News Release

Tar Heel Bus Tour gets ready to hit N.C. roadways;
new faculty will learn ways UNC benefits state

CHAPEL HILL -- On Monday (May 16), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Tar Heel Bus Tour will pull out of UNC’s William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education parking lot to embark on its eighth weeklong adventure across North Carolina.

Since 1997, about 250 new faculty and administrators have been taken on a guided tour across the state, gaining access to the people and sites that make each area unique. This year, 36 recent additions to the faculty, representing diverse academic disciplines, are scheduled to participate in the tour.

UNC Chancellor James Moeser and Judith Wegner, UNC law professor and chairwoman of the faculty, also will join the tour.
Participants learn about the physical and cultural landscape of the state in order to foster closer ties across disciplines and learn more about the places many of their students call home.

A recent survey conducted by UNC master of public administration student Melanie Raterman found that one-third of bus tour alumni responding to a questionnaire said the bus tour helped them develop ideas for research projects benefiting North Carolina.

The goals of the privately funded tour are to:

• Develop among faculty and administrators an awareness of the state’s geography, economy, culture, government and politics, history, educational systems, health issues and connections to the university;
• See where UNC’s in-state students come from;
• Promote bonding among faculty across disciplines;
• Encourage service to the public and research to address state problems;
• Introduce faculty and administrators to the North Carolina that some of them otherwise will never see;
• Introduce new faculty members to UNC’s multiple publics; and
• Show UNC’s connection to the entire state.

The tour spans from the coast to the mountains, highlighting the rich diversity that exists in different parts of North Carolina. In past years, tour participants have visited with farmers, factory and plant workers, bankers in Charlotte and soldiers at Fort Bragg.

The itinerary this year includes stops at:

• Pocosin Lakes, a national wildlife refuge near Columbia. Here, Dr. William Stott, director of the Albemarle Ecological Program, will share information on UNC’s Carolina Environmental Program;
  
  
• Rocky Mount to learn about the Citizen-Soldier initiative. A team of UNC’s faculty – led by Dr. Dennis Orthner, a professor in the School of Social Work, and Dr. Doug Robertson, director of the Highway Safety Research Center and research associate professor of health behavior and health education in the School of Public Health – helped conceive this national demonstration project. The initiative is designed to extend existing National Guard and National Reserve programs, while bringing employers, schools, child-care providers, health professionals and other organizations into a broad network of family support.
  
  
• Farmville Central High School in Pitt County. Here, the bus will rendezvous with another laboratory of learning on wheels: Destiny. The traveling science laboratory features state-of-the-art science and technology equipment for wet-lab experiments, Internet exploration and classroom materials. Destiny brings the latest science and technology to students who otherwise might not see a high-technology laboratory or what a science career can offer. Since hitting the road in 2000, Destiny has visited 97 N.C. counties, 104 school systems and 341 schools, in addition to training more than 1,000 educators and providing wet-lab experiences for more than 16,000 students onboard the bus or in the classroom.
  
  
• Randy Smith’s Tobacco and Hog Farm in Deep Run. The state ranks first in the production of tobacco. Here, participants will learn more about the vital roles that tobacco and the hog industry play in the state’s economy.
  
  
• The RagApple Lassie Winery in Boonville. Located just under the southwestern gaze of Pilot Mountain in the heart of the Yadkin Valley, RagApple Lassie is one of the few winegrowing appellations on the East Coast and the only one in North Carolina. Participants will tour the winery building – the production area, the wine cellar and the tasting room. Frank and Lenna Hobson, the winery’s owners, are third-generation tobacco farmers who have successfully transitioned to winegrowing.
  
  
• Siler City. Its population is indicative of changes statewide. During the past decade, the Hispanic population has grown by more than 400 percent, statistics indicate. Discussion will focus on efforts to assist the Hispanic population gain access to services and make the transition to America.
  
  
• Stonecutter Mills in Spindale. Founded in 1920, the textile plant processed cotton, synthetics and blends until it was forced to shut down in January 2003. Here, local government and business leaders will talk about what UNC is doing to help in the town’s recovery efforts.
  
  
• Uptown development in Charlotte. Several years after a citywide vote against building an uptown stadium to keep the Hornets NBA franchise in Charlotte, business leaders led a successful effort to construct an arena in uptown for the expansion Bobcats. North Carolina’s largest city is continually evolving, with a light-rail system expected to begin operating in April 2007. This stop will highlight how community involvement has helped to shape Charlotte.
  
  
• The BEAUTY Project in Burlington. Here, tour participants will meet with hair salon owners and members of the community advisory board to hear how they’re engaging beauty salons as a means of information-sharing about cancer prevention. The BEAUTY study (Bringing Education and Understanding to You) is a UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center research project involving 40 salons statewide and researchers from UNC’s School of Public Health.

The Tar Heel Bus Tour is only one way in which UNC engages with North Carolina. The Carolina Center for Public Service, created in 1997, leads UNC’s engagement efforts and service to North Carolina and beyond by linking the expertise and energy of faculty, staff and students to the needs of the people. More information on the CCPS is available at http://www.unc.edu/cps/.
More information on the Tar Heel Bus Tour is available at http://www.unc.edu/bustour/.

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Note: Dr. Lynn Blanchard, director of UNC’s Carolina Center for Public Service, is bus tour host and may be reached at (919) 280-9434. Linda Douglas, director of community relations, is bus tour coordinator and may be reached at (919) 218-6947.

News Services contacts: Lisa Katz, (919) 962-2093 or lisa_katz@unc.edu; Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu; LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589 or laura_toler@unc.edu