Dec. 13, 2005

National Coverage

Career Journal -- M.B.A. Track: Recruiters Seek M.B.A.s Trained In Responsibility
The Wall Street Journal
When Liam Connelly, the U.S. recruitment manager for Timberland, interviews M.B.A. graduates, he is screening them for much more than their skills in marketing or supply-chain management. To make the cut at Timberland, M.B.A.s also must bring a passion for making the world a better place. The quest for such candidates used to be quite challenging. "Three or four years ago, it was like searching through the fog for students with a solid background in corporate social responsibility," says Mr. Connelly, who recruits at such schools as Dartmouth College and the University of North Carolina. "But fortunately for us, that's changing as more schools are turning out top-notch M.B.A.s who match our philosophy."

Quoted Often, Followed Rarely
Fortune
In 1975, Frederick Brooks published The Mythical Man-Month. It had no right to succeed. The book detailed Brooks' experience managing IBM's bet-the-company System/360 computers and OS/360 software, and featured odd illustrations, an awkward title, and loads of jargon. ...In November, Brooks, now 74 and since 1964 a computer science professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explained in his Southern drawl why people still turn to his book for guidance.
Note: News Services helped arrange Fortune's interview with professor Brooks.

Regional Coverage

Vegetation creeps upslope
Rocky Mountain News (Denver)
When the Utes walked Trail Ridge in the 1800s, they traversed a wide-open tundra landscape where the tree line was a bit lower and scrubbier than it is today. ...On a sunny late-summer morning, University of North Carolina researcher Dan Weiss hiked the path on a hunt of his own: He was looking for clues about the factors that control the current elevation of the tree line in the Colorado Rockies.

State & Local Coverage

Hope, blood surge together
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
For the first time in a long while, Marilyn Lassiter believes her husband, Charley, is going to live. ...UNC Hospitals is one of 11 medical centers nationwide involved in the trial, to test how well the $75,000 device works in patients awaiting transplants. Medicare and many insurance companies will pay for the device for these patients. Thirteen patients have received the device through the clinical trial, three of them at UNC Hospitals, said Janine Lynch, manager of clinical affairs for Jarvik Heart Inc. of New York City.
Related Links: http://www.newsobserver.com/158/story/377241.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/104/story/377368.html

New, smaller heart pump trial may prove worthwhile
The Chapel Hill Herald
Heart patients Charley Lassiter and Ed Armogida felt good about walking all the way back to their rooms from a meeting on Monday, and not just because they were able to find their way through the confusing maze of corridors at UNC Hospitals. ...Dr. Craig Selzman implanted the pumps in the three patients at UNC, in operations that took about four hours each, he said. The pumps look to be about the size of half a roll of dimes, and because they're smaller, surgeons can make smaller incisions, Selzman said.
Related Link: http://www.nbc17.com/news/5521461/detail.html

Tuition hikes said vital for faculty retention
The Triangle Business Journal
There's a trend on the financial charts that University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill execs don't want to go unnoticed: When the line tracking the cost of tuition goes up, the line tracking faculty departures takes a nosedive. ... "My three top priorities are faculty salaries, faculty salaries and faculty salaries," Chancellor James Moeser told UNC's board of trustees at its Nov. 18 meeting. Without a tuition increase, keeping pace with rising faculty salaries nationally would be difficult, if not impossible, he said.

Shaky autonomy or civil war (Question-answer)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Is the administration painting a rosier picture than actually exists in Iraq? Richard Kohn is chairman of the curriculum in peace, war and defense at UNC-Chapel Hill.

UNC study: More women entering pediatrics
The Triangle Business Journal
A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study published in the journal Pediatrics says that more women are entering pediatricians, and they are more likely than ever to enter subspecialties such as behavioral medicine or neurodevelopment. "This shows that women are breaking into the glass ceiling in more areas," said Dr. Michelle Mayer, research associate at UNC's Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. "Pediatrics appears to be a field with great opportunities for women."
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec05/shia120905.htm

Rule change could fill skies with medical choppers
The Triangle Business Journal
A health-care battle is heating up in the skies over the Triangle, with hospital systems bracing for potential competition from private operators of medical helicopters. ..."Most of us aren't concerned about WakeMed," says Jeff Strickler, director of emergency services at UNC Hospitals. "The concern is this: When you look at states around the country, once programs successfully challenge the state's CON rulings, it opens the door to independent provider models."

UNC's Pisano to deliver address at December commencement
The Kinston Free Press
A University of North Carolina researcher who recently has made international headlines will speak to graduating students at UNC's December commencement ceremony.Dr. Etta Pisano, director of UNC's Biomedical Research Imaging Center and Kenan professor of radiology and biomedical engineering, will speak at the ceremony at 2 p.m. Dec. 18 in the Dean E. Smith Center.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep05/commencement092805.htm

UNC alums start endowment fund to help graduate students
The Chapel Hill Herald
Sharon Johnson Rothwell and A. Douglas Rothwell, both UNC master of public administration graduates, have begun an endowment fund and pledged $10,000 a year for the next 10 years to support graduate student scholarships at the university's School of Government.

Duke prof key player for Bush player
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A central figure behind President Bush's new victory-in-Iraq strategy is a charismatic conservative sprung from Duke University's left-leaning political science department. ...Richard Kohn, a UNC-Chapel Hill professor who has written a book with Feaver, said he didn't think Bush's victory theme reflected the nuance and sophistication of Feaver's scholarship.

Lawsuit against incentives unlikely to work, prof says
The Winston-Salem Journal
Bob Orr, a former justice on the N.C. Supreme Court, filed a lawsuit in June to try to overturn $242 million in incentives that legislators approved for Dell Inc. to put a plant in Winston-Salem. But Robert Adler, a professor of business law at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told Orr last week that even though he backs the suit, he's not sure that it will prevent governments from offering incentives.

Triangle universities and colleges
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Bridge closing: Bridge C, the easternmost pedestrian bridge connecting the Dogwood parking deck and the N.C. Neurosciences Hospital, is scheduled to close Friday and be demolished next Monday.
UNC News Brief: http://www.unc.edu/news/briefs/2005/120805.htm

Director named: Sarah Strunk has been named national program director of Active Living by Design, a program of the School of Public Health.
UNC News Brief: http://www.unc.edu/news/briefs/2005/120805.htm

Education award: The N.C. Science Teachers Association has awarded Pat Shane, an associate professor at the School of Education, the Vi Hunsucker Award.
UNC News Brief: http://www.unc.edu/news/briefs/2005/120805.htm

Piano given: The William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust has donated a concert grand piano that may help UNC-CH attract more of the world's top artists to perform in Memorial Hall.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec05/hamburg120605.htm

Endowment news: Sharon Johnson Rothwell and A. Douglas Rothwell, both master's of public administration graduates, have begun an endowment fund and pledged $10,000 a year for the next 10 years to support graduate student scholarships at UNC's School of Government.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec05/sog120705.htm

Plant conservation isn't mere garden issue (Letter to the editor)
The Charlotte Observer
The writer is assistant director, N.C. Botanical Garden, UNC-Chapel Hill. I was thrilled to see "Plant conservationists: Show us the money" (Dec. 8). The N.C. Botanical Garden, a founding member of the Center for Plant Conservation, is involved with numerous rare plant recovery projects. ...Johnny Randall.

Christmas found (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Regarding the Dec. 8 article - in verse - headlined "It isn't pretentious, it's only the Grinchus": Good job on the delightful article about the reading of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" in English and Latin at the UNC-Chapel Hill Bull's Head bookstore. I wasn't able to attend but found this recounting to be so delightful. It was a wonderful way to start my day. Thanks for putting a new spin on a story. Marisa B. Sears, Chapel Hill.

Issues & Trends

Duke, UNC, NCSU again lag Wake Forest in licensing revenue
The Triangle Business Journal
The Triangle's three largest universities trailed Wake Forest University once again in licensing revenue in 2004, despite spending more than twice the amount each in research dollars. ... Mark Crowell, associate vice chancellor for economic development and technology transfer at UNC-Chapel Hill, says there are myriad factors - from the types of research that schools engage in to the long-term viability of the companies they churn out - that need to enter the equation.

Union takes case against North Carolina to International Labor Organization
The Triangle Business Journal
A labor union filed a complaint with the International Labor Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday accusing the state of North Carolina of violating international labor law. ...UE Local 150 represents more than 3,000 state workers, including employees at the Department of Health and Human Services, the University of North Carolina system and the state Department of Administration.

Northside initiative shows promise for area (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
Like the weather, everyone talks about affordable housing -- at least around here -- but not very many do much about it. ...But until now, there's been nothing like the cooperative effort being mounted by the Orange Community Housing and Land Trust, EmPOWERment, Inc. and Habitat for Humanity of Orange County. What makes the joint venture so unique is not just how they're doing it -- together, with help from the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School -- but also where they're doing it.

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