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April 10, 2006Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:National Coverage
Study: Obese People Lack Health Awareness
The Associated Press (National)
Obese people have a blind spot when it comes to their own weight problem, according to a study that indicates only 15 percent of people in that category view themselves as obese. ...“If somebody doesn’t perceive themselves to be obese, they are most likely not going to pay attention to any public health information about the consequences of obesity,” said Kim Truesdale, a nutrition researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A gluttony of glug-glugging
USA Today
You are what you eat, you've no doubt heard. But, increasingly, we are what we drink: By 2001, soda, juice, milk, beer and other beverages accounted for 21% of the calories consumed by Americans, up from 16% in the 1970s, says Barry Popkin, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/healthybeverage030806.htmHow 4 people turned learning disabilities into stories of success, fortune and happiness
The Chicago Tribune
Soft-spoken and conservatively dressed, Bill Jacobs owns eight car dealerships that did $400 million in sales last year. As a child, he couldn't swim freestyle or tie his shoes. ... Dr. Mel Levine, an expert in learning difficulties, cited his clinical experience. "We see a lot of children who have trouble with their attention. And many have a trait called insatiability, where they are chronically restless, bored easily. They need material possessions, and they want more and more," said Levine, a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
New Judas Discovery
"Newshour," PBS
Bart Ehrman, a religion professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was featured on Friday's (April 7) edition of "Newshour." A newly authenticated and newly translated ancient document known as the "Gospel of Judas" tells the story of Judas, not as Jesus’ betrayer, but as his favored disciple. Two religious experts discuss the significance of the discovery on religion.
Journey of Faith
The Lawrence Journal-World (Kan.)
A young Bart Ehrman, a born-again Christian, set out after high school to learn as much as he could from original biblical texts. ...“Even though scholars have been talking about this stuff for hundreds of years, I realized regular folk don’t know anything about it,” says Ehrman, a religion professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. “I thought it would be interesting to try to write a popular book more for a Barnes & Noble crowd.”
Job Market Good For Recent College Grads
The Associated Press (National)
The director of University Career Services at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill says employers are regretting the entry-level hiring freeze they invoked after 9-11. Marcia Harris says those businesses are without what she calls bench strength.
Food Antioxidants, Vitamin D Fight Breast Cancer
HealthDay News
A range of foods such as soybeans, fruits and green tea contain powerful antioxidants that help reduce a woman's risk for breast and ovarian cancer, new studies find. ...In one study, postmenopausal women who consumed high levels of flavonoids, a class of antioxidants found in plants, had a 45 percent lower risk of breast cancer, said Brian Fink, a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who led the study.
Sharing the caring
Knight Ridder News Services
“The women in my family are very strong. I don’t worry about Pooh. During the day, he’s with Mom-Mom. At night he’s with grandmom.” ...In 2000, 68 percent of children, by their 18th birthday, had four grandparents living, according to Peter Uhlenberg, a researcher with the University of North Carolina.
U.S. News and World Report Finally Revisits LIS Rankings
The Library Journal
U.S. News and World Report at long last updated its rankings of library graduate programs for 2006, the first update since 1998. The University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill remained in their top spots for the 2006 rankings.
UNC Fact Sheet: http://www.unc.edu/news/factsheets/usnewsgrad07summary.htmState & Local Coverage
3 medical schools ranked with best
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill and East Carolina University have three of the best medical schools in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2007 rankings of graduate schools, which were published in its April 10 issue. ..."We pay attention to the rankings, but we do not let them drive our decision-making," said Alison Hope Jesse, senior associate director of MBA admissions at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School. "We are gratified when our efforts are recognized."
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/factsheets/usnewsgrad07summary.htmDonation boosts disease research
The Herald-sun (Durham)
A gift pledged by Hugh A. "Chip" McAllister Jr., and his wife, Angela, will give a major boost to cardiovascular disease research at UNC's School of Medicine. The McAllisters' gift will establish the Hugh A. McAllister Jr., M.D. '66 Endowment for Cardiovascular Biology.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr06/mcallister040306.htmUNC picked for health disparities initiative
The Triangle Business Journal
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Public Health is one of 12 schools and graduate programs in the country to participate in an initiative to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities. UNC officials announced Thursday that the department will take part in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Engaged Institutions Initiative to decrease health variations between different demographic groups.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr06/ehd040606.htmUNC's hunt for law dean stalls; resources cited
The Triangle Business Journal
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is spending millions of dollars less to operate its law school than some of its peers - a financial drawback that has stymied attempts to hire a new dean. ..."We're just picky," says Mike Smith, dean of UNC's School of Government. "We've been incredibly selective."
Genetic Therapies Target Muscle Disease
WNCN-TV (NBC, Raleigh)
Genetic therapies that could revolutionize the treatment of the muscle wasting disease are now being tested in children. University of North Carolina scientist Jude Samulski has helped design the therapy along with a scientist at the University of Pittsburgh.
Family gets the home they earned
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Her fingernails are manicured, but don't be fooled. Trina Shah's palms are still rough with callouses after hammering nails into her new home for the past five months. ...Almost 300 volunteers helped the Shahs build their house at 605 Nunn St. Most were students, faculty, staff and alumni of the UNC-CH Kenan-Flagler Business School.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr06/reckford040306.htmLocal buzz mixed over `Gospel of Judas'
The Charlotte Observer
Apparently it'll take more than a revelation that Judas might not have been as treacherous as Christians have long believed to shake the core beliefs of many Carolinas faithful on the verge of Holy Week. ...Bart Ehrman, who teaches religious studies at UNC Chapel Hill, attended Thursday's news conference. He characterized the finding -- the papyrus manuscript was discovered buried along the Nile River -- as "one of the most unusual and contrary gospels written in Christian antiquity."
Taxes
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
William Turnier, professor of tax law at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law, was featured on today's (April 10) edition of "The State of Things." Do you feel you’re getting your money’s worth for the taxes you pay? As the tax deadline approaches, we take a look at what we get for our hard-earned dollars. How do tax policies affect things like employment, national security, and the environment?
Siler City expects thousands
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Siler City may not be Los Angeles or Washington, D.C., but thousands of advocates for comprehensive immigration reform are expected to show up there today for a march and rally at town hall. ...An estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants live in North Carolina, according to a report from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Summit aims to inspire -- and caution
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Sergio Castro has done in a few short years what usually takes a generation. The senior at Jordan-Matthews High School in Siler City, who arrived in the United States from Mexico when he was 10, will start as freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall.
Colleges help students hunt jobs
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Senior Hilary Hellens exhaled deeply as she left the lobby of Great Hall in UNC-Chapel Hill's student union. ...The job hunt will always be tough for young people breaking into creative fields such as journalism and the arts, where the labor supply typically exceeds demand, said Marcia Harris, director of University Career Services, which sponsored the job fair.
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/104/story/426782.htmlTransPark goals shift with time
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Jet aircraft take off every day from runways at the N.C. Global TransPark, but they are loaded with passengers, not with the kind of cargo envisioned when the airport and business complex was launched 15 years ago. ...State officials originally planned the TransPark as an industrial cargo hub that would attract large manufacturers. John D. Kasarda, director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC-Chapel Hill, conceived the complex as a way to bring industrial development to Eastern North Carolina.
Make a mecca for people with money (Opinion-editorial column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
North Carolina has lost more than 300,000 manufacturing jobs since 1995. Many have been in the depressed counties east of I-95. The periodic announcements locating a Nucor steel facility in Hertford County or Cheesecake Factory bakery in Rocky Mount are therefore welcome news. Yet such gains are overwhelmed by far more frequent plant closings in the region. ...John D. Kasarda is director of the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Sex abuse-drugs link explored
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The photo could hardly be more picture perfect. ...This week Van Derbur will give a free speech at UNC-Chapel Hill and address a conference of medical and social service workers sponsored by UNC Horizons, a substance-abuse treatment program for women. The conference will focus on the link between childhood sexual abuse and other trauma and substance abuse later in life.
Humor 101: Black teaches importance of comedy at UNC
The Associated Press (N.C.)
You can blame the clowns. That is the reason Lewis Black believes that comedy is not taken more seriously in the academic world. ...The Carolina Comedy Festival began in 2003 after the student president of the Carolina Union asked Black after a show at a local club to return to the university and perform. Black continues to teach and perform at no charge, and he persuades his fellow comedians to perform for less than usual, said Jonathon Benson, the current president of the Carolina Union.
Mecklenburg raises bar for incentives
The Charlotte Observer
After months of sharp criticism of tax incentives for businesses expanding or creating new jobs in Mecklenburg, county officials have toughened guidelines that govern who gets money. ...Jonathan Morgan, a professor of government at UNC Chapel Hill who studies economic development and forecasting, said some ripple effect is legitimate, but estimating it is "not exact science."
Teach entrepreneurship (Letter to the editor)
The Charlotte Observer
In response to "Students step into the trading room" (March 30):It is admirable that the Belk College of Business has a new facility to demonstrate stock trading and money management. But it causes me to wonder if "jobs" is where the emphasis should be. ...An entrepreneurial program similar to the one at UNC Chapel Hill would be a good model for the Belk College.
A poet's works (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
After your April 6 article about re-naming a UNC-Chapel Hill dormitory after the slave poet George Moses Horton, the first African-American to publish a book in the South, readers may be interested to learn more about this extraordinary man who lived most of his life in Chatham County. ...Kathleen Ketterman, UNC Press, Chapel Hill
CHCCS will not be 'First'
The Chapel Hill News
The next Chapel Hill-Carrboro elementary school won't take students as young as 3 years old and teach them through second grade. Plans to open such a school with UNC's Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute were put off indefinitely Thursday by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education.
'Stand up... challenge teammates'
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Far from Durham, a university is using the Duke lacrosse situation as an example. ...The Duke situation also is being monitored closely 10 miles down the road at UNC-Chapel Hill. UNC is rooting for Duke to emerge with its image intact, UNC Provost Robert Shelton said. "It's so important for all of us that Duke handle this well, 'us' being Carolina and 'us' being higher education in general," he said. "When one of us takes a shot like this, it hurts us all. I don't want them to be tarnished."
Historic president's home a worthy site for UNC leaders
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
At the start of the year, Erskine Bowles began work in earnest to build his legacy as the new president of the University of North Carolina system, on the foundation laid by the presidents before him. Another construction project began 100 years before Bowles took the top UNC job, when carpenters and other tradespeople started turning a vision by architect Frank P. Milburn for the UNC president's home into reality.
The price of R&D: UNCG, A&T seek additional research funding
The Triad Business Journal
Greensboro's two public universities plan to ask the UNC Board of Governors for as much as $12 million each in "transition funding" to help pay for their increasing focus on research activities, officials at the two schools say. ...UNCG and A&T remain below North Carolina's two premier research institutions, UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State, in the new classification system.
Produced by News Services, Carolina in the News is an e-mail sampling of current news media coverage about Carolina people and programs, as well as issues and trends that affect the university. Stories usually will be online and available free for a limited time - often one to two weeks. Expiration dates before stories move to archives vary by media outlet. Some outlets require free user registration or a subscription.
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