More than 100 current and former service members are competing in the Valor Games Southeast, a competition for all wounded and ill vets and active-duty military.

Durham-based Bridge II Sports is sponsoring the friendly event, which will hold its Opening Ceremonies at the Smith Center at 11 a.m. on Tuesday. Competitions in seated volleyball, boccia ball (adapted bocce ball) and air rifle will continue through 3 p.m., with medal ceremonies for each event.

The Games, which originated in Chicago in 2011 and are being held in four regions nationally this year, will move to Duke on Wednesday and to the N.C. State fairgrounds on Thursday. Events at those two sites will include indoor rowing, archery, power lifting, table tennis, cycling and field events.

Competitions are free and open to the public.

“This is a way for veterans and active service members to connect with their communities – and hopefully get better faster,’’ said Paul Brown, a spokesman for the Southeast Valor Games. “These men and women deserve to be cheered on.”

 Published May 21, 2013.

Sri Kalyanaraman, an associate professor in the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and Elise Rice, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology, learned that Stanford professor Nalini Ambady needs a marrow transplant within weeks and that her students, friends and family are organizing transplant donor drives in several cities in the U.S., Canada and India, among others.

Kalyanaraman and Rice contacted the Ambady family, who put them in touch with Betsie Letterle at Be The Match. Letterle and her team from Be The Match will conduct the donor registry drive at UNC on Thursday.

“I am really hopeful about this registry drive because it allows individuals to potentially change lives,” said Rice. “Obviously, our immediate goal is to help identify a donor for Dr. Ambady, but in doing so, we expect that expanding the registry will allow other patients to be matched with donors as well.” She said new donors added to the registry in the past month through drives for Ambady had already been matched with five other patients.

“Our campus community is incredibly caring and compassionate,” said Kalyanaraman.

Kalyanaraman and Rice said that they were working with local restaurants and bars to organize more drives for people who would like to be involved but who are unable to attend the Thursday event in The Pit.

For more information, contact Kalyanaraman at sri@unc.edu or Rice at eliser@live.unc.edu.

Published May 21, 2013.

The blood drive will be held from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Dean E. Smith Center. Campus and community members can make an appointment to give blood or volunteer at the blood drive at unc.edu/blood or by calling 919-605-3045. To find out whether you are eligible to donate, see blooddrive.web.unc.edu/donor.

To mark the 25^th anniversary, several prominent Tar Heels are lending their support to the cause, including UNC athletic director, Bubba Cunningham; Patti Thorp; UNC’s executive vice chancellor and provost, Bruce Carney; former Voice of the Tar Heels, Woody Durham; and more.

Various prizes, such as tickets to athletics events, autographed memorabilia and gift certificates, will be given away throughout the day. Everyone who donates blood will receive a Carolina Blood Drive t-shirt.

“Carolina has set the standard throughout the state as a model for other schools, and the Carolina Blood Drive has been a flagship event for many years, touching tens of thousands of lives along the way,” says Caroline Allison of the Carolinas Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross.

In 24 years, the Carolina Blood Drive has collected 21,786 units of blood impacting as many as 65,358 lives.

Published May 20, 2013.

And 79 percent would recommend Carolina as a place to work.

These findings from the University’s recent organizational effectiveness survey, conducted in January, surpass the results of the previous employee survey conducted three years ago.

“In general, your views of the University’s vision, and the people and processes we have in place to fulfill it, are as strong as ever – and even more positive than you indicated in our initial 2010 survey,” Chancellor Holden Thorp told faculty and staff in an email message this week.

“Your confidence in those two areas is greater now than it was three years ago, and that makes me incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together.”

The results of the survey, which asked for feedback about how the University is doing with setting goals, leadership, communications and decision-making, are posted on the Carolina Counts website. The data reflect more than 3,000 responses – a response rate of 28 percent from the University’s 11,000 permanent faculty and staff.

In terms of overall opinions, 66 percent said Carolina was a highly effective organization. A little more than half – 54 percent – felt that significant changes were needed to be successful in the next five years.

Respondents gave high marks to decision-making, at both the University administration level and in their own areas, but also said the process could be smoother and faster. Thorp said he agreed.

“We’ll continue to work on that as I complete my tenure as chancellor,” he said. “We’ll also share these results and the context with Chancellor-Elect Carol Folt.”

Thorp said the University’s success was due to the dedication and hard work of its faculty and staff.

“The results of this survey confirm what I already knew: It is the people here who make the difference,” he said. “I want to thank you for all that you do to make Carolina the special place it is for our students and North Carolinians.”

Published May 14, 2013.

• South Columbia Street will become one-way northbound from Fordham Boulevard to Manning Drive. Southbound traffic will be detoured to Manning then Fordham Boulevard.
• East Cameron Avenue will be closed between Columbia Street and Memorial Auditorium for the installation of a new water main. Traffic will be rerouted along Franklin and Raleigh streets.
• Alternating lanes of Smith Level Road will be closed through June 2014 for widening and the installation of a roundabout.
• In June, the eastern end of Culbreth Road will be closed to extend Morgan Creek Trail. Traffic will be rerouted to the NC 54 Bypass and Smith Level Road.

The projects will also affect Chapel Hill Transit routes and schedules. The Town of Chapel Hill has set up a website with maps and detailed information about the projects.

Here are other ways to keep informed about summer road construction:

• E-mail Notifications: info@townofchapelhill.org
• Social Media: @chapelhillgov #CHtraffic and Facebook at www.facebook.com/chapelhillgov
• Code Red Emergency Notification: www.townofchapelhill.org/CodeRed
• Chapel Hill Transit Route Changes: www.chtransit.org

 Published May 13, 2013.

With the approximately 2,000-square-foot expansion, the child-care center will have room for 40 additional preschool children, allowing the center to make a dent in its 200-plus waiting list and eliminate a bottleneck in classes for 2- and 3-year olds.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening at the child-care center on 130 Friday Center Drive included Chancellor Holden Thorp, Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Brenda Malone, President of UNC Hospitals Gary Park and Vice President of Human Resources at UNC Hospitals Bill Rotella.

Children at the center sang “You are My Sunshine,” accompanied by Thorp on guitar.

Thorp said, “In addition to celebrating the expansion, this is also a great opportunity to recognize the center’s staff for the great job they do every day. The University Child Care Center provides an invaluable service to students and employees of the University and UNC Hospitals. It gives them the peace of mind that their children are receiving care from a five-star facility close to where they work.”

A year ago, Thorp made a strong case for the expansion to the Board of Trustees. “The expansion will help us meet the intense demand we have on campus,” he said. “It shows our commitment to help faculty and staff flourish.”

As of this week, the center has added 36 new children to the program spread evenly across all age groups, from infants as young as 6 weeks old to 5-year-olds. The center has also hired five new staff members to accommodate the growing demand.

Operated exclusively for UNC Hospital employees and Carolina employees and students, the center is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and has the highest rating – five stars – from the state. It meets the highest national standards, and its activities include art, music, gardening, Spanish and yoga.

“I know of families who made employment decisions based on being able to enroll or on continuing here,” said Jeanne Wakefield, the center’s executive director. ”It’s a significant factor for families.”

The project, which cost approximately $400,000, was made possible by non-state funds from the University and UNC Hospitals.

Ongoing operating expenses will be covered by University Child Care Center tuition receipts. Because of the investment by the University and UNC Hospitals, the per-child cost of operating the center will be lower so tuition rates will remain among the lowest in the area among five-star programs.

Read more about the center.

Children sing “You are My Sunshine,” accompanied by Chancellor Thorp on guitar.

Published May 8, 2013

Sixty-six years later, more than a dozen family members will be on hand Sunday at Kenan Stadium to watch the 87-year-old great-grandmother earn her Bachelor of Arts diploma.

“It was a long time coming,’’ said Hunter, an avid bridge player and golfer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. “But I’m happy to do it … and I think my parents would be proud.”

Her four children and six grandchildren certainly are.

Grandson Ryan Helton, 30, says he grew up listening to Grandma Jo reminisce about her time at UNC – and lament the fact that she was just one class short of her college degree.

Born in Pennsylvania in 1925, Hunter graduated from Central High in Charlotte. After two years at the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, she transferred to Chapel Hill (which didn’t enroll most women until their junior years back then). She kept up her language studies while joining Alpha Delta Pi sorority, playing catcher on an intramural softball team, and living in Spencer Hall.

Even after getting married in the fall of her senior year, commuting from Durham and learning she was pregnant, she planned to graduate with her husband . . . until appendicitis forced her to undergo surgery just six weeks before the end of the school year.

Promising her parents and herself that she’d take a final elective course by correspondence, she withdrew. But after settling into family life, having three more children, and taking on many other responsibilities including Girl Scout leader, Sunday school teacher, and panhellenic chapter president of her sorority; those three last credits remained elusive.

Until her grandkids got involved.

“All growing up – and I’ve actually got this on video – she’d tell the story of being pregnant and getting appendicitis, and how close she was to getting her degree,’’ Helton said. “And she always said, ‘Oh, I should go back and get those last three credits.’

“… I had heard that my whole life, so finally this past year, we said, ‘All right, enough of her talking about it; let’s finally make this happen.’ I think we kind of pushed her to do it.”

In November 2011, her granddaughter-in-law, Bethany, contacted UNC graduation advisor Richard Cramer, who was surprised by the e-mail. Having someone want to complete a degree after a couple of decades isn’t too unusual, said Cramer, who also teaches in the Department of Sociology. “But 60-plus years out? That is,’’ he said.

The family, at first, wanted to know whether Grandma Jo might qualify for some sort of honorary degree. Cramer dug into Hunter’s old academic record and researched UNC’s general education requirements from the 1940s, then informed the family she need only to pass one elective class to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Romance Languages – Spanish.

So the grandkids scoured Arizona State University’s online courses.  One immediately stood out: The History of Elvis.

“Growing up, my brother and I would spend the night at her house on Saturday night, and drive with her on Sunday morning to church,’’ Helton said. “Well, on the way she always played her Elvis Presley – she loves her Elvis.

“We knew she just needed an elective, so we thought, ‘What better class?’ It was a no-brainer to have her do that one.”

It wasn’t necessarily easy, though. The summer music course, approved by UNC, included four exams, and multiple lectures, quizzes, readings and written assignments. And then there was the online component. Hunter didn’t even own a computer, much less know the definition of “web site.” So the family helped out in shifts.

“We all came over with our laptops, and we had to order our internet for the month that class was going, and we just took turns,’’ Helton said. “We got her logged in, and then she did all the audio lectures, the video lectures, she took all of the notes herself. She did all of the work, and took the exams all by herself.”

In August, she earned an A-minus – and finally qualified for her degree – in between her usual trips to the library and Tuesday rounds of golf.

“I like to keep busy,’’ explained a laughing Hunter, who plays piano and accordion, too.

In that same active vein, Hunter, who will arrive in Chapel Hill this weekend, hopes to visit her old sorority house and former residence hall before Sunday’s graduation ceremony. She said she’s not quite sure how she will feel when she finally dons a cap and gown, more than six decades after she first expected to graduate.

But she’s happy to know how many of her family members will be watching — and grinning at the fact that Grandma Jo will have a new college memory.

“She’s our cornerstone, the matriarch,’’ Helton said. “I just think this speaks to my grandmother’s spirit more than anything. Her going back to school is just the microcosm of who she is as a person, and she has inspired all of us.”

Published May 7, 2013.

Harvey Elliot Beech was one of the first four African-American students admitted to UNC, and was the first to graduate by receiving his degree in 1952. His eponymous scholarship has been awarded to students exemplifying community leadership, academic excellence and expressed financial need since 1989.

“These four students have worked tirelessly within the UNC community on campus and beyond,” said Aubree Broadwater, the Harvey Beech Scholarship Liaison from UNC Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. “This scholarship recognizes their growth and commitment to leadership, service and academics. We are confident that they will continue to do much more in the future.”

The 2013 Beech Scholarship winners: Brandon Neely, Malik Dancy and Dylane’ Davis. (Vanessa Cross not pictured.)

Vanessa Cross, a junior from Stuart, Fla., majors in Afro-American studies with a double minor in history and African studies. Cross has volunteered at the UNC Hospitals Dental Clinic and the UNC Children’s Hospital. She also served as model coordinator for UNC’s only competitive modeling troupe, Concept of Colors. This summer, Cross will travel to Accra, Ghana, to intern at a dental clinic. She will also conduct research on issues related to access to dental healthcare in third-world countries and work with a dental nonprofit organization to find solutions to the issues. It is her goal to become a dentist, then start a nonprofit organization in Ghana that will provide dental healthcare and oral education to people in need.

Malik Dancy is a junior from Raleigh studying biology, with a minor in chemistry and Spanish (pre-med track). Dancy has been involved in several campus organizations, including the Carolina Union Activities Board (CUAB), the Black Student Movement and Minority Men in Medicine. He also serves as a minority adviser for incoming first-year students. Dancy’s most notable contribution to campus was his position as the performing arts chairperson for CUAB. CUAB hosted several performing arts events on campus, ranging from spoken-word poetry and dance showcases to the homecoming concert featuring rapper J. Cole.

Dylane’ Davis is a sophomore from Fayetteville, N.C., by way of Los Angeles. She is a global studies major with a concentration in global health and environment with Latin American concentration. She is also pursuing a minor in chemistry. After graduation, she plans to take a gap year to work with a medical nonprofit abroad before attending medical school to become an emergency room physician. Davis serves on the executive board of Uhuru Child, is a competitive gymnast on the UNC club gymnastics team, a mentor and tutor with Communiversity, volunteer manager for Healthy Girls Save the World and a minority adviser for three first-year students.

Brandon Neely, a junior from Gastonia, N.C., majoring in in global studies, is the programs and facilities coordinator for the Minority Student Recruitment Committee, a resident adviser and the Black Student Movement Alternative Spring Break president. He has spent a great deal of time volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House, Habitat for Humanity and as an in-class assistant at Parkwood Elementary School. He is the recent recipient of the Frances L. Phillips Scholarship, which will grant him funds to travel abroad this summer. Upon graduation in 2014, Neely plans to enter graduate school for student affairs and higher education.

The Harvey Beech Scholarship review process is managed by Diversity and Multicultural Affairs (DMA). A unit of the Office of the Provost, DMA develops programs and initiatives and provides university-wide leadership to promote diversity, access and inclusion at Carolina—serving students, faculty, staff, alumni and the surrounding communities. This is achieved through connections between campus partners and DMA operating areas: the Carolina Latina/o Collaborative, Diversity Education, Diversity Research & Assessment, Inclusive Student Excellence and Diversity Initiatives.

“This year, applications more than doubled and the caliber of students applying for the Harvey Beech Scholarship was impressive,” said Marco Barker, senior director for education, operations, and initiatives for DMA. “This scholarship showcases the academic and personal resiliency, talents and accomplishments of Carolina students, which is symbolic of Harvey Beech’s legacy.”

Read more about diversity efforts at UNC.

Published May 6, 2013.

The class of 2017 will include:

• 23 scholars from North Carolina high schools;
• 17 American scholars outside of North Carolina;
• One scholar from Kenya;
• One scholar from Italy;
• Three British scholars; and
• Three Canadian scholars.

Since its founding in 1945, the Morehead-Cain has been a model for countless merit scholarships throughout the United States, including the University of Virginia’s Jefferson Scholars Program; Duke University’s Benjamin N. Duke Scholars Program; and Emory University’s Woodruff Scholars Program.

In addition to covering all expenses for four years of undergraduate study at UNC, the Morehead-Cain features a distinctive program of summer enrichment experiences. Over four summers, scholars have the opportunity to complete an outdoor leadership course, carry out public service in the United States or abroad, conduct research at sites across the world and gain experience in private enterprise.

The summer enrichment program, designed to broaden each scholar’s experience and worldview, is complemented during the academic year by a Discovery Fund that encourages deeper exploration of a particular interest. From attending development conferences in Geneva to shadowing emergency room doctors in Boston, Morehead-Cain Scholars are given the resources to pursue educational opportunities wherever they find them.

As set out in the program’s founding documents, selection criteria for the Morehead-Cain are leadership, academic achievement, moral force of character and physical vigor. Morehead-Cain recipients are chosen solely on the basis of merit and accomplishment, not financial need.

Currently, more than 220 Morehead-Cain Scholars study on campus, making outstanding contributions across the full range of University life. From student government to community service to the performing arts, Morehead-Cain Scholars play a prominent role in Carolina’s vibrant student community.

In the past 10 years, 13 Morehead-Cain Scholars have won Rhodes Scholarships to England’s Oxford University, one of the world’s most competitive and prestigious awards for graduate study. Since the first Morehead Scholars graduated from Carolina in 1957, 30 of UNC’s 33 Rhodes Scholars have been Morehead-Cain graduates.

Read more, including the list of new Morehead-Cain Scholars.

Published May 3, 2013.

The main University Commencement will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 12, in Kenan Stadium.  The Doctoral Hooding Ceremony will be at the Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday, May 11, at 10 a.m.  Both ceremonies are open to the public and no tickets are needed.

At the Hooding event, social scientist Dan Ariely will speak. Ariely, the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, researches psychological processes determining daily human decisions and the possible implications of this human behavior. He is the author of the Wall Street Journal column “Ask Ariely” and three New York Times bestselling books.

The Commencement speaker is Steve Case, co-founder of America Online and chair of the Case Foundation and chairman and CEO of Revolution.  During the ceremony, an honorary degree will be awarded to Case as well as Bernard Flatow, Joel Fleishman, Freeman Hrabowski, and Mary Pope Osborne. Read more about this year’s honorary degree recipients.

Chancellor Holden Thorp will preside during the ceremony.  Thorp chose Case in consultation with the University’s Commencement Speaker Selection Committee, whose members include students and faculty.

The University Registrar estimates that 6,027 students will graduate: 3,731 with bachelor’s, 1,445 master’s, 235 doctoral and 616 professional degrees. The last are from the schools of dentistry, law, medicine, nursing and pharmacy.

If for Commencement rain showers are forecast, attendees should come prepared for wet conditions in the stadium. Umbrellas will be permitted, but guests should use caution when opening umbrellas and be mindful of those seated around them. If it rains, the ceremony will be shortened, but not relocated. If severe weather threatens and attendees’ safety is at risk, the ceremony will be canceled because there is no alternative site large enough to accommodate the expected 30,000 attendees.

Watch live Commencement and Hooding video streams, with captioning.

Read more.

Published May 2, 2013.