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June 13, 2005
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:National Coverage
Down Home in the High Cotton
The New York Times
Faith Hill's new song, "Mississippi Girl," was one of the hottest songs in the nation last week, rising four spots to No. 9 on the Billboard country singles chart. It's a paean to Ms. Hill herself, juxtaposing her humble roots with her considerable celebrity....Some offer few apologies. "Alan Jackson has always allowed his fans to know about his wealth" and they accept it, said Jocelyn R. Neal, a music professor at the University of North Carolina.
Building Illness
US News & World Report
When Ross Brownson first came to the "boot heel" of Missouri fresh out of grad school, the public health official and tri-athlete was saddened by what he saw....If you look at how schools were built in the past, they were these gorgeous civic structures, centrally located, the heart of the community, and students were proud to go to them," says David Salvesen, a professor at the University of North Carolina. "Now we have these buildings that look like shoe factories on the edge of town."
State & Local Coverage
Bonds not helping UNC upkeep
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
With worn, uneven flooring, cracking paint and a musty, institutional odor, the Carr Building at UNC Chapel Hill seems 100 years old....And, according to university records, it's owed about $2.6 million in renovations and repairs.
Bond vote for repairs would be a hard sell
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
So the UNC system is way behind on its funding for repairs and renovations, and all indications are for the snowballing shortfall to continue...."It seems to me, you could make a case for a bond program for deferred maintenance," Paul Fulton, a UNC Chapel Hill trustee, said recently. "It's not going to be covered in appropriated funds. To think that is going to happen is a pipe dream."
Bill would let universities dig deeper
The Chapel Hill Herald
A bill proposed in the state House would allow public universities to cast a wider net when running criminal background checks on prospective employees....Although UNC Chapel Hill already runs background checks, the university is limited in that it cannot check the criminal databases of all 50 U.S. states, said Laurie Charest, UNC's associate vice chancellor for human resources.
Luxury's shadow (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
As Pinehurst and Moore County get ready to host the 2005 U.S. Open, their vulnerability to having dirty linen exposed is not a happy circumstance. But the soiled linen flapped in plain view June 7 on the front page of The New York Times....Pinehurst In Black and White," written by Martha Quillin, reported on an initiative being pursued by the Center for Civil Rights at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Career path less traveled
The Charlotte Observer
Career Grads who take journeys of exploration can use them as a selling point for a job to long after graduating college, Cindi Davis sold her Honda Civic and bought a one-way ticket to Mexico....Such journeys allow burned-out students to take a break before committing to a job or graduate school, said Marcia Harris, director of career services at UNC Chapel Hill.
Going up in smoke (Editorial)
The Greensboro News & Record
In 2001, the General Assembly created the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission and charged it with establishing a comprehensive plan for reducing teen tobacco use....Data from the UNC-Chapel Hill study, released this May, show the ads made inroads with nonsmokers from 11 to 17 years old, identified before the campaign as not particularly susceptible to smoking. According to a UNC News Services press release, a post-campaign survey revealed that among that group, those who saw the ads were more likely to remain nonsmokers than those who hadn't.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may05/goldstein050205.htmlSEC investigation could lead to subpoenas
Triangle Business Journal
Concern is growing over how Highwoods Properties accounted for transactions that reduced net income by $17.1 million over a four-year period that ended in September 2004, leading to a restatement of financial results...."It indicates some kind of a preliminary investigation has not made the problem go away," says Robert Bushman, a forensic accounting professor at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Business owners wary of change
The Chapel Hill News
If UNC were a shark, then Johnny T-Shirt would be a remora. The East Franklin Street boutique that peddles all things Carolina has latched onto its host and reaped the benefits, feeding off sports victories and school spirit since 1983. But owner Chuck Helpingstine is worried that UNC is about to gnash its way out of the symbiotic relationship, gobbling up every last morsel and sending Johnny T-Shirt adrift.
Electronic prescribing looks like just what the doctor ordered
The Chapel Hill Herald
Can't read your doctor's prescription? Now you may not have to....It's all secure and internal," said Robert Berger, professor of medicine at UNC and director of medical information for the health care system. The UNC system, he said, is one of about 10 health organizations nationwide that are advanced enough to use electronic medical records, making it possible to do e-prescriptions.
Good news, too, along with troubles (Opinion-editorial column)
The Chapel Hill Herald
Newspapers are frequently, and perhaps justifiably, criticized for focusing on bad news. Sometimes, it's true, the "good news" gets buried underneath the avalanche of crime, catastrophe, crisis and controversy....Take, for example, Willis Brooks, a history professor at UNC. This past Tuesday, without much fanfare, without any bravado, Brooks once again donated the gift of life. He gave blood at the Carolina Blood Drive, the 129th time he's donated.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun05/blooddrive05060305.htmDiversity's bias (Opinion)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A June 1 People's Forum letter-writer, responding to published concerns about the gender imbalance in the UNC-Chapel Hill student body, wrote that she could not recall similar dismay when the imbalance tilted in favor of men. But what about the 1970s?...In the evolution debate, stick with science (Opinion-editorial column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
This summer marks the 80th anniversary of the Scopes "Monkey Trial" in Dayton, Tenn., and the national debate still rages between two competing views of human origins....James P. Evans, M.D., Ph.D., is director of Clinical Cancer Genetics and the Bryson Program in Human Genetics at UNC-Chapel Hill.
A Jones Street watchdog with less bite? (Opinion-editorial column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The News & Observer doesn't cover the state legislature the way it used to do. The question is: Is that bad or good?... Among the keenest observers is Ferrel Guillory, former Washington correspondent, associate editor and state government editor of The N&O, now director of the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life at UNC-Chapel Hill.
William Faulkner's Literary Legacy, Part 1
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
As he marked his 50th birthday a half century ago, William Faulkner was in crisis....As Joel Williamson, professor of humanities at UNC-Chapel Hill wrote in "William Faulkner and Southern History" (Oxford, 1993): "No other individual influenced him so profoundly.
Your Land and My Land
The Winston-Salem Journal
On a winding road in eastern Alleghany County, Ronnie Woodie's dirt-track dream has become his neighbors' nightmare....But smaller municipalities in the state, including many rural counties, have adopted land-use plans and enacted zoning only in the past few 20 years or so, according to a survey by the Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
N.C. Botanical Garden plans expansion project with new buildings
The Chapel Hill Herald
Considering it sits near a sewage plant and a busy highway, the N.C. Botanical Garden offers a remarkable sense of retreat....The Botanical Garden is part of UNC, and the UNC Herbarium became a component of the garden about five years ago. For nearly 50 years, the herbarium has been on campus in Coker Hall.
State & Local Note
Pam Silberman, deputy director of the Sheps Center for Health Services Research and president-elect of the NC Institute for Medicine, was the guest on this week's edition of North Carolina People with Bill Friday on UNC-TV about the crisis in health care access and delivery.
http://www.unctv.org/ncpeople/guestschedule/Issues & Trends
Tap the College Cash Machine
Business Week
Want to win your way into college? Higher education is the ultimate prize, say creators of The Scholar, ABC's (DIS ) newest reality TV series that has overachieving high school seniors from underprivileged backgrounds competing for scholarship money....Through the Carolina Covenant, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill provides students from low-income families with a debt-free full ride, as long as they agree to work on campus 10 to 12 hours a week.
Students often find difficulty transferring college credits
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Nothing has come easy for Juretha Phillips as she worked to earn her college degree while battling health problems....In North Carolina, the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement, approved by the board of governors of the University of North Carolina system and the N.C. State Board of Community Colleges, governs the transfer of credits between state community colleges and public universities.
House plan cuts schools, saves Medicaid spending
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
State House budget writers on Friday proposed deeper cuts than the Senate in education spending, while reversing Senate-approved Medicaid cuts. The release of state education and health budgets was a prelude to the full budget unveiling planned for next week.
Money vs. Students: Tightening enrollment cap at NCSA part of plan
The Winston-Salem Journal
A budget proposal from the state House is kinder to the N.C. School of the Arts than the Senate's budget, exempting the school from a 2 percent cut that other universities face and even providing $500,000 for equipment....Jeff Davies, a vice president of finance for the University of North Carolina system, said that the $500,000 for equipment purchases replaces half the money that the governor's office cut.
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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