March 25, 2003

Carolina in the News

Current International Coverage

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

Human trials for Aids vaccine 'within months'
Cape Argus (South Africa)
South Africa is expected to start the first human trials for an Aids vaccine
"within months". ... The vaccines are ... The Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis
prototype vaccine, the result of a global initiative to target vaccines for South
Africa, developed by a collection of people from this country, the United States
biotech company Alphavax, and the University of North Carolina.
http://capeargus.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=49&fArticleId=89863

Web gripesites can be useful
The West Australian
Website whining by disgruntled employees could be an untapped human
resource goldmine, according to a University of Melbourne study. ... For the
study, University of Melbourne department of management Professor Carol
Kulik and colleagues from the University of North Carolina and Arizona State
University tracked more than 1000 discussion threads on message boards at
internet forum vault.com ...
http://www.thewest.com.au/20030324/news/state/tw-news-state-home-sto92429.html

Current National Coverage

Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 21 Universities
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The 21 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected
a total of $203.5-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they
had data available. ... The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $953.8-
million as of February 28 (increase of $35.1-million in the last month); the goal is
$1.8-billion by 2007.
http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/03/2003032505n.htm
(Note: The Chronicle of Higher Education requires a subscription to access
articles.)

Rumsfeld at front of war effort both in public, behind scenes
Houston Chronicle
Since hostilities began in Iraq five days ago, Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld has assumed a familiar pose as the Bush administration's chief war
spokesman, exhibiting the air of resolve that made him enormously popular
with the American public during the war in Afghanistan. ... "His gruff, combative
and often arrogant style has won the respect of the American people but has
had disastrous consequences overseas," said Richard Kohn, a military
historian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/special/iraq/1832727
(Note: This article originally appeared in The Washington Post.)

Life Made to Order
Technology Review
For the last few decades, scientists have been intently decoding the genes of
dozens of organisms, from bacteria to humans. ... "The long-term advantage of
creating an organism from a chemically synthesized genome is that it allows
complete flexibility of design," says University of North Carolina biologist
Clyde Hutchison.
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/goho20403.asp

Mental Health: Pay Now -- or Later?
Business Week Online
Before the bad news arrived earlier this month, Cascadia Behavioral HealthCare
in Portland offered community housing and emergency services to about 8,000
Oregonians who suffer from addictions and mental illnesses, such as
schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress. ... That's significant in light of a 2002
study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which
showed that extended hospital visits at the proper time help reduce the amount
of medical attention severely mentally ill patients need long-term.
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/mar2003/nf20030324_3888_db038.htm

Strapped Colleges Cut Medical Staff
The Wall Street Journal
When University of Southern California senior Liz Martin discovered a lump on
one of her breasts, she immediately called the college health service for a doctor's
appointment ... College-visiting season is kicking into high gear this month, with
parents and their kids setting off to tour libraries, sit in on classes and chat with
professors. But many will overlook one of the most important -- and, increasingly,
one of the most troubled -- aspects of the undergraduate experience: the health
-care system
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB104853511380438700,00.html?mod=health%5Fhome%5Fstories
(Note: For this article, the Wall Street Journal rated a sampling of major
universities. Carolina was grouped in the "most impressive" category for having
"plenty of doctors and nurse practitioners, state-of-the-art [facilities] and a
sophisticated sports-medicine clinic." The Wall Street Journal requires a
subscription to access articles.)

State and Local Coverage

Public health schools retooling for bioterrorism threat
The Herald-Sun
In North Carolina and across the United States, an influx of federal money and
the associated demand for health services since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
has put a strain on public health agencies. ... MacDonald and other health
officials spoke about the post-Sept. 11 world of public health, the threat to
public safety and the need for more highly-trained personnel during a
bioterrorism briefing Monday at UNC's School of Journalism and Mass
Communication.
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-334822.html

(Note: This coverage resulted from a bioterrorism briefing for North Carolina
reporters jointly organized by the schools of journalism and mass communication,
medicine and public health along with News Services. Other outlets participating
in the briefing included NBC Newschannel, WUNC-FM, WPTF-AM, WLFL
-TV (Warner Brothers, Raleigh), News 14 Carolina (Time Warner, Raleigh),
UNC-TV, The Richmond County Daily Journal, Triangle Tech Journal,
Freedom Newspapers Raleigh Bureau and Carolina Week. WTVD-TV (ABC,
Raleigh) aired a live shot from outside Carroll Hall yesterday at noon.

A sampling of other stories appearing last night and today includes:

Regional bioterrorism teams say they're ready
Charlotte Observer
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/5474784.htm

Public health gets an infusion
News and Observer
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2373614p-2212720c.html

N.C. Seen As Leader In State-Level Bioterrorism Preparedness
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
http://www.wral.com/health/2060813/detail.html

Officials share bioterrorism prep
The Daily Tar Heel
http://www.dailytarheel.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/03/25/3e8059754718b

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UNC decision heads off Estes Dr. fight (Editorial)
Chapel Hill Herald
Chancellor James Moeser scored some easy points for town-gown relations
on Wednesday by announcing that UNC wouldn't go through with a plan to
move the campus grounds department to Estes Drive Extension.
http://www.herald-sun.com/archives/URNDetail.cfm?URN=0415538563
(Note: The Chapel Hill Herald requires free registration to access articles.)

Developer named to UNC board
Chapel Hill Herald
Roger Perry, the local developer responsible for Meadowmont and a host of
other area mixed-use communities, is the newest member of UNC's Board of
Trustees.
http://www.herald-sun.com/archives/URNDetail.cfm?URN=0415538598
(Note: The Chapel Hill Herald requires free registration to access articles.)

Journalists Offer Dramatic War Coverage, But Don't Tell Whole Story
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
A firefight between U.S. Marines and Iraqi soldiers was captured on tape by a
CBS photographer traveling with the troops. ... Philip Meyer teaches journalism
ethics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He agrees that the
media is part of the U.S. military's propaganda campaign.
http://www.wral.com/news/2061039/detail.html
(Note: News Services helped connect Meyer with the reporter.)

N.C. schools: Pelvic exams not gratuitous (Commentary)
Charlotte Observer
Some women expressed disgust over recent news reports about the little-known
practice of medical students performing pelvic exams on women, without their
consent, while they're under anesthesia. ... "We have never endorsed a patient
being asleep and just multiple people doing pelvic exams," said Dr. Wesley
Fowler, director of gynecologic surgery at UNC Chapel Hill.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/living/health/5467501.htm

Filling the need
Chapel Hill News
By 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, more than two dozen people had squeezed into the
narrow hall on the second floor of Carr Mill Mall, waiting for the clinic to open.
... Inside the clinic, Nolan Davis, one of the four student coordinators for the
Dental Student Health Action Coalition ... organized the evening's volunteers ...
Almost every Wednesday evening, students from the UNC Dental School set
up shop inside the Orange County Health Department dental offices in Carr
Mill Mall.
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/our_town/story/2361595p-2203098c.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Supporters of Race-Conscious Admissions Say Research Backs Their Position
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Officials of three national higher-education organizations that support race-
conscious college-admissions policies declared on Monday that they are
confident that educational research will support their position before the U.S.
Supreme Court.
http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/03/2003032501n.htm
(Note: The Chronicle of Higher Education requires a subscription to access
articles. )

Severance deal spurs UNC policy
Chapel Hill Herald
A new UNC system policy will require campus chancellors to get permission
from trustees before negotiating severance packages with senior administrators.
http://www.herald-sun.com/archives/URNDetail.cfm?URN=0415538597
(Note: The Chapel Hill Herald requires free registration to access articles.)

Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, 
please call Cathleen Keyser or Mike McFarland at News Services, 
(919) 962-2091 or news@unc.edu or mike_mcfarland@unc.edu