December 21, 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

Demographic Trends to Shape Future U.S. Housing Markets
Chicago Tribune
Three powerful demographic forces will shape housing in the future, determining who will buy homes, where they'll buy them and what they will be like...."Most housing growth will be driven in the future by immigrants and Hispanics," predicted James Johnson, professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Suicides Linked to Airborne Chemicals
Ivanhoe Newswire
A new study links an increased rate of suicide in two North Carolina communities with exposure to airborne chemicals from nearby asphalt plants....Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and elsewhere studied death certificates for the two communities over about a 10-year period, from 1994 to 2003, comparing them to death certificates for the state as a whole.
Note: Ivanhoe has a syndicated television series and its reports are broadcast in 250 markets reaching 80 million U.S. households.

State & Local Coverage

Old cemetery deserves attention (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill Herald
Is the "rancorous" debate and discussion over the improvements in the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery really finished? I certainly hope not and here's why....Paul Kapp is UNC's campus historic preservation manager.

UNC Retires Bell Award
WUNC-FM News
UNC officials are doing away with a prestigious award honoring women on campus. The award was named after a prominent woman in the university's history. Historians say in 1875 Cornelia Phillips Spencer rang the South Building bell marking the re-opening of the university. But there are also documents linking Spencer to white supremacy. That's why some say her legacy is best left in history books and not on the name of an award for modern women.
Related News & Observer letters to the editor:
http://www.newsobserver.com/print/tuesday/opinion/story/1949718p-8312525c.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/story/1950029p-8312662c.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/print/tuesday/opinion/story/1949719p-8312546c.html

Small number of health-care institutions require flu shot
Asheville Citizen-Times
Only 2 percent of health-care institutions responding to a survey by UNC-Chapel Hill researchers require their patient-care workers to get annual flu shots. In addition, only 38 percent reported that their employers in North Carolina have formal written employee influenza vaccination policies.

Tube transport still handy
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Pharmacist Jeff Boothe measured out doses of medicine, popped the pills into a padded plastic capsule and fed it into a 4-inch diameter pipe protruding from the pharmacy wall at Duke University Hospital....Duke, Durham Regional Hospital in Durham, WakeMed and Rex Hospital in Raleigh, and UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill all have tube systems.

Issues & Trends

Students Demand Their Rights--in Court
The Associated Press
At the University of North Carolina, three incoming freshmen sue over a reading assignment they say offends their Christian beliefs. In Colorado and Indiana, a national conservative group publicizes student allegations of left-wing bias by professors. Faculty get hate mail and are pictured in mock "wanted" posters; at least one college says a teacher received a death threat.

U.S. Slips in Attracting the World's Best Students
The New York Times
American universities, which for half a century have attracted the world's best and brightest students with little effort, are suddenly facing intense competition as higher education undergoes rapid globalization.
Registration required.

Columbia's Pursuit Of Patent Riches Angers Companies
The Wall Street Journal
In the fall of 2000, Columbia University faced a problem familiar to many drug companies: A group of lucrative patents was about to expire.
Subscription required.

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.