December 20, 2004

Carolina in the News

Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:

National Coverage

Rebuilding black Milwaukee must be a two-pronged effort (Opinion-Editorial Column)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Black Milwaukeeans are still struggling to get out of a deep social and economic hole, as was made evident by a recent three-part series, "Still Separate and Unequal: A Dream Derailed" (Dec. 5-7)....Walter C. Farrell Jr. is professor of management and associate director of the urban investment strategies center in the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Getting There: Don't expect crosswalk at First and Holgate
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
One San Diego study showed that more pedestrians were hit in uncontrolled crosswalks than outside them. A more detailed study by the University of North Carolina found that uncontrolled crosswalks on roads with four or more traffic lanes, heavy traffic and high speeds are the most dangerous.

Southern symbols fading under pressure
The Associated Press (National)
From a renamed "Confederate Boulevard" in Arkansas to the shrunken "Heart of Dixie" on Alabama's license plates, some in the South are erasing memories of their Civil War pasts with the hope of enticing investment....John Shelton Reed, a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina's Center for the Study of the American South, says the trend is clear, and business interests coupled with concern from the African-American community are the catalysts.

State & Local Coverage

UNC commencement speaker urges leaving comfort zones
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
Dressed-up parents looked on proudly, clicked cameras and cheered from the stands in the Dean Smith Center on Sunday while little brothers and sisters squirmed in their seats....English professor George Lensing urged the latest batch of Carolina graduates to remember the university as a "priceless gem," and also to push themselves beyond their comfort zones on occasion.
Speech transcript: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec04/lensing122004.html

UNC leads public schools in sending students abroad
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
Interest in the world outside Chapel Hill continues to rise among members of the UNC student body...."It helps create a perception of world citizenship," Robert Miles, director of UNC's study abroad program, said of the overseas experience.
UNC news release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec04/studyabroad120604.html

Grant will aid evolution studies
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Evolution studies used to trace the ancestry of single organisms at a time, painstakingly mapping where they fit on the Tree of Life...."There is so much information. How do you put it together?" said Joel Kingsolver, a UNC biologist and the associate director at the center.
UNC news release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec04/NSF121604.HTML

UNC gives out alumni awards
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
A former NBA All-Star, a theoretical physicist and a member of the Federal Communications Commission have received the UNC General Alumni Association's 14th annual Distinguished Young Alumni Awards.

Bell Award pushed into sunset (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
The demise of UNC's Cornelia Phillips Spencer Bell Award, announced last week by Chancellor James Moeser, was a near-inevitability once campus leaders started taking a closer look at the university's Reconstruction-era history.

Sunday forum (Letters to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
How much Western Civ can one campus take?

A chat with... Anil Shivdasani
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Corporate executives are hungry again for mergers and acquisitions after pushing away from the table the past several years....Anil Shivdasani, 39, a finance professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discussed the increased merger-and-acquisition activity with staff writer Amy Martinez.

Cell phone for kids ages 6-12 to make national debut here
The Charlotte Observer
The first cell phone targeted to children ages 6 to 12 will make its national debut this February in the Carolinas....Research is ongoing, but so far has suggested little danger from phone radiation exposure, said David Savitz, epidemiology department chairman at UNC Chapel Hill's School of Public Health.

Book focuses on effective business presentations
Asheville Citizen-Times
Some people equate the fear of public speaking with the fear of snakes, heights and even death - yet in many business fields, it's almost impossible to ascend the corporate ladder without polished presentation skills....These observations are from "Effective Business Presentations," a new book by Dr. Judy Jones Tisdale, a management communication professor at the UNC Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Police deception carries risks
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
On many TV cop shows, it's the ploy on which the plot turns: Police trick a suspect into thinking they have more evidence than they actually do, and he coughs up a confession that seals his fate....Lou Bilionis, a professor of constitutional and criminal law at UNC-Chapel Hill, said apart from the deception in the case, the defense has a strong argument that officers should have read Dalzell his rights before they arrived at the police station.

Top prosecutor's statement at center of legal controversy
The Associated Press (N.C.)
A statement by a top state prosecutor that officials had a policy of withholding certain evidence that would have helped defendants has stirred controversy in legal circles....Rich Rosen, a law professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and a death-penalty opponent, predicted that Coman's testimony would cause trouble for the Attorney General's Office.

Appeals Court: N.C. may collect back taxes from some companies
The Associated Press (N.C.)
The state Revenue Department may collect as much as $150 million in back taxes from out-of-state companies that do business in North Carolina, the state Appeals Court has ruled...."It's kind of shooting ourselves in the foot," James F. Smith, a finance professor at UNC Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School, said of the appeals court ruling. "We'll have fewer retailers in the future."

Issues & Trends

Status of Pell Grants in the New Spending Scheme
"Weekend Edition" National Public Radio
The spending bill approved by Congress last month might make it harder for low-income students to get federal aid. NPR's Anthony Brooks reports.

Out of control (Editorial)
The Charlotte Observer
Throughout North Carolina's history, ordinary citizens, using education and hard work, have been able to move from humble circumstances to leadership or wealth.

More safety for students ...(Editorial)
The Wilmington Star News
Students at UNCW and other UNC campuses should be at least a little safer in the future. Their backgrounds will be checked more carefully, and the universities will take other steps to improve security.

The driving dilemma
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
If we can change our driving habits, maybe we can prove the "Tomato Map" wrong....Chapel Hill Transit stopped charging fares in 2002. Buses are packed, but not just because UNC and the town subsidize the ride, Bonk said. Service was improved with more convenient schedules. The town and UNC-CH also have invested heavily in remote park-and-ride lots and are spending more on new buses and remote lots to keep up with the demand.

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/newsserv/clipsindex.htm.

Please share any questions, comments or suggestions at news@unc.edu.