One of the most celebrated Carnegie Mellon traditions - booths, buggies and the "Midway" - turns 100 years old today through Saturday (April 10-12).

In honor of the centennial anniversary, students have built elaborate booths focused on the theme "The Best of the Best."  The structures include "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Despicable Me," "Games Through The Ages" and "Pittsburgh: The Best City In The World."

Today's opening ceremony at 3 p.m. on the Morewood parking lot "Midway"  will include remarks by CMU President Subra Suresh and Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto.

The Sweepstakes buggy races will be held Friday and Saturday mornings, April 11-12. Peduto, Pittsburgh Councilman Dan Gilman (DC'04) and Sweepstakes Committee members will cut the ribbon to open the course at 8 a.m. Friday. Student organizations cmuTV and WRCT 88.3-FM will stream live coverage.

The All-Campus Zero-Waste BBQ is from noon - 2 p.m., Friday.

Read more about Spring Carnival's history.
See the full schedule of activities.

The university community is invited to a special ceremony at 12:15 p.m. tomorrow (Friday, April 11) in the University Center's Kirr Commons, where the University Center will be officially named the Jared L. Cohon University Center in honor of CMU's distinguished eighth president.

In his 16 years as president (1997-2013), Cohon was the face, heart and soul of Carnegie Mellon, enthusiastically engaging with students, alumni, faculty and staff, and fostering the interdisciplinary and collaborative culture of Carnegie Mellon. He left an indelible mark on CMU, leading the university to unprecedented growth in Pittsburgh and around the world.

The Jared L. Cohon University Center recognizes his achievements, his university citizenship, his dedication and commitment to the university community and to improving the quality of life on campus.

His endearing personality and leadership style brought people together. And thus there is no building on campus that better reflects Cohon's presidency than the University Center, the most prominent and popular meeting space for students, alumni, faculty and staff.

Read more about Cohon's presidency.

President Subra Suresh announced several transitions in university leadership earlier this week.

On Monday, he announced that Farnam Jahanian (right) was selected to be CMU's new vice president for research. Jahanian comes to CMU from the National Science Foundation, where he has been assistant director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering since 2011.

"Farnam brings to CMU a wealth of expertise and leadership skills, not only in supporting and nurturing research within and across disciplines, but also in translating research into innovative tools and technologies that succeed in the marketplace," Suresh said.

On Tuesday, President Suresh announced that Mark Kamlet (right)  would be stepping down as provost and executive vice president, effective July 1. "He has been a consummate university citizen in taking on numerous assignments in addition to his primary role as the chief academic officer. I am  enormously grateful to him for agreeing to extend his long and devoted service to the university during the past year in order to ensure a  smooth transition of leadership during my first year as president," Suresh said.

President Suresh also announced that Nathan Urban (left), the Dr. Frederick A. Schwertz Distinguished Professor of Life Sciences and head of the Department of Biological Sciences, will serve as interim provost. In 2005, Urban was selected by Scientific American as one of the 50 leaders in science and technology.

Serving as interim executive vice president will be John Lehoczky (right), who is stepping down as dean of the Dietrich College on July 1. "As dean, he has had a substantial impact on the university through many activities, including his leadership of the Dietrich College's Humanities Initiative, which comprises the Humanities Scholars Program, the Center for the Arts in Society and the Humanities Center," Suresh said.

Read more about Farnam Jahanian.
Read more about the transition in the Office of the Provost and Executive VP.

Children's book author, personal essayist and blogger Leah Pileggi never intended to write a history book.

But while interviewing retired engineering professors for what she thought would be a series of articles, she began to see "a common thread"; a bigger picture developed and she's weaved a new genre into her literary repertoire.

"How to Design a World-Class Engineering College: A History of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University" was published by CMU Press late last fall.

Pileggi, a professional assistant for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, said the easy-to-read paperback is not your typical engineering history book.

"It's a narrative. It's not a technical book or a series of lists. My goal was to write non-boring, nonfiction - to make it interesting for people going to the bookstore and asking if they had anything about the basic history. It's one thread with a few key people along the way who really championed the cause," she said.

Learn more about the book.