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March 27, 2006
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:National Coverage
The Post and the Whole Picture in Iraq
The Washington Post
When the Iraq war started, more than 700 reporters were "embedded," traveling with U.S. troops in the field. Embedding brought a newfound respect between reporters and soldiers. ...Cori Dauber, professor of communications studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, closely monitors the media, war and terrorism. She is a research fellow at the Triangle Institute for Security Studies and writes and runs the http://rantingprofs.com/ blog.With an Eye on Politics, Edwards Makes Poverty His Cause
The New York Times
As he sought the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2004 and then as John Kerry's running mate, John Edwards talked about poverty more than any other candidate. ...Edwards was the organizer and the most assiduous note-taker at a poverty conference sponsored by the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina, an organization he founded and directs.
Related Link: http://www.picayuneitem.com/articles/2006/03/25/news/27poverty.txt
A giant US study on children's health might be orphaned, researchers fear
The Boston Globe
The 100,000 children who are supposed to be in the study have not even been conceived yet, but scientists have been preparing for their birth for six years. ...As a result, analysts say advocates for the study will have difficulty getting funding restored. ''I think the Children's Study is going nowhere, especially with the amount of money that's required now," predicted Daniel P. Gitterman, assistant professor of public policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has studied trends in pediatric research.
Preschool: Parents hope to give kids a boost
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So long, Sesame Street. A new generation of children reared on Baby Einstein DVDs and in utero Mozart is being tutored to excel academically before they even enroll in elementary school. ..."Most children will do well without any additional help," said Richard Clifford, a senior scientist with FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Advocates push for better preschool education
The Arizona Republic
Education advocates are quietly building momentum for the next big thing: preschool for all of Arizona children younger than 5. ...Sharon Ritchie, a researcher at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, said that, like it or not, the country is headed toward state funding of preschool for 4-year-olds and probably 3-year-olds.
Affirmative Action for Men
Inside Higher Ed
When admissions officers gather to create a freshman class, there is a large elephant in the room, wrote Jennifer Delahunty Britz, in The New York Times last week: the desire to minimize gender imbalance in their classes. ...But recently, the gap has started to show up at flagship public universities, too: Some board members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were so stunned in May to learn that this year’s freshman class would be 58 percent female that they asked if it was time to institute affirmative action for men.
Family of suspect in UNC attack shocked
The Associated Press (National)
Relatives of a man accused of trying to run down college students in a crowded pedestrian plaza described him as a gentle soul Friday, shortly after a hearing in which the 22-year-old appeared to laugh while witnesses described the attack. ...He has said the March 3 attack at the University of North Carolina's flagship campus was his revenge on the U.S. government for the deaths of Muslims around the world.
State & Local Coverage
Spring packs a punch at Carolina (Opinion-editorial column)
The Chapel Hill Herald
One need spend but a single spring here to have memories of beautifully blooming landscapes, lively discussion on the issues of the day outside the Franklin Street post office, and -- of course -- basketball-induced excitement. ...Carolina is one of eight U.S. colleges and universities selected to join the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation in a $27 million partnership to enable more deserving community college students to earn bachelor's degrees from selective four-year institutions. ... James Moeser is chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Note: No link available.Council OKs tighter GPA rules
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC's Faculty Council voted on Friday to raise the grade-point average requirements for academic eligibility and to institute a probation period for students who fail to meet that and other standards. The council also voted to push back the last date by which students can drop courses from six weeks after the start of the semester to eight weeks. ...The changes, combined with more advising and support, will help Carolina match the graduation rates of some of its most competitive peer institutions, UNC Chancellor James Moeser told the council
Note: No link available.Committee should begin with real work (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
Ken Broun and the Carolina North Leadership Advisory Committee have their work already cut out for them. There's no need to make their jobs any more difficult than they probably already will be. That's why Broun's decision last week to not meet or talk with any members of the new group outside the committee's regular public meetings is probably a good idea. That way he -- and the group -- can avoid side skirmishes and unnecessary procedural battles and can focus on the issue at large: what kind of development Carolina North actually will be.
Note: No link available.
UNC provides full access to meetings (Letter to the editor)
The Chapel Hill News
In response to your editorial "Meetings don't belong behind closed doors," let me say that the University has no intention of conducting business related to the Carolina North Leadership Advisory Committee behind closed doors. Even as we were planning the committee, we pledged that its meetings would be conducted openly, and we encouraged the public's participation. We are taping every meeting and have arranged to have the meetings aired on local cable access channels. And we are posting minutes of the meetings on the Web. ...Nancy Suttenfield, UNC Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration.
Talks address fiscal divide
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Economic changes have narrowed America's middle class, increasing the divide between the rich and poor, according to speakers Friday at an anti-poverty conference staged by a think tank led by former vice presidential candidate John Edwards. Changing government policies to help the working poor was proposed frequently by speakers during the two-day conference presented by the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina's law school.
Related Link: http://rdu.news14.com/content/your_news/raleigh/?AC=&ArID=82275&SecID=17
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/povertyconf031606.htmThe doctor's out (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The concept of community-based care makes sense for the mentally ill -- but the care has to be there. In rural counties with a shortage of psychiatrists, community-based care makes no sense at all. ...North Carolina has roughly one psychiatrist for every 10,000 residents, according to researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill. In supply of psychiatrists, North Carolina ranks 20th among all states, but in population, the state ranks 11th, naturally leading to shortages.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/reportpsychiatrist031406.htm2nd dental school proposed
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Anyone seeking justification for a new dental school at East Carolina University can find it in Edward Scammon's appointment book. ...Dr. John Williams, dean of the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry, said only eight counties in the state have more than the national average of 5.8 dentists per 10,000 residents.
Related Link: http://www.fayettevillenc.com/article?id=229421Leaders push for West House
The Chapel Hill News
Local leaders are making a last-ditch effort to save West House, the circa 1935 campus building that UNC leaders plan to demolish this fall. "This is a small structure but a big symbol of historic preservation on campus," said Laurin Easthom, a Chapel Hill Town Council member who, along with colleagues Sally Greene and Jim Ward, wrote a letter urging UNC to preserve West House.
Money, Loyalty and Power
The Winston-Salem Journal
In late 2002, Jim Black drove from his hometown of Matthews to the IHOP in Salisbury for a meeting. He was a politician in trouble, with his future as speaker of the N.C. House on the line. ..."The thing is, in today's political firmament Jim Black stands out because he's not ideological. He isn't identified with a particular point of view or a set of strongly held beliefs," said Ferrel Guillory, the director of the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life at UNC Chapel Hill. "He comes at legislation by trying to figure out how do you build a majority."
Related Link: http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_BasicArticle&c=
MGArticle&cid=1137834963203&path=!localnews!economy!&s=
Making law, correctly (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...Is our outrage spread so thin that this "horrible precedent," in the words of a UNC-Chapel Hill law professor, can be set with so little outcry? Bypassing the House of Representatives to make a law is unconstitutional. It is illegal. It is unethical. It is wrong. We need the media to raise the alarm about such an un-American flaunting of the Constitution.
Rally Planned to Support UNC Muslims
WTVD-TV (ABC, Durham)
Students and faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill are planning a candlelight vigil Monday night to show support for Muslim students. The vigil comes three weeks after Mohammed Taheri-azar plowed a Jeep through the Pit, hitting nine people. He says he did it to avenge the deaths of Muslims around the world.
Family: Alleged UNC campus crasher a “kind, gentle soul”
The Associated Press (N.C.)
The man accused of trying to kill nine people by driving through a pedestrian plaza at the University of North Carolina is “a kind, gentle and pure soul” whose action was completely out of character, his family said in a statement Friday.
Prosecution of Taheri-Azar to continue
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A district court judge decided Friday there is enough evidence to continue prosecuting the man accused of driving through a crowded UNC-Chapel Hill gathering area earlier this month, supposedly in order to kill Americans and their sympathizers.
Related Links: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/breaking_news/14183154.htm
http://www.nbc17.com/news/8229879/detail.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/1166/story/421785.html
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-716750.htmlIssues & Trends
UNC official leaving for USC position
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Jerry Lucido, vice provost for enrollment policy and management at the UNC-Chapel Hill, will leave the university for a high-level position at the University of Southern California.
UNC OKs plan to conserve water
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC-Chapel Hill plans to save 530,000 gallons of water per day by 2008 by sending highly treated wastewater to the cooling towers at its chiller plants.
In the States In Brief
The Chronicle of Higher Education
NEW CAMPUS: The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics is on a fast track to becoming the 17th campus of the University of North Carolina. The residential high school now falls under, but is not directly supervised by, the university system, raising concerns university officials could be held accountable for a school over which they had no control.
Related Link: http://www.newbernsj.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates
/Details.cfm&StoryID=26998&Section=Local#
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.
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