Feb. 15, 2006

Carolina in the News

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

National Coverage

Students' path to excellence crosses oceans, borders
USA Today
When University of Delaware student Tom Isherwood was in Cairo last summer providing legal aid to Somali refugees, he would ask them how many siblings they had. Many answered with a question: Do you want me to count the dead ones? ...And Kate Harris, a December graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, spent a month in Antarctica researching water seeps in the polar desert. For Harris, an aspiring astronaut and astrobiologist, the coldest spot on earth is the best terrestrial analog for Mars. "If I couldn't get to Mars Antarctica was the closest substitute," she says.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb06/usatodayall-stars021506.htm

Pellets Likely to Stay in Man Cheney Shot
The Associated Press (National)
Despite the heart problem of the man wounded by Vice President Dick Cheney, doctors say removing the shotgun pellet from his chest probably won't be necessary — and digging it out could do more harm than good. ...Birdshot is usually made with steel or lead, but even lead pellets left in the body wouldn't pose a danger of lead poisoning, said Dr. Renae Stafford, a trauma surgeon at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Medicine.

Regional Coverage

Who Gets In? Discipline history should include all explanations
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pa.)
No student wants to include unflattering information on a college application. But if a student has ever been arrested or suspended or expelled from a school, there's a good chance he or she might have to address that question and explain the details in writing. ...At the University of North Carolina, any hint of violence will route that application to a special task force that carefully scrutinizes each one, looking at the severity of the offense, the person's age when it happened and whether it was an isolated event.

State & Local Coverage

All-College team has a Charlottean
The Charlotte Observer
West Charlotte High alum Darius Graham was one of 20 students named Wednesday to USA TODAY's 2006 All-USA College Academic First Team. ...Kate Harris of UNC Chapel Hill, and William Hwang and Jacqueline Ou, both of Duke University, also were named to the first team.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb06/usatodayall-stars021506.htm

Roses & Raspberries (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill News
Roses to the Chapel Hill Town Council for its prudent approach to a new UNC committee established to examine the proposed Carolina North research campus. Carolina formed the committee, headed by law professor and former Chapel Hill mayor Ken Broun, to try to clarify the vision for the mammoth project.

Allred elected in decisive victory
The Daily Tar Heel
In an emphatic victory James Allred won the student body's support to serve as its president next year. Allred defeated his competitor, Bernard Holloway, winning 3,294 votes to Holloway's 2,362.

You can have tasty dips without all the fat, calories (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
What's a chip without dip? We like dips, spreads and sauces because they taste great and add color, moisture and texture to foods. Trouble is, the calories can add up, and so can the fat -- both saturated and trans. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.

Finance companies scout sites
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
In business, that can be an asset. The region is snagging the attention of financial services companies looking to escape the costs and risks of the Northeast. They're scouting the Triangle for sites to put back-office operations that make their companies go. ...One of the reasons the company chose RTP was the presence of workers with technology skills honed at large employers such as IBM and colleges including N.C. State University and UNC-Chapel Hill.

Memorial service set for Galinsky
The News & Observer (Raleigh)/The Chapel Hill News
The UNC-Chapel Hill psychology department and the family of longtime faculty member David Galinsky will hold a memorial service celebrating his life Feb. 26. Galinsky died in a traffic accident Jan. 25.

Issues & Trends

Double Departure:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
At any university, a top administrator's departure is a shock to the system. But what happens when a chancellor and a provost leave at the same time? ...
Mr. Renick will soon appoint an interim provost, while Erskine Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina system, will name an interim chancellor. Meanwhile, a full search for a chancellor is already under way. Once the new chancellor is in place, says Ms. Speight-Buford, that person will hire a new provost.
Note: Subscription required.

Jaywalkers at UNC: Look out for cars, tickets
The Charlotte Observer
Police at UNC Chapel Hill are cracking down on jaywalkers after the recent traffic deaths in town of three pedestrians. James Woodall, Orange-Chatham district attorney, said campus police consulted him before targeting the scofflaws. "It is going to add some extra work, but that's our job," he said. "I'll be the first to admit when I was a student, and even in years past, I've been guilty. You feel like in Chapel Hill you have some right to walk in front of traffic."
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/248/story/399997.html

Out, devilish detail! (Editorial)
The Charlotte Observer
A University of North Carolina committee did a good day's work on behalf of citizens when it purged a devilish detail from a proposal to set student costs at the state's universities. Here's what happened. Last week the UNC Board of Governors approved a list of peer institutions for each of the state university system's 16 campuses. That's important, because as North Carolina develops guidelines for charging tuition and fees, it may use that list to make comparisons.

Abandoned Ideal (Editorial)
The Winston-Salem Journal
The tuition increases approved Thursday by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors demonstrate how state leaders have deserted the concept of the public university as the vehicle for raising the economic and social prospects of a generation.

Education site's future is now
Hickory Daily Record
Hickory’s new engineering center moved forward Tuesday following the purchase of a former Corning Cable Systems building. ...A fundraising campaign to purchase and outfit the building has generated $1.7 million. Future Forward plans to transfer ownership of the center to the University of North Carolina system in July after a range of renovations.

Downtown fights paint a scary picture (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
The important thing to remember is the time. The fights that have been breaking out near nightclubs and bars in downtown Chapel Hill have been taking place at 2, 3 and 4 in the morning. That's not the time most of us are downtown, walking with our families and taking in the sights.

Mazeltov, it's a public parking lot
The Chapel Hill News
It took nine months and thousands of dollars, but the Chapel Hill Kehillah finally received permission Monday night to rent 50 of its parking spaces. ...The Kehillah is within walking distance of the UNC campus, and Robboy predicts all of the parking lot's customers will be university employees. Renting the spaces will make money for the synagogue, but it will take a year or more to break even, Robboy said.

UNC to aid stalled project
The Daily Tar Heel
Imagine a Chapel Hill in which wireless Internet is accessible from every street block and café. That Chapel Hill promises to become a reality soon, and the University has offered assistance in achieving that vision. In a recent letter to Mayor Kevin Foy, Chancellor James Moeser offered the aid of a University technology expert to the stalled Chapel Hill wireless initiative.

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/news/clips/index.shtml.

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