February 17, 2004

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

National Coverage

Academic Freedom Prevails, Panel Says
Los Angeles Times
American universities have generally defended academic freedom and resisted public pressure to penalize professors critical of the U.S. war on terrorism, panelists at a Los Angeles forum said Monday....And the University of North Carolina rebuked public demands to remove from a recommended reading list a book on the Koran viewed by critics as overly sympathetic to Islam.

Calculating Drug Design
Technology Review
The pharmaceutical industry dreams of using computers to predict which potential drugs will work best and have the fewest side effects. Until recently, the software that performs such simulations has been slow, difficult for the average chemist to access and use, and worst of all, often inaccurate; but a collaboration between University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill computational chemist Alex Tropsha and IBM is making predictive drug screening easier and more accessible.

Touch a life with a hug; it may be beneficial
Akron Beacon Journal
A local businesswoman, who is now retired, asked for a little help in resolving a friendly disagreement between her and a few friends....Further, a study reported last year by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that warm contact between married couples or romantic partners had positive effects.

Oil City children can get free dental exams
Shreveport Times
Nearly 200 children at Oil City Elementary School will receive free dental exams and sealants beginning today under a new program....Dental sealants cut the number of fillings and extractions from poor children in North Carolina by about two-thirds, according to a study by the University of North Carolina and reported in the American Journal of Public Health in 2001

Seismic shift? Leaders call for new youth ministry model
Baptist Press News
Concerned that the late-20th century model of youth ministry is flawed, a group of prominent youth leaders has issued a call for a new model that could lead to a seismic shift in church youth ministry philosophy, training and leadership....In August 2001, the National Study of Youth and Religion was initiated to study the religious lives of American teenagers. Conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under the direction of Christian Smith, this four-year project is funded by a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

State & Local Coverage

Internet Classes
NC News Network
Using the information superhighway, students in some parts of the state take advanced courses -- which experts say help the chances of those students doing well in college. The State Department of Instruction and UNC-Chapel Hill are working together on what's called NC Learn. Director Jim Barber says online versions of 12 advanced placement courses were developed.
Note: NC News Network reaches more than 90 radio stations across N.C. This story resulted from a recent UNC release, http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb04/learn020604.html

Mental health reform called a challenge
The Fayetteville Observer
Cumberland County Mental Health Board members were told Monday that the county's mental health program may have a harder time implementing state reform than other counties....Board members also heard a presentation from Mark Botts, a lawyer for the Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Book studies Iranian revolution (Question-Answer)
The Herald-Sun
Wednesday marked the 25th anniversary of the Iranian revolution, an unexpected overthrow of the Shah and monarchy that swept in the cleric-turned-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini....The author, UNC sociologist Charlie Kurzman, recently sat down with Herald-Sun reporter Eric Ferreri to discuss the revolution and its impact on the region and world.

Scientists study link between environment, genetics, disease
The Herald Sun
Scientists at UNC and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) are developing a voluntary DNA registry to study the link among environmental exposures, genetic susceptibility and human disease.

Fresh from a makeover, student union gleams
The News & Observer
Schnazzy. That's what we call it, declares Ben Brown, a UNC-Chapel Hill freshman from Greensboro...The epicenter of the UNC-CH campus had been shut down for a year -- just one more annoying construction project.

Chapel Hill still sketchy on stormwater plan
The Herald-Sun
The Town Council will keep working toward a June decision about whether to create a stormwater utility this year, but the members said many questions remain, such as exactly how the town's property owners would be charged to fund the utility....Linda Convissor, coordinator of local relations for UNC, reiterated the university's position to the council Monday during a public forum on the stormwater utility idea

Festival features award-winning films
The Herald-Sun
UNC's Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History's annual Diaspora Festival of Black and Independent Film features a lineup of 10 award-winning shorts, feature length and documentary offerings under the theme, "Diasporic Bodies/Diasporic Spectacles."

Photos make viewers face global hardship
The Herald-Sun
In 1993, Brazilian photojournalist Sebastião Salgado began a photographic investigation into mass migrations at the end of the 20th century, focusing his lens on the plight of the dispossessed.

Geology was White's passion
The News & Observer
William Alexander White, a geologist and longtime UNC-Chapel Hill faculty member, died at his home Thursday. He was 97.

Issues and Trends

Biotech plan sounds great but too costly (Editorial)
The Fayetteville Observer
Out in Kannapolis, where 4,800 people lost their jobs in one day last year when Pillowtex shut down, the prospect of 100,000 new North Carolina jobs in the next two decades must sound pretty tantalizing.

Creating tax cuts (Editorial)
The News & Observer
It's perfectly fitting that the No. 1 topic on North Carolina's public agenda this year is how to encourage the creation of more good jobs. But starting that discussion with a push for tax cuts would be like calling a taxi for a ride across the Atlantic. Not only will a cab fail to get us where we're going, but we'll miss the boat while we wait for it.

Boeing package: more than $534 million
Kinston Free Press
North Carolina offered more than $534 million in incentives to lure Boeing to the Global TransPark near Kinston - a package that included tax credits, 539 acres of land and bolstering the state's community college budget over 20 years....North Carolina's proposal included funding increases for community college training programs and masters-level programs in the University of North Carolina system.

Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, please call Russell Campbell at News Services, (919) 962-2091, russell_campbell@unc.edu, or Mike McFarland in University Communications, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu

Note: Web links on this page are time-sensitive, so stories might not be available after the day they first appeared.