January 27, 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

North Carolina Names Visiting Professorship for Duke's Departing President
The Chronicle of Higher Education
On the basketball court, the rivalry between the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill and Duke University is as fierce as ever. But in fund raising, there's a
spirit of harmony in the air.
(Subscription required.)

U. of North Carolina Plans Fund to Support Early-Stage Inventions
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is looking for donors who appreciate a gamble. As part of a campuswide capital campaign, the university's Office of Technology Development is hoping to establish a $10-million endowed fund to help advance early-stage inventions.
(Subscription required.)

Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 21 Universities
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The 21 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $604.1-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available....The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $1.14-billion as of December 31 (increase of $16-million in the last month); the goal is $1.8-billion by 2007.
(Subscription required.)

The Bottom Line on Women at the Top
Business Week
It's the rare exec who hasn't heard that more gender diversity in the top ranks would be good for Corporate America...."The magnitude of the difference between low-gender diversity and high-gender diversity is quite big. I think everybody fundamentally believes gender diversity is a good thing, but to find something that strong is very impressive," says Harvey Wagner, an adviser on the study and a professor of business at the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

New Pressure Put on Colleges to End Legacies in Admissions
The Chronicle of Higher Education
In deciding this month to end legacy admissions, Texas A&M University at College Station may have become a harbinger of similar changes at other higher-education institutions....Other institutions, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Virginia, offer little extra consideration to in-state applicants who are related to alumni.
(Subscription required.)

The Next Wave: Liberation Technology
The Chronicle of Higher Education
If the nineties were the e-decade (e-com-merce, e-business, e-publishing, eBay, E*Trade, etc.), the aughties are the o-decade (open source, open systems, open standards, open access, open archives, open everything)....Faculty members and libraries at Cornell University, Harvard, North Carolina State University, the University of California system, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have all rejected those tactics in the last year.
(Subscription required.)

State and Local Coverage

UNC tuition decision was unavoidable (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
In an ideal world, the UNC Board of Trustees would not be raising tuition -- for either in-state or out-of-state students -- to pay for salary increases for professors. "Faculty salary enhancements," as the increases are euphemistically known, should be the job of the state legislature.

Bad tuition bargain (Editorial)
The News & Observer
Trustees, administrators and supporters of the member schools of the University of North Carolina system need to gear up and make the case to the General Assembly that the system's branches need more direct financial support in appropriations, assuming that they do. The constant raising of tuition rates and fees is out of hand, and must be slowed. As evidenced by the actions last week of UNC-Chapel Hill trustees, governing boards are turning more and more to students as a revenue
source.

Moeser deserves credit for saying no (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
At times in the past, UNC Chancellor James Moeser has not always exhibited the most deft public relations touch. Whether dealing with a golden parachute for former counsel Susan Enringhaus or handling the ouster of former basketball coach Matt Doherty, the chancellor -- a professional musician -- sometimes has shown a tin ear in understanding how things will play with the public.

The right choice (Editorial)
The Daily Tar Heel
Many of the University's faculty members and employees deserve to be paid more and are in need of salary increases. One hopes that they can take some comfort in the fact that the man at the top of the UNC-Chapel Hill totem pole is considering their pain.

Broad's bonuses a blunder (Column)
The News & Observer
UNC President Molly Broad could have done other things to show her appreciation to the system's chancellors besides giving them anger-provoking bonuses....UNC Chancellor James Moeser refused to accept his, opting, he said, "to stand with the troops."

With pay a hot issue, UNC's chancellor declines bonus
The Herald-Sun
UNC Chancellor James Moeser has turned down a bonus that could have been worth up to $30,000.

UNC chancellors receive bonuses
The News & Observer
UNC system President Molly Broad has given bonuses to 11 university chancellors, in amounts ranging from $12,000 to more than $25,000....UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser declined his bonus, and N.C. State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox will donate her $24,822 bonus to the university's fund-raising campaign.

Heads of 11 universities get bonuses
The Charlotte Observer
Chancellors of 11 of North Carolina's 16 public universities -- including Jim Woodward of UNC Charlotte -- have been awarded one-time bonuses of $12,000 to nearly $26,000....UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser declined a bonus. "It was not an easy decision," Moeser said, "but given all of the attention at Chapel Hill to `Nickle and Dimed' and the plight of low-wage workers and so many people on this campus, including my vice chancellors, not receiving any salary increases, I felt it was an important signal to send."

UNC names next CEO of health care system
The Herald-Sun
William Roper, the current dean of UNC's School of Public Health, will be the next chief executive officer of the UNC Health Care System.

UNC taps Roper as top doc
The News & Observer
Dr. William L. Roper, a national figure in health policy, will take over as leader of the state-supported UNC Health Care system and dean of UNC-Chapel Hill's medical school.

Seeing the danger (Editorial)
The Daily Tar Heel
University officials did well to cancel classes Monday to ensure the safety of students, staff and faculty.

He spies a universe of promise
The News & Observer
When Don Cline first saw two 10-story radio antennas looming over an abandoned spy station in Western North Carolina, the man got all charged up.....Wayne Christiansen, a UNC-Chapel Hill astronomer, is asking the National Science Foundation to spend $1 million to improve the sensitivity of the institute's radio telescopes. The institute, meanwhile, is looking for unusual, scientific niches to pick up the cash flow, too.

Panel drafts day-care changes
The News & Observer
Tammy Jones sat at the table, nodding her head as the 16 recommendations were explained. It was too late for her son, but maybe not for someone else's...."That might suggest the allegation was true before the determination was made," said Jonathan Kotch, a pediatrician and public health professor at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Odd illness strikes UNC
The Chapel Hill Herald
The cause of a mystery illness that has stricken nearly 300 UNC students with vomiting, nausea and diarrhea was still unknown late Friday. Meanwhile, officials with UNC's Student Health Service continued to cope with the steady stream of students who have trickled into the campus infirmary since Wednesday morning. About nine students showed up at student health in the first two hours after the office opened that morning, a significant enough number to alarm staff there, said Mary Covington, student health's associate director.

Film series marks 50 years after Brown ruling
The Chapel Hill Herald
The upcoming film series, "Images of Our Past Informing Experiences of Our Present," offers an opportunity to both commemorate and evaluate the long-term effects of Brown v. the Board of Education....UNC's Institute of African-American Research and Duke University's Sanford Institute of Public Policy have cooperated to offer the free, public series that starts Thursday and continues for three consecutive weeks.

Swords, spinning and Medieval times
The Herald-Sun
The crunching sound of swords as the fighters whacked each other over the head echoed through the Carolina Club Sunday during Medieval Festival 2004. The festival, sponsored by the Carolina Club and The Society for Creative Anachronism, took place on the UNC campus despite the winter snow that blanketed the area, although organizers did shorten the event somewhat to give people a chance to get home before dark.

UNC student gets an education in campaigning
The News & Observer
A 20-hour drive with the added bonus of getting lost twice didn't faze one young supporter of Sen. John Edwards. And once Chelsea Wilson arrived in New Hampshire, she couldn't tear herself away from Edwards' bid to become the Democratic presidential nominee.

Issues and Trends

Town mulls impact of Carolina North
The Chapel Hill News
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen last week told UNC's Tony Waldrop that some elements of the university's draft plan for the Carolina North development seem likely to result in severe growth pressure on both local roads and residential areas.

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.