Jan. 18, 2007

Carolina in the News

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

International Coverage

In Mo., Shawn Comes Home a Different Boy
The Associated Press (International)
More than four years ago when Shawn Hornbeck was snatched near his home, he was known as a spunky little boy who liked to ride his bike, play basketball, draw cartoons and spend time with his stepfather. ..."Most 11-year-olds taken from their support systems are in a state of shock," said Dr. Sharon Cooper, a pediatrician on the faculty of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

National Coverage

100 Best Values in Public Colleges
Saturday Today (NBC)
Well, parents will tell you there's no question college is a major expense now however kiplinger's magazine has selected it's top 100 values in public institution and here to share with us the top five is viera gibbons. ...Let's run through the top five University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. ...This has topped our list priced well below average. The classes are small. The faculty have an excellent reputation and kids leave with less than $14,000 debt.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan07/kiplinger010807.htm

Expert Ties Ex-Player’s Suicide to Brain Damage
The New York Times
Since the former National Football League player Andre Waters killed himself in November, an explanation for his suicide has remained a mystery. ...Studies of more than 2,500 former N.F.L. players by the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes, based at the University of North Carolina, found that cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s-like symptoms and depression rose proportionately with the number of concussions they had sustained.

Broadwater poll seen as flawed
Newsday
Two experts on public opinion research are criticizing as technically flawed a poll purportedly showing that 67 percent of Long Islanders favor Broadwater Energy's proposal for a liquid natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound. ...Philip Meyer, a journalism professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a nationally recognized expert on polling, said, "It's common to present a controversial issue in polling, but it's usually framed on the basis of, 'Some people say this, some people say that.' That gives it some balance."

Too Much Information? (Opinion-editorial column)
The Chronicle of Higher Education
"The wiki is evil," said one of the other graduate students in my department, referring to the Web site where job candidates share information about the status of various searches. ...Nora L. Corrigan is a doctoral candidate in Renaissance literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

State and Local Coverage

UNC hits Mayan pay dirt
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
University of North Carolina archaeologist George Stuart and Wilson Library rare books curator Charles McNamara were featured on today's (Jan. 18) edition of "The State of Things." Thanks to “Apocalypto,” interest in ancient Mayan culture has swelled. But if you’re looking for information on this fascinating civilization that goes beyond the bloody rituals depicted in the movie, you don’t have to dig deep. UNC-Chapel Hill has recently acquired a world class collection of scholarly texts on the Maya that will be on display to the public for the first time in a new exhibit opening at Wilson Library this week.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan07/maya010907.htm

Speaker stresses King's triumphs
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
People tend to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day without thinking about the man they are commemorating, a well-known scholar of religion, philosophy and African-American studies told an audience at UNC Wednesday night. ...West spoke at UNC's Memorial Hall Wednesday night, the keynote lecture in the university's weeklong celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
Related link: http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2007/01/18/
University/West-Galvanizes.Crowd.With.Keynote-2652261.shtml?sourcedomain=
www.dailytarheel.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com
UNC Event brief: http://www.unc.edu/news/briefs/2006/121806.htm

UNC produces more Peace Corps volunteers
The Daily Tar Heel
The call to international service is gaining strength at UNC, as the University now has the eighth most Peace Corps volunteers among large universities. ...Brian Pedersen, a Peace Corps recruiter at UNC, said the popularity of international service is increasing across the U.S. He said students at UNC are becoming more aware of the world around them and are looking for ways to get involved.

Maggie alderman profits from land sale to town
Smoky Mountain News (Waynesville)
An elected board member in Maggie Valley has collected $6,500 in commission from the town after acting as the town’s real estate agent in the purchase of land for a small park. ...The board member in question might be the only such supplier of that service within some appreciable distance and it is really inconvenient for the town not to be able to contract with that person,” said David Lawrence with the Institute of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Issues and Trends

Now, time to execute (Editorial)
The Charlotte Observer
When Erskine Bowles stepped up as UNC system president last January, nobody knew exactly what to expect with a former investment banker and former White House chief of staff at the helm of North Carolina's public universities.

Rivals may steal RTP's thunder
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Research parks in Kannapolis and Winston-Salem are catching the attention of consultants who help companies pick sites for expansions and relocations. ...Research Triangle Park has probably brought about as many jobs to the area outside its boundaries as it has to companies inside the park, said John Kasarda, director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC.

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.