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April 12, 2006
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:International Coverage
Study examines rural hospital closings
United Press International
A University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill study has found closing the only hospital in a rural community has a negative impact on the local economy. ..."Our findings suggest that in certain situations, it may be in a community's long-term interest to directly support a hospital in order to ensure its long-term survival, said Dr. Mark Holmes, co-author of the report.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr06/ruralhospital040606.htmSelling remedies as remedies is questioned
United Press International
A study by Pennsylvania, Florida, and North Carolina scientists suggests remedy marketing can undermine risk avoidance messages. ..."The existence of a remedy could suggest to these consumers that the risk is manageable," explains the research paper authored by Lisa Bolton of the University of Pennsylvania, Joel Cohen from the University of Florida, and Paul Bloom of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
National Coverage
The Salvation in Ceviche and Tuna With Tapenade
The New York Times
Paul Mones is the sort of person whose work requires more corrective emotional sustenance than most. He is one of the country's foremost experts on the subject of parricide. Over the past two decades, he has been involved in more than 250 cases, defending teenagers accused of murdering their parents. ...By the time he was a freshman at Queens College, he could make egg rolls. And by the time he arrived at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill some years later, he had become so proficient in Asian cuisine that he started a Chinese catering business, with which he supported himself during law school.
`Gospel truth' is question for author
The Orlando Sentinel
When Ned Flanders - the zealous evangelical who lives next door to TV's animated Simpsons family - is visited by a series of catastrophic misfortunes, he asks why God lets bad things happen to good people. Especially to true believers such as him. ...But (Bart) Ehrman, chairman of the religious-studies department at the University of North Carolina, says that his textual criticism is not the fundamental reason he has lost his faith. He asked himself a timeless question: "How can there be a world of such misery if there is a benevolent God in charge of it?"
The new profits of Christianity (Opinion-editorial column)
The Boston Globe
It is Easter Week. He has risen again. To the top of the bestseller lists, that is.
Send your kids out to play - and go with them
The Minneapolis Star Tribune
Grab your kids and head outdoors to shoot some hoops, toss a Frisbee, ride a bike or just take a stroll. ...Many people think of physical activity as a means to achieve weight loss or a way to improve physical health, notes Penny Gordon-Larsen, assistant professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina and lead author of the study. "But it's important to understand that physical activity has benefits beyond those -- including social and cognitive factors that are so important."
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/adolescentped033006.htmMatzo balls are a culinary icon for Passover
Tribune Media Services
My favorite Southern story comes from journalist Carol Ann Blitzer of Baton Rouge, La. The Southern sensibilities of a 102-year-old lady were offended when Blitzer showed up to photograph her preparing matzo balls for a Passover story. ...Marcie Cohen Ferris, in "Matzo Ball Gumbo, Culinary Tales of the Jewish South" (University of North Carolina Press, $29.95), does not tell tales of Jews from Baton Rouge, but she does relate hilarious and heartwarming stories about how Southern and Jewish cultures have melded at the dinner table, throughout the South.
Guggenheim Foundation Announces 187 New Fellows for 200
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation announced on Thursday the winners of its 2006 fellowships. The 187 winners include writers, visual and performing artists, humanities scholars, and physical, biological, and social scientists, according to a Guggenheim news release. Many are affiliated with colleges or universities. ...Theda Perdue, Atlanta Distinguished Term Professor of History, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; James A. Stimson, Raymond Dawson Bicentennial Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/674/story/427174.htmlFederal Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Sex-Harassment Lawsuit Against Chapel Hill Soccer Coach
The Chronicle of Higher Education
A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of a sexual-harassment lawsuit against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and its longtime women's soccer coach, Anson Dorrance, which was filed by a former player on the team.
Quick Takes
Inside Higher Education
Women’s soccer coaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did not create a hostile environment for a former player even though they used vulgar language and discussed team members’ sexual activities, a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled Tuesday in rejecting the player’s sexual harassment lawsuit.
Regional Coverage
Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal of Suit
The Associated Press (Va.)
A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a judge's decision to dismiss a sexual harassment lawsuit against University of North Carolina women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance.
The mirror doesn't lie
The Des Moines Register
A study by the University of North Carolina found only 15 percent of obese people considered themselves obese. Or, 85 percent of people large enough to be categorized as obese can't see the truth about something so, well, obvious.
State & Local Coverage
UNC to help cut health issue gap
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC's School of Public Health is one of 12 U.S. schools and graduate programs of public health recently selected to participate in the Engaged Institutions Initiative funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The initiative seeks to support and promote the sustained efforts of institutions of higher education working in partnership with communities to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities. UNC's School of Public Health was chosen from among 26 schools and graduate programs that applied.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr06/ehd040606.htmOWASA, UNC sign water pact
The Chapel Hill Herald
The Orange Water and Sewer Authority and UNC Chapel Hill have signed a contract for building a system that will enable the university to use treated wastewater rather than drinking water for some of its campus needs. The reuse system will enable highly treated wastewater from OWASA's plant on Mason Farm Road to be used for nondrinking purposes allowed under state regulations. The two parties project the system could be ready by the end of 2008.
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/427756.htmlUNC board will ask for faculty pay boost
The Chapel Hill Herald
The UNC Board of Governors voted on Tuesday to ask the state Legislature to raise faculty salaries systemwide by 5 percent in 2006-07. ...UNC Chapel Hill Faculty Council Chairwoman Judith Wegner called the 5 percent raise -- which would apply to faculty members and some other academic personnel -- more reasonable than a 7.5 percent spike. Wegner said she is optimistic that the request will be accepted by legislators, whom she said are more generous during election years.
Judas
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
Bart Ehrman, chair of the religious studies department at UNC-Chapel Hill and contributing writer to the National Geographic book “The Gospel of Judas” (National Geographic/2006), was featured on today's (April 12) edition of "The State of Things." For centuries Judas has been getting a bad rap as Judas the Betrayer. But ancient scripts recently released by National Geographic shed a different light on the story of Judas, with Judas the Enlightened as the hero of the day.
Face the realities of immigration (Editorial)
The Wilmington Star-News
They crossed our borders without permission and became workers of whom little was asked except hard labor. Too busy and too cautious to call attention to themselves, they kept their heads down. ...A study done by the UNC-Chapel Hill business school for the N.C. Bankers Association found that these recent immigrants, many of them without papers, make a substantial contribution to our state and its economy.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/economicimpact010306.htmComic shares lessons with students at UNC
The Charlotte Observer
You can blame the clowns. That's the reason Lewis Black believes comedy isn't taken more seriously in the academic world. ...He returned recently to UNC-Chapel Hill to teach a couple of classes as part of his alma mater's annual Carolina Comedy Festival.
Stock up on staples to build emergency food supply (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
With bird flu in the news and hurricane season approaching, readers have asked me about emergency food supplies. In fact, some federal officials are encouraging us to do that. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.
Roses & Raspberries (Editorial commentary)
The Chapel Hill News
Roses to UNC for deciding to honor one of this area's most remarkable historical figures. The university announced recently that the dormitory now called Hinton James North will be renamed for George Moses Horton.
Sharing secret to help others
The Chapel Hill News
The photo could hardly be more picture perfect. Marilyn Van Derbur, 20, smiles at the center in her lacy white gown, her sisters behind her, her mother and father leaning in to kiss her cheeks. She had just been crowned Miss America 1958. ...Today Van Derbur will speak at a conference of medical and social service workers sponsored by UNC Horizons, a substance-abuse treatment program for women.
Issues & Trends
Erskine Bowles sworn in as president of UNC system
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles was sworn in Wednesday as the president of the University of North Carolina system, saying it was the greatest honor of his career. "As I've gotten a little older, balder, and maybe a little wiser, I've learned that sometimes in life the real world is even fonder than your dreams," said Bowles, who ran twice ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate before being tapped last year to take over for former system President Molly Broad.
Bowles' first budget plan focuses on teachers, nurses
The Winston-Salem Journal
Erskine Bowles, the new president of the University of North Carolina system, presented his first state budget plan yesterday, one that is heavy on teacher and nursing recruitment, education and retention.
Related Link: http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ
_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137835316145&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099Bowles focused on leading system
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The occasion today is a festive one -- the inauguration of UNC President Erskine Bowles, new leader of the state's university system. ... Bowles is focusing more on leading the 16-campus UNC system -- he actually started work Jan. 1 -- than on the official celebration, said Gladys Robinson, who co-chaired a committee that planned the festivities.
UNC to ask General Assembly for additional money
The Fayetteville Observer
The University of North Carolina Board of Governors voted on a budget request on Tuesday seeking an additional $299.5 million in operating costs from legislators for the coming budget year. ...A separate request, $415 million for campus buildings and improvements, includes $7 million to start planning for a dental school at East Carolina University, a new dental sciences building at UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Dentistry and outreach dental clinics in rural areas of the state where there are not enough dentists.
UNC board approves new member
The Associated Press (N.C.)
The 16-campus University of North Carolina system soon may have a new, younger member. The system's Board of Governors voted Tuesday to let the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham become the 17th campus in the system. The Legislature must approve the motion for the school to become a member.
Dental school plan on agenda
The Greenville Daily Reflector
Healthier teeth for eastern North Carolina residents could take a step toward reality today when the UNC Board of Governors considers a proposed East Carolina University dental school. Two of the University of North Carolina governing board's committees will debate a request for $7 million in planning funds for a dental school plan submitted by East Carolina University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
NCSSM nears getting membership in UNC
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
UNC's Board of Governors voted Tuesday to let the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics become the 17th campus in the university system. The General Assembly must approve the governors' motion for it to go into effect, and will have the chance to do so at a session in May. If the proposal is approved, the school would become a constituent member of the UNC system on July 1, 2007.
Commission candidates speak out at forum
The Chapel Hill Herald
Economic development and affordable housing were two of the hot topics Tuesday night at a county commissioner candidates' forum. ...In a question about addressing the county's goal of adding 5,000 private sector jobs by 2010, Nelson said he would like to develop a stronger relationship with UNC.
Duke Inquiry to Continue, and So Will a Campaign
The New York Times
Facing about 400 people gathered at the gymnasium of North Carolina Central University on Tuesday, the man with the gray hair and the brow that now seems permanently furrowed introduced himself. ..."He seems to want to proceed as far as he can, whether the evidence is there or not," said Arnold Loewy, a criminal law professor at the University of North Carolina's School of Law, who added that Mr. Nifong's early public comments on the case seemed to be unorthodox.
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/122/story/427689.html
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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