 |
June 8, 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
The 60-second business book (Book Review)
The Times (London)
What’s wrong with normal? Nothing if you’re looking for a boyfriend, but in business you need strange, ie, extraordinary, people to be noticed by customers.
Note: Daniel M. Cable is a professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.National Coverage
Poll: Some U.S. Muslims favor extremism
The Associated Press (National)
A show of sympathy for suicide bombers among some young, American Muslims has raised new concerns about homegrown extremism, but also is highlighting calls to engage the nation's growing Muslim population. ..."Given what's happened in Iraq and Palestine, I would be shocked if there wasn't discontent," said Omid Safi, professor of Islamic studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Test: Folic acid no aid in fighting colon cancer
NBC NewsChannel
It's proven to help prevent birth defects, but it looks like folic acid may fail at preventing colon cancer. ..."For a long time we hoped we could find a pill to prevent colon cancer - folic acid would be a good thing because it was cheap and it was thought to be completely safe," says Dr. Robert Sandler, a researcher at the University of North Carolina.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun07/folicacid060107.htmlFolic Acid May Not Avert Colon Cancer
WebMD
Popular folic acid supplements fail to protect against colon cancer, but they may increase an adult's risk of other cancers. ...What happened? People who took folic acid got just as many new colon polyps as those who took placebo pills, reports researcher Robert Sandler, MD, chief of the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.Drug thugs (Opinion column)
USA Today
When professor John Buse of the University of North Carolina's medical school reported in 1999 that the popular diabetes drug Avandia was associated with an elevated risk of chest pain and heart attacks, he was doing what researchers do: engaging in scientific inquiry and presenting his findings.Focus On Careers: North Carolina - Opportunity and Community
Science Magazine
Trees, tees, and Ph.D.s" is the phrase locals use to portray North Carolina's Research Triangle Park (RTP), an 8-mile by 2-mile area bordered by Chapel Hill, Raleigh, and Durham. ...According to Marcia Harris, director of University Career Services with UNC-Chapel Hill, a number of advantages exist for UNC students due to the presence of multiple employers as well as professional associations and other universities. "The students here have a lot of resources available to them."The Wall Street Journal's Murdochian Roots (Opinion-editorial column)
Slate.com
The Bancroft family that controls Dow Jones & Co., the parent of the Wall Street Journal, and has been steadfast in its decision to uphold the newspaper's integrity, is playing right into the hands of Rupert Murdoch by evoking the management of the former family leader Clarence W. Barron. ...Chris Roush is a journalism professor at the University of North Carolina and author of Profits and Losses: Business Journalism and its Role in Society.Regional Coverage
Bringing key issue to a head (Opinion column)
The Boston Globe
I couldn't help but think of former linebacker Ted Johnson when the Patriots kicked off minicamp this week, because of his eerie description of bracing himself for the first hit of spring. ...The University of North Carolina's Center for the Study of Retired Athletes recently released a study that found 20.2 percent of the 595 former NFL players surveyed who had sustained at least three concussions were found to be suffering from clinical depression.Wordsmithing for Success and Profit
The Santa Monica Mirror (Calif.)
I first encountered Frank Luntz, to my conscious knowledge, when I attended a local writers’ panel on the topic “The Age of Spin: Controlling the Message” in April of this year. ...On the subject of newspapers, Luntz reports, “If their current decline in readership continues along the recent trend lines, the last daily newspaper reader in America will disappear in October 2044, according to University of North Carolina Professor Philip Meyer.”Saving requires deposits, not withdrawal (Opinion column)
The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Mass.)
As the Massachusetts Senate and House wrangle over the final budget numbers in conference committee, there is one clear loser: the state’s own savings account. ...Studies by economists Russell Sobel and Gary Wagner at West Virginia University and the University of North Carolina have shown that rainy-day funds make little difference unless rules mandate deposits and limit withdrawals.State and Local Coverage
UNC gets $5 million for autism projects
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill's FPG Child Development Institute have been tapped by the U.S. Department of Education to lead two major autism research projects. The department has awarded the institute $5 million to create a national autism professional development center to work with 12 states to promote early diagnosis of children with autism and to increase the number of professionals prepared to teach children with autism.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun07/fpgautismgrants060707.html$8M in federal grants for autism efforts at UNC
The Chapel Hill Herald
Two of the most often-used classroom approaches for teaching young children with autism have never been evaluated, until now. ..."Research shows that if we intervene early, we can greatly enhance the lives of children with autism. This new work will help ensure not only that children are diagnosed as early as possible, but that when they are diagnosed they receive the most effective treatment by professionals who are prepared and knowledgeable," said Samuel Odom, FPG director and principal investigator for both grants.
Related link: http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2007/06/04/daily38.htmlPrice tag dooms 'First School'
The Chapel Hill Herald
Faced with a serious price tag for construction, the city school board decided Thursday it won't pursue a new "First School" facility at Seawell Elementary. ...School administrators estimate it would take about $28 million to construct an addition to Seawell to house a First School, and while the proposal was for UNC Chapel Hill to cover $7 million of that amount, the school board still would have been faced with a $21 million responsibility -- and with the prospect of asking the Orange County Commissioners to find that money.School board drops Seawell plan
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A $28 million price tag for a new building and learning initiative at Seawell Elementary proved too steep for the school board Thursday. After several board members expressed their regrets, the board voted unanimously to shelve a collaboration with the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at UNC at Seawell.Student's interests meant success over his disorder
The Winston-Salem Journal
During his four years at West Forsyth High School, Lee Czerw accomplished a lot — he was a captain of the school’s academic team, took six Advanced Placement classes in his senior year, and is a National Merit scholar. ...In Czerw, the disorder is balanced by a love of foreign languages and a brilliant writing ability. He has tried to help other people understand his disorder, and spoke on a panel for TEACCH, the program at UNC Chapel Hill for autistic children. Czerw will be attending college at UNC Chapel Hill.Rapid answers on AIDS test
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
If you're seeing red when you pull into the Wal-Mart parking lot in Knightdale on Saturday morning, it won't necessarily be because some jerk cut you off and stole your parking spot right next to the front door. ...Justin Smith, project manager for the University of North Carolina School of Medicine's Project Style, will administer the test, which he said is "completely painless and doesn't include needles or blood."Biotech raises $4 million
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Viamet Pharmaceuticals, an early-stage biotechnology company, raised $4 million in venture capital financing. The Durham company was founded in 2005 by H. Holden Thorp, a professor of chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Thomas O'Halloran, a chemistry professor at Northwestern University.UNC to present 'Balzac' premiere
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC staff members, alumni and people from the Triangle will perform the first production of UNC staff member Rob Hamilton's adaptation of "Balzac and The Little Chinese Seamstress," by Chinese-born novelist Dai Sijie. Performances begin Thursday and continue through July 1.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may07/balzac053107.htmlIssues and Trends
It's 'a real university' online, Bowles says
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC officials unveiled a one-stop Web site Thursday that offers students 130 online-degree, certificate and licensure programs in the 16-campus system. UNC President Erskine Bowles called University of North Carolina Online "a gigantic deal" for the university and the state.Degrees Will Soon Be a Click Away at UNC Schools
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
The digital way is steadily making its way across college campuses. Now, the University of North Carolina system has a plan to overhaul the online experience. ...UNC Journalism professor Chris Roush teaches a class without ever leaving his office. "I will e-mail them writing assignments at certain times and certain days," he said. "I think every class we teach eventually will have one section of it online."Spending gap
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The UNC Board of Governors promised a full-court press in the weeks ahead to try to win over House members as budget talks proceed. A wide gulf in spending exists between the House and Senate versions of the budget for higher education.
Related link: http://www.newsobserver.com/print/friday/opinion/story/595901.htmlState Digest: Proposed Preference Bans Fail in Wisconsin, and Other News From the States
The Chronicle of Higher Education
JOB CUTS: A provision included in the budget bill passed by the North Carolina House of Representatives could cut critical jobs on public-college campuses. The measure would eliminate positions in state government, including the University of North Carolina system, that have been vacant for six months or more. But university officials say that many of the openings are due to the schedule of academic hiring and that the proposal is causing uncertainty during the campuses' peak time for recruiting. The Senate version of the bill would eliminate many open positions in state government but would not affect those in the university system. The differences now must be ironed out by legislative negotiators.
Related link: http://news14.com/content/politics/583416/lawmakers-debating-unc-system-cuts/Default.aspxThe numbers don't lie
The Charlotte Observer
UNC system President Erskine Bowles had this to say about how state universities are performing on a critical assignment: training more teachers. "There is no way to get around the alarming fact that some of our campuses must have considerable improvement in future years ..., " he wrote.\Contractors Accuse UNC System of Bias
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
An association of minority contractors has asked UNC officials to investigate their claims of wrongdoing, nonpayment and contract irregularities involving minority-owned firms that worked on building projects across the UNC system.
Related link: http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6628387&nav=0RaPY4bIUNCG plans for Kannapolis effort
The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area
Two UNC-Greensboro nutrition researchers and their staffs will be a part of the developing North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, the school has announced. Billionaire David Murdock is developing the 350-acre campus in the former textile town as a center for nutrition-related biotechnology research, with the UNC system as a major partner.
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.