulder's present and future.

With the ever-expanding coverage of college football and the addition of conference TV partners and networks, there are very few opportunities for the entire college football-watching world to be focused on one game. ESPN's Thursday Night Football will bring that singular moment to the University of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder campus on Thursday, Oct. 11. As the rest of campus prepares traffic plans, student events and classroom and building logistics, Athletics’ media relations and sports information staff is going into high gear to ready Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ-Boulder for the national spotlight.

By The Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵSG Tri-Executives Next Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m., our Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Buffaloes will take on the ASU Sun Devils in our home stadium. This will be a nationally televised event and what better way to show your Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Buffalo pride then arriving early to the game and staying classy. We encourage you to have a good time and always remember you are not only representing yourself but the University of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ. Go Buffs!

An update to an election forecasting model announced by two University of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ professors in August continues to project that Mitt Romney will win the 2012 presidential election. According to their updated analysis, Romney is projected to receive 330 of the total 538 Electoral College votes. President Barack Obama is expected to receive 208 votes -- down five votes from their initial prediction -- and short of the 270 needed to win.

Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Money Sense will hold a student workshop with help from the Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Bureau of Investigation on the prevention of identity theft in the college-age population on Oct. 10. The workshop is open to all Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ-Boulder students and will be held in University Memorial Center room 245 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Students planning to attend should email Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵmoneysense@colorado.edu .

A groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. will kick off a $63 million project to renovate and expand the Student Recreation Center at the University of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder. The ceremony, located on the pool patio, will include light refreshments and remarks by Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano and other campus and student leaders at 4:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $12 million grant to a Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ-Boulder-led team to explore ways to maximize the benefits of natural gas development while minimizing negative impacts on ecosystems and communities.

Excited as she was about being at Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ-Boulder, Melanie Ferraro’s freshman year got off to a rocky start. Ferraro was eventually able to find her footing, however, in a class she was required to take as a Norlin Scholarship recipient, called Constructions of Knowledge. It wasn’t the class itself that led to her transformation from scared and unhappy to confident and successful. It was the connections and friendships she made with the other students.

The University of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder’s Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology building has received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, platinum rating -- the highest possible evaluation -- from the United States Green Building Council.

The University of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder has hired its first Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Chair in Environmental Studies, an endowed chair awarded to Daniel Doak, a conservation biologist known for his quantitative analysis of how different government policies could affect the populations of species ranging from sea otters, California condors, corals and rare plants. The endowed chair in environmental studies was made possible by $4 million in gifts made anonymously in 2009 and 2010 toward the chair.