Jan. 13, 2006

Carolina in the News

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

International Coverage

Young adults show declines in health
United Press International
Years of late-night pizza runs and lazy afternoons indoors have caught up to young adults. A new study shows that as America's youth mature, they fall into poor health practices that lead to the three most prevalent causes of preventable death in the United States: smoking, being overweight or obese, and abusing alcohol. ..."What's surprising is to see the decline in health across such a large array of outcomes," said Kathleen Mullan Harris, the principal investigator of the study and a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Carolina Population Center.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/adolescents011006.htm

National Coverage

The 100 best values in public colleges
MSN Money
Our fifth ranking of 100 schools that offer academic excellence at an affordable price finds a familiar name at the top of the list. See if your state school is a contender. ...And some of the best public colleges in the country now guarantee that students whose families earn less than $38,000 per year won't have to take out any loans. That includes the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which for the fifth straight time tops Kiplinger's list as the best value among the nation's public colleges and universities.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/kiplingers010906.htm
Note: The Kiplinger story was distributed nationally by UBDaily, published by University Business, the magazine for university presidents, business officers and top higher education executives. It was also on the following news stations, KGTV-TV (ABC, San Diego), WJBF-TV (ABC, Atlanta), WTHR-TV (NBC, Indianapolis), WEAR-TV (ABC, Pensacola), WLOS-TV (ABC, Asheville), KCHY-TV (NBC, Cheyenne), WBTV-TV (CBS, Charlotte), WUNG-TV (Charlotte), CNWS-TV (Charlotte), WNCN-TV (NBC, Raleigh) and WTVD-TV (ABC, Durham)
Related Links: http://www.columbiatribune.com/2006/Jan/20060112News001.asp
http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060113/NEWS01/601130315/1079

A Few Blunt Questions Judge Alito Shouldn't Answer: Ann Woolner
Bloomberg
After U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito spent 18 hours answering the questions of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrats complained they didn't learn enough about him. ...The Constitution "allows you to engage in robust dialogue,'' law professor Michael Gerhardt of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill told the committee. And it ``allows every senator to make a decision about a Supreme Court nomination based on whatever factors he or she considers to be pertinent, including judicial philosophy.''
UNC News Tip: http://www.unc.edu/news/newstips/2005/supremetip103105.html

Health Drops When Teens Hit 20s
WebMD
Warning: Becoming an adult can be hazardous to your health. ...Now that these teens are young adults, more than their age has changed. These 20-somethings are more willing to gamble their health than they were when they were teenagers, find Kathleen Mullan Harris, PhD, and colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

State & Local Coverage

Law professors on Capitol Hill for Alito hearings
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Two local university law professors were on Capitol Hill on Thursday to testify in the Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination hearings as the Senate Judiciary Committee ended its questioning of Alito and began to hear from witnesses. Michael Gerhardt of UNC joined more than 20 other judges, lawyers and professors in testifying before the committee. But time ran out before Erwin Chemerinsky of Duke University could speak. He will testify this morning.
UNC News Tip: http://www.unc.edu/news/newstips/2005/supremetip103105.html

UNC ranks high in students who study abroad
The Triangle Business Journal
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had the highest rate among U.S. public research universities of students studying abroad, according to the annual report of the Institute of International Education. More than 1,300 UNC undergraduates studied abroad during the 2003-2004 academic year - the most recent year for which data are available. That equates to roughly a third of the 3, 715 undergraduate degrees conferred for that year.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/opendoors011206.htm

For 3 days, it's no letups in the layups
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Duke and Carolina are famed for their epic battles on the basketball court. ...They plan to start at 8 a.m. Saturday in Fetzer Gym on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus and finish about 6 p.m. Monday. Former Sen. John Edwards is scheduled to throw up the opening tip.

Project faces slower start
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Town leaders laid out a lengthy path to approval for UNC-Chapel Hill's planned Carolina North research campus Thursday, possibly crimping the university's hopes to have construction well under way by 2010. A new advisory committee now being formed could be the vehicle for conveying to UNCleaders the town's guiding principles for the controversial campus, Town Council members said at a workshop.

If you can't believe the Bible ...
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
For more than 30 years, Bart Ehrman has been driven by a quest to explore the origins of the New Testament -- a quest that has made him one of the most distinguished scholars on the history of the biblical text and the early church. ...Ehrman, who is chairman of the department of religious studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, hopes the findings challenge readers to see the Bible in a new way.

New law makes rezoning tougher
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Of the hundreds of rezoning cases that the City Council has approved over the years, the majority have complied with the city's Comprehensive Plan. ..."The state is not mandating a particular form or process," said Dave Owens, an associate professor of public law and government at the UNC-CH, who helped craft the legislation.

Critic's picks - Classical
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...For the full orchestral experience, head to UNC's Memorial Hall on Thursday for the N.C. Symphony concert featuring an all-contemporary bill, hand-picked by music director Grant Llewellyn.

Peeling the Orange
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC Chapel Hill music professor Brent Wissick may be no Casanova, but he plays for one. Wissick plays the baroque cello on the soundtrack of the new movie "Casanova." The film, which stars Heath Ledger and Jeremy Irons, is set in 18th-century Venice. The film's producers wanted period music and so Wissick was one of the musicians playing Vivaldi, Albioni, Paisello and Rameau, all at the top of the hit parade during that period.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/wissickmovie010406.htm

Stone Center, Ackland offer exhibits
The Chapel Hill Herald
At UNC, both the Sonja Haynes Stone Center and the Ackland Art Museum are featuring exhibits that explore racial and cultural identity. Today, the Stone Center's Robert and Sallie Brown Gallery opens "Fleeting Memory, Enduring Legacy: the People of La Costa Chica, Oaxaca, Mexico." The photography of Wendy Phillips highlights the African-descended community that has persisted for more than 200 years. For more information, call 962-9001.

Bay scallop season is jeopardized
The New Bern Sun Journal
State fisheries authorities are hoping that the few bay scallops left in Bogue and Core sounds will live a long life. ..."These schools of cownose rays are massive - there can be 100,000 to 200,000 rays in these schools," said Sean Powers, who conducted the research while at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City.

Students take advantage of unseasonably warm weather
News 14
January 12, 2005 set a record high of 74 degrees. Even though that won't happen this year, the weather is still unseasonably warm at 20 to 25 degrees above average. It doesn't seem like January if you look around campus at UNC-Chapel Hill. You’ll find students in sandals, short sleeves and shorts.

Issues & Trends

UNC system tuition increases are within guidelines
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Proposed tuition increases for students on almost all the UNC system campuses are within guidelines set by the Board of Governors last November, officials said Thursday. During a report to the board's Budget and Finance Committee, Jeff Davies, vice president of finance for the university system, said Appalachian State University is the only school he expects to come in above the maximum 10 percent tuition increase.

UNC: Book rental studied
The Winston-Salem Journal
Officials with the University of North Carolina system are considering tying requests for tuition and fee increases next year to evidence that the systems 16 campuses are looking into programs that would let students rent some or all their textbooks instead of buying them.

Bowles: Public universities must do better to remain competitive
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Public universities need to do a better job of educating and retaining students if they want the U.S. workforce to remain globally competitive, the new president of the University of North Carolina said Friday in his first formal report to the system's leaders.
Related Link: http://www.wral.com/news/6040573/detail.html

 

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.

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