June 7, 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

Thinking Backward: What Don't I Need to See the Doctor for?
The New York Times
For no reason that I could think of, I had developed an itchy red rash on the insides of both arms....Dr. Nortin Hadler, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, notes that aches and pains are a part of everyday life, with most people suffering such things as back pain, knee pain or headaches from time to time.

Biotech sees role in obesity fight
Sacramento Bee
The biotechnology industry, ever eager to answer the world's problems, climbed on the bandwagon Sunday in the battle against obesity...."That's trivial compared with getting people to eat less energy-dense (high-calorie) foods," Barry Popkin, a nutritionist and agricultural economist, said in a telephone interview from his office at the University of North Carolina.

State & Local Coverage

Academic Reform for Moeser (Question and Answer)
The News & Observer
University of North Carolina Chancellor James Moeser belongs to the Group of Six, a group of university CEOs representing the six conferences that send teams to the Bowl Championship Series. The group specifically examines academic reform. Moeser recently sat down with N&O staff writer Luciana Chavez to discuss what the NCAA is doing with its reform package. He also addressed the state of UNC's athletics department, a consistent challenger for the Sears Cup, given annually to the best overall college athletics department in the nation.
Note: This article, based on an interview with Chancellor Moeser last week, is not presently available electronically. Chancellor Moeser is among several area university officials being interviewed on related topics.

Tune-up time (Editorial)
The News & Observer
An energized economy starts with people cooking up entrepreneurial schemes. Ideas grow into new businesses, new technology to improve existing businesses, new markets for current products and the like....A year ago, strong leadership was missing, according to researchers from the Office of Economic Development at UNC- Chapel Hill.

When we're of a mind to abuse (Point of View)
The News & Observer
The historian and Middle East foreign policy expert William R. Polk notes that "Using (torture), the French not only destroyed their claim to legitimacy in Algeria but also nearly destroyed French civil life."...Paul M. Brinich is a clinical professor in the departments of psychology and psychiatry at UNC-Chapel Hill and in the UNC-Duke Psychoanalytic Education Program.

Area residents recall glimpses of Reagan
The News & Observer
Jack Hawke, a former chairman of the N.C. Republican Party, was called to the White House during Ronald Reagan's presidency to talk political strategy with a small group of people worried about swing states...."He is more a figure of controversy among historians than any other president in American history," said Bill Leuchtenberg, a historian in Chapel Hill who has written about the Franklin D. Roosevelt presidency....Dale Oller, a professor of surgery at UNC-Chapel Hill and a member of the WakeMed trauma unit, was chief of surgery at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland when Reagan was diagnosed with colon cancer.


Professor: Verdict still out on Reagan's legacy
The Herald Sun
With the death of former President Ronald Reagan Saturday afternoon, the United States lost a charismatic leader who basked in the glory of the Cold War era, local domestic and foreign policy experts said....By trying to dismantle the welfare state that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had originated under his New Deal program, Reagan set the tone for a diminishing role of the federal government in domestic policy, said Harvey Goldstein, a professor of city and regional planning at UNC.

The loophole lobbyists feed on (Point of View)
The News & Observer
North Carolina's lobbying laws are badly broken. Or maybe they aren't broken. Maybe they were never meant to do anything in the first place. But whether they were flawed from the outset, or have simply been interpreted in such a constrained way as to render them meaningless, it is clear that they serve no real purpose at present. Our current legislative session, anticipating the 2004 elections, provides a good opportunity to fix the mess....Gene Nichol is dean and the Burton Craige professor at the UNC Law School.

Professor recognized as scholar, gentleman
The News & Observer
Ted Leinbaugh and a friend were building a deck at his home when he got a phone call from a man with a very British accent....In an understated fashion, the caller told Leinbaugh, a UNC-Chapel Hill English professor, that he believed he had some very good news. The queen had awarded Leinbaugh the Order of the British
Empire.

Indian contracts could spur Triad jobs
The Greensboro News & Record
Where many people may see India as part of the offshore epidemic carrying jobs overseas, one local engineer views it as a place to nurture an untold number of scientific discoveries -- and jobs in the Piedmont Triad. ..."Indian investment is going to happen," said Dennis Rondinelli, a professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill who studies foreign companies' investment in the United States. As Indian technology companies mature, they will want to develop production places in the United States to reach customers, he said.

When worlds align
The News & Observer
As celestial events go, a transit of Venus ranks with the rarest...."There is no human on Earth today who was around the last time it happened," said Dan Reichart, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at UNC-Chapel Hill. "It's a good place marker in time."

UNC gets into cell phone business
The Herald Sun
Bernard Holloway uses his cell phone so often he jokingly refers to it as "an appendage." ...Looking to get in on the cellular action, UNC is in the middle of unveiling its newest technology program for students. It is called the Carolina Wireless Initiative, a bit of a play on the similarly named Carolina Computing Initiative, which requires that all students have laptop computers.

UNC's outdated model (Point of View)
The News & Observer
UNC-Chapel Hill recently presented revisions to its plans for the "Carolina North" project....James Carnahan is chair of The Village Project, Inc., a nonprofit organization that advocates walkable communities and sustainable urban form. Sarah Bruce is a member of the board of directors of The Village Project.

Panicky fliers can try a variety of therapies
The Charlotte Observer
During the summer travel season, some people who are afraid to fly have little choice....About one in six American adults fears flying, says Reid Wilson, a psychologist specializing in treating anxieties and a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine at UNC Chapel Hill.

Issues & Trends

N.C. enjoys higher education bonds' results (Point of View)
The News & Observer
A major transformation is under way in North Carolina's higher education systems. Our state's public universities and community colleges are being reborn and newly equipped to provide statewide educational opportunities that will prepare North Carolinians to meet the challenges of tomorrow....Phil Kirk is chairman of the N.C. Business-Higher Education Foundation and president and secretary of N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry

College dropout rate shows lost potential (Editorial)
The Greensboro News & Record
They don't know it yet, but their recent high school graduation was the last time many college-bound young people will wear a cap and gown....Fewer than 60 percent of entering freshmen at University of North Carolina institutions graduate in six years. On many of the system's 16 campuses, the figure falls below 50 percent.

UNC Board wrestling with chancellors' pay
The News & Observer
Higher education leaders across the United States usually look with envy at the University of North Carolina -- a respected public university system with healthy taxpayer support, growing campuses and Southern warmth.

Voting places change in 6 precincts
The Herald Sun
Voters in six precincts around Orange County will have to cast their ballots this year at new polling places, from Cedar Grove in northern Orange to the UNC
campus in Chapel Hill.

ACC enjoys record financial year
Greensboro News & Record
The new television contracts haven't taken effect yet. Two new members are a few weeks away from formal membership. The third new school has another year in the halfway house known as the Big East. But the ACC appears financially fit for its expanding universe.

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

Past issues of Carolina in the News are located at http://www.unc.edu/news/clips/index.shtml.

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