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April 24, 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
Turn off the cell, put down the coffee and drive
The Chronicle Herald (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
A driver caught on busy Highway 400 in Ontario with a laptop computer duct-taped to his steering wheel. Raynald Marchand, manager of traffic safety and training with the Canada Safety Council, can recount numerous tales of drivers who insisted on doing more than just driving and ended up getting into trouble. ... A University of North Carolina study released in 2001 said driver distraction was a factor in about nine per cent of serious or fatal crashes.
UNC News Release: http://www.hsrc.unc.edu/pressrelease/distraction.htmNational Coverage
Public Colleges to See You Through
The New York Times - Education Life (quarterly supplement)
Figures released last month by the Education Department show UNC was ranked among four-year public colleges with the highest percentage of students graduating within six years.
Saving muscles with genes
Los Angeles Times
Andrew Kilbarger was 4 years old when his preschool teacher realized something was terribly wrong. He didn't run or jump, and he couldn't pedal a bike. When his parents had him checked by his pediatrician, even the physician was stunned by the diagnosis: Andrew had Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare, inherited, degenerative muscle disorder that afflicts 30,000 in the U.S., almost exclusively boys. ... "Essentially, we've engineered microscopic FedEx trucks with ZIP Codes that go to specific targets," says R. Jude Samulski, director of the University of North Carolina Gene Therapy Center in Chapel Hill who helped develop this technology. "Some [carriers] prefer the liver, others the lungs, while some have an affinity for muscles."
As boys slip behind, some feminists reject helping them (Editorial)
USA Today
With its powerhouse basketball teams, famed chemistry department and high rankings in college surveys, the University of North Carolina shouldn't be lacking for qualified male applicants. But UNC's current freshman class is 60% female. There's no mystery behind the gender imbalance. North Carolina's female applicants take tougher courses in high school, earn better grades and score just as high on the SAT college admission tests. So the girls get more spots.
Your Money
Newsday
About 20 years ago a tiny, former teachers college called Geneseo in upstate New York crashed into the national consciousness, not because of any scandal, but because it suddenly was rated by Money magazine with the likes of UCLA and Berkeley and the University of Michigan as the kind of public school where an undergrad could get the best education for the money. ... A lot of people don't realize this, but some schools with Ivy-size reputations are lower-cost institutions: For the fifth year in a row, for instance, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is No. 1.Anti-Rumsfeld generals may need to stage retreat
Knight Ridder Newspapers
he so-called Revolt of the Generals, targeting Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and featuring several generals who led troops in Iraq, is a troubling portent for the White House. ... Richard Kohn, who chairs the Curriculum in Peace, War, and Defense at the University of North Carolina, has long argued for a revival of military reticence. He said the other day: "I understand why the dam has burst. Mr. Rumsfeld is arrogant, and abusive, and he doesn't listen. Civilian-military dialogue has been warped by this man. And these men feel tortured by the feeling that their soldiers' lives were being wasted."
Critical access status helps rural hospitals survive
The Associated Press (National)
When Doug Bentz became chief executive officer of Roane General Hospital in 2000, it was teetering on closure, with outstanding bills approaching $1 million. ... We're seeing a tremendous increase in the financial health of critical access hospitals relative to where they were before they converted," said Mark Holmes, a health economist for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of three universities that make up the Flex Monitoring Team that tracks critical access hospitals."
Do People Know When They're Overweight?
Science News (Washington, D.C.)
A new study finds that most people can estimate their height-weight combinations fairly accurately. However, overweight and obese people miss the mark when they're asked to characterize the healthiness of their weight-to-height status. Indeed, among adults who met the National Institutes of Health criteria for being obese, only 15 percent realized they were obese, notes Kimberly P. Truesdale of the University of North Carolina.
Judas text adds to 'secret' lore
The Christian Century (Chicago)
The long-lost apocryphal Gospel of Judas, published with Easter season media fanfare, begins: "The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot." ... Gnostic writings share a central tenet that "salvation comes through knowledge," said Bart Ehrman of the University of North Carolina, a member of the nine-person advisory panel assembled by National Geographic.
Regional Coverage
To your health
Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Computer keyboards in health care settings should be disinfected every day, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina. And it is probably good advice for anyone who shares a computer keyboard with someone else to help prevent spread of infections, including colds and flu. Researchers in the UNC Health Care System say illness can be transferred to health care workers and then patients because of unclean keyboards.
Related link: http://www.unchealthcare.org/site/newsroom/news/2006/Apr/keyboardsLambert Guard unit appears headed to Israel
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Unofficially, word among enlisted airmen at Lambert Field's Air National Guard complex holds that the 131st Fighter Wing will soon fly its F-15 Eagle fighters to Israel for exercises with the Israeli air force. ... But others who were unaware of the exercises expressed no surprise. Among them was historian Richard Kohn of the University of North Carolina.
Newspaper Industry Alive and Well
The New York Sun
The Small Press Center concerned itself with the big press last week when the managing editor of the New York Times, Jill Abramson, gave a lecture titled "The Future of the New York Times." ... About the future of papers, she cited a study by University of North Carolina professor Philip Meyer, who predicted that if newspapers make no changes, they will lose their last reader in 2044.
State & Local Coverage
Students serve us locally, nationally (Opinion-editoral column)
The Chapel Hill Herald
As I walk on campus this time of year, the scenes of students laughing with their friends in the Pit, soaking up the sun in Polk Place or heading toward the library with their backpacks take on a special resonance. Commencement is May 14, and it's a bittersweet fact that some of the students I see will soon leave Carolina and start their post-college lives. ... James Moeser is chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Teamwork with teeth (Editorial)
The Charlotte Observer
North Carolina ranks 47th among the 50 states in the number of dentists per person. Only eight counties have more than the national average of 5.8 dentists per 100,000 residents (Mecklenburg is one). Five counties in Eastern North Carolina have no dentist at all. That cavity needs to be filled, and the University of North Carolina Board of Governors recently took the first step. It approved a request for planning funds for a school of dentistry at East Carolina University, tying it to a proposed expansion of the state's existing dental school at UNC Chapel Hill.
Which of these students got into UNC Chapel Hill?
The Charlotte Observer
Collin Coleman and his girlfriend, Christine Casoria, both ranked near the top of their class at East Mecklenburg High School, scored high on the SAT and applied to attend UNC Chapel Hill last fall.He got in. She did not. ... "We try to dispel the quota rumors whenever we can, but they die hard," said Stephen Farmer, the university's director of undergraduate admissions.
Depression, heart ailments tied
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Ed Devany first developed serious heart trouble nine years ago, and back then, his cardiologists barely acknowledged the sick man's long struggle with depression. ... Now his UNC-Chapel Hill heart doctors routinely ask Devany about his anti-depression medicine, visits to his psychiatrist and the exercises he does to calm down. They want to know everything he tries to keep the depression in check.
Students' Art - Shows at Duke and UNC-CH
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Chapel Hill has its own exhibition: "New Currents in Contemporary Art," 26 works by four UNC-Chapel Hill students about to graduate with master's degrees in fine art. The artwork will be on display through May 14 at the Ackland Art Museum. The works include wall murals, digital color photographs -- such as the one at right by Zeynep Cagla Alkan -- and work incorporating ancient Chinese cut-paper techniques.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr06/mfa042006.htmUNC faculty to vote on funding block
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC's faculty will soon vote on a resolution that the university stop seeking funding from the John William Pope Foundation, a conservative organization with ties to a watchdog group that has criticized Carolina. ... Andrew Perrin, a UNC sociology professor, presented the resolution at a Faculty Council meeting on Friday and asked the group to vote on it then. The council delayed the vote, as well as discussion on the topic, because the resolution's authors did not give the faculty the 24-hour notice that is required to review a proposal.
Toyota may be a luxury expense
The News-Record (Greensboro)
Toyota may be eyeing North Carolina, but should the state have eyes for the automaker? ... "How many of these (big projects) do you want to invest in?" asked Michael Luger, the director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise's office of economic development at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Medical school dedicates Bondurant Hall at UNC
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
In a ceremony Friday, the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine dedicated Bondurant Hall in honor of Dr. Stuart Bondurant, a former dean of the school. "This is a surpassing honor," Bondurant said. "There are people who laid the groundwork for this great institution whose legacy we have built upon. It is this legacy that empowered this place to become what it is."
Related link: http://www.unchealthcare.org/site/newsroom/news/2006/Apr/bondurantUNC honors outstanding students
The Chapel Hill News
Eight students from Chapel Hill and Carrboro were among 66 students honored by UNC recently for outstanding achievement in the classroom, extracurricular activities, campus leadership and public service. Chancellor James Moeser presided at the 2006 Chancellor’s Awards ceremony April 17.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr06/ca041706.htmUp and Coming: Hispanic voters may be mighty bloc
The Winston-Salem Journal
Adriana Aguirre, a teenage daughter of Mexican immigrants, will do something 10 days before her Nov. 17 birthday that she has never done before. Aguirre, a senior at Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, is going to vote in the November general election. ... North Carolina has about 5.5 million registered voters. Less than 30,000, or 0.55 percent, are Hispanic, according to the State Board of Elections. The low voter-registration number exists even though 41.4 percent of the state's 600,900 Hispanic residents are U.S. citizens, according to a recent study by the University of North Carolina's Kenan Institute.
Best bets: books that will make you think
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
"Da Vinci Code" debate: Questions raised by the best-selling book "The Da Vinci Code," including the reliability of Jesus' portrayal in the Bible and other ancient writings, will be the subject of a 7 p.m. Tuesday debate in Room 0016 of the Duke Divinity School on the West Campus; free. UNC-Chapel Hill religion professor Bart D. Ehrman and Duke's Richard B. Hays will be the featured speakers.
Group for separation of church and state hopes to grow, despite its small number
The Winston-Salem Journal
In the heart of the Bible Belt, a meeting of all-terrain-vehicle enthusiasts draws three times the attendance of a meeting of the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. ... Ferrel Guillory, the director of the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that the national Separation of Church and State group has an effective history of speaking for an issue that America has struggled with from its beginnings.
Water monitoring project could end
The Outer Banks Sentinel
The future of ModMon, the Neuse River water quality monitoring project, is uncertain. Funding for the program expired March 31, and the $125,000 needed for continued monitoring and analysis has not been included in the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources proposed budget. ... To fill that data gap, the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the University of North Carolina worked together to create ModMon, the Neuse River Estuary Modeling and Monitoring Project.
Judas gospel won't inspire
The Daily Reflector (Greenville)
The gospel of Judas has made headlines nationally, but its impact on the faithful will be minimal, say two local pastors and a religion professor at East Carolina University. A team of scholars, one of them from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, recently completed a translation of the second-century text. The gospel recounts an exchange in which, shortly before Jesus Christ's crucifixion, Christ essentially assigns the apostle Judas Iscariot to betray him.
Issues & Trends
The Eroding Faculty Paycheck
Inside Higher Education
The average faculty salary increased by 3.1 percent in 2005-6 — a year in which the inflation rate was 3.4 percent, according to data released today by the American Association of University Professors.
Related link: http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i34/34a01402.htmAthlete-conduct policies studied
The Charlotte Observer
As Duke University examines its policies in the aftermath of rape allegations against its lacrosse players, some experts say all schools should take a closer look at how they police off-the-field behavior of athletes. ...At UNC Chapel Hill, however, the athletics director gets discretion only with misdemeanors. For felonies, the policy allows no discretion. If the athlete is convicted, he's kicked off the team. "We have punishments designed to teach the student to be more aware in the future," said Winston Crisp, UNC assistant vice chancellor for student affairs. "Generally speaking, when you have repetitive behavior that shows the student is not learning from mistakes, or is dangerous or disruptive, that's getting in the realm of enough is enough."
Campus may quickly generate 2,200 jobs
The Charlotte Observer
The North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis should generate about 2,200 jobs in just its first 21/2 years of operation, according to an official with the firm that's developing the biotech hub. ... Of the three main university collaborators, Duke, UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. State, UNC will see its building started first, because its design is complete. All three should be done by late next year or early 2008.
Millennial campus may put Cullowhee on a new map
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)
At first glance, the little college town of Cullowhee may be tucked away west of the Balsams, but Chancellor John Bardo of Western Carolina University and others see opportunities abounding for a campus close to the center of a giant economic region shifting in the South. ... Bardo has been pushing for a western version of the Research Triangle Park since the General Assembly approved such programs for the University of North Carolina system in 2000.
Forums look to create united front
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
The employee forums of the 16 UNC campuses are seeking to form a system-wide staff assembly that would meet regularly and report to UNC President Erskine Bowles. Leaders of the forums comprised of staff and non-faculty employees -- submitted the request to UNC officials last month and should hear Bowles' decision "before too long," said Leslie Winner, vice president and general counsel of the system.
Owner seeks OK to demolish home
The News & Observer
The owner of a 97-year-old home built by a former UNC-Chapel Hill president wants to demolish the historic structure.
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.
Carolina in the News is also posted daily to the News Services Web page, http://www.unc.edu/news/clips/index.shtml.
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