December 22, 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

Giving new meaning to 'every vote counts'
The Christian Science Monitor
Cecily Kaplan is a mother of two, a program manager at a local synagogue, and what they call a perfect voter....Since Watergate in particular, governors have become "more important," says Thad Beyle, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina.

Diet soda no longer lightweight in drink
The Associated Press (National)
Still think the cola wars are about Coke vs. Pepsi?...Last year, Americans drank 837 servings of soda, up from 645 in 1985, Sicher said. And those drinks account for 7 percent of their daily calories, said Barry Popkin, a nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Regional Coverage

State Funding: Students, Parents Need Fiscal Predictability to Plan for College
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Virginians have struggled over every important expansion of the public system, even in living memory over George Mason University's development as a full university with distinguished graduate programs, over Old Dominion University's and Norfolk State University's establishment as free-standing universities, over James Madison University's emergence as a great regional university, over Virginia Commonwealth University's engineering school, indeed even over Governor Mills Godwin's proposal for community colleges.

Note: A more accurate description of the North Carolina General Assembly's appropriation per in-state student at Carolina is $17,132, a cost that does not include state funds allocated for the N.C. Area Health Education Centers Program. The UNC figure cited in this opinion column included AHEC's appropriations. University Relations has notified the Times-Dispatch about this misleading number, which does not reflect the true cost of educating Carolina's undergraduates.

State & Local Coverage

Stage set for new UNC arts director
The Chapel Hill Herald
You'll have to forgive Emil Kang for his audacity. He actually believes that the campus arts scene could be as big a deal as -- gasp -- Carolina basketball....During the search, Kang stood out from the pool of about 200 applicants because of his ambition, enthusiasm and spark, said Steve Allred, UNC's executive associate provost.

More are calling N.C. home
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A surge of newcomers from other parts of the country helped make North Carolina one of the 10 fastest-growing states, a distinction it has narrowly missed in recent years, according to census estimates released today...."It's more difficult to get into the country today than it was a couple years ago," said Jim Johnson, a demographer at UNC-Chapel Hill.

UNC denigrates campus champion's memory (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill News
A plucky Southern widow and single mother who gave unstintingly to the university throughout her life, Cornelia Phillips Spencer today is being doubly discriminated against.

Cemetery's care is community's duty (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
In an essay appearing on this page yesterday, UNC preservation director Paul Kapp did an excellent job of explaining the long-term significance of the recent flap about the renovation of the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery.

UNC cleaning up Swain Hall flood
The Chapel Hill Herald
Rob Hamilton was finishing up some end-of-the-semester paperwork in his Swain Hall office Monday afternoon when a co-worker came running down the stairs, frantically searching for garbage cans...."I would say, on a scale of one to 10, it was a five," Steve Copeland, UNC's director of building services, said of the flood.

Emergency doctor earns top honor
The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte doctor Robert Schafermeyer has earned the highest honor given by the American College of Emergency Physicians....In North Carolina, Schafermeyer is a professor at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine and is associate chairman of the emergency medicine department at Carolinas Medical Center.

Lewis, legal scholar at UNC-CH, dies at 88
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Henry Wilkins Lewis, a legal scholar instrumental in building the UNC-Chapel Hill school of government into a treasure-trove of knowledge, died Sunday.

Issues & Trends

States Increase College Funding
The Wall Street Journal
States increased funding for higher education this fiscal year, reversing declines last year that led to budget cuts and tuition increases in many public colleges and universities across the country.
Subscription required.

Prudent campus checks (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
North Carolina's public universities have tightened admission procedures in a good-faith attempt to make campuses safer. New details in one of the killings of two UNC-Wilmington students earlier this year might suggest that it's not worth the effort -- but it is.

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.