News Briefs

Former White House aide Kathryn Roth-Douquet, who worked in the Clinton administration, will deliver a talk titled "AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America's Upper Classes from the Military and How it Hurts Our Country" on Sept. 26 at UNC.

The free public lecture and discussion starts at 4 p.m. in room 1505 of the Frank Porter Graham Student Union. It is sponsored by the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Roth-Douquet served in the White House and the defense department during the Clinton administration. Today she is a writer, lawyer, political activist and Marine Corps spouse based in Camp Lejeune who writes on civilian and military relations. Her talk will address "the growing gap in experience and understanding between American educational, economic and cultural elites and those who serve in the U.S. military." Roth-Douquet has a book on the subject which will be published next spring.

For more information, contact Jackie Gorman, programs administrator for the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense, at (919) 962-3093 or jwgorman@email.unc.edu.

###

Yijing "Mike" Lin, a UNC senior, recently won one of four worldwide scholarships given by The Actuarial Foundation.

Lin, who is president of Carolina’s Actuarial Student Organization (CASO), is pursuing a double major in mathematical decision sciences and business. He is the second UNC student to be awarded the foundation’s John Culver Wooddy Scholarship.

The foundation awards four of these $2,000 scholarships every year in a competition open to students from around the world. To be eligible for the award, a college senior must have successfully completed at least one actuarial examination, rank in the top quartile of his class and be nominated by a professor at his school. Lin is the son of James and Anning Lin of Chapel Hill.

###

Dr. Michele Tracy Berger, an assistant professor of women’s studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, recently won a best book award from the American Political Science Association (APSA) for her work on women with HIV/AIDS.

Berger's book, "Workable Sisterhood: The Political Journey of Stigmatized Women with HIV/AIDS," is based on a study of the lives of 16 stigmatized women (former drug users and sex workers) with HIV/AIDS who became politically active in Detroit. Published in 2004 by Princeton University Press, the book explores the barriers of stigma in relation to political participation and demonstrates how stigma can be effectively challenged and redirected.

The APSA is the leading professional organization for the study of political science and serves more than 15,000 members in more than 80 countries. The best book awards were presented at the group’s annual meeting Sept. 3 in Washington, D.C.

Berger, who also is an adjunct professor of political science at UNC, researches gender and HIV/AIDS activism and health policy. She teaches courses on women of color in contemporary U.S. social movements, African-American women in the media and feminist research methods.

###

Dr. John S. Akin, Austin H. Carr distinguished professor and chairman of the UNC economics department, led an Oxford Round Table session on elderly health care Aug. 7-12.

The Oxford Round Table convenes periodically at England’s Oxford University to consider issues in contemporary education policy in the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries. Invitations are sent to selected experts who can lead discussions on topics to promote human advancement and understanding. The theme of this year’s roundtable was successful aging.

Akin, who is a specialist in health economics, led a session on health promotion and health care for the elderly. He came to UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences in 1973 and is known for his work on the financing of health systems in developing countries. Akin and two co-authors developed the World Bank’s official policy on financing health services in developing countries.

-30-

College of Arts and Sciences contact: Kim Weaver Spurr, (919) 962-4093 or spurrk@email.unc.edu

News Services contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 962-2093