May 17, 2004

Carolina in the News

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

International News Coverage

Real people want to study real business issues
Financial Times, U.K.
As executive education deans watch an increasing number of their clients ask for customised programmes they should be breathing a sigh of relief....Jim Dean, associate dean for executive education at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School, believes the kind of "working backwards" that is done when designing tailor-made programmes helps deliver measurable ROI more easily.

National Coverage

Payroll Gains Don't Reach Some Americans
The Wall Street Journal
On the surface, recent job-growth figures appear to be a win-win for just about everybody. Not only did the economy create hundreds of thousands of new jobs between January and April -- a sharp turnaround from the same period a year earlier when the economy was losing jobs -- but the unemployment rate declined across a wide range of demographic groups....William Darity, an economics professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says that the gap between better-educated blacks and less-educated blacks "is even wider than it was 20 years ago."
Subscription required.

Give Peace a Chance
The Washington Post
A University of North Carolina survey that asked respondents if they ever experience backstabbing, rudeness or incivility in the workplace came to a not-very-shocking result: Of 1,601 people questioned, 89 percent said yes, they experience it.

NEW Testament as Easy to Read as . . . Cosmo ?
Los Angeles Times
In some local bookstores, teen boys can find a glossy publication filled with music reviews, top 10 lists and advice about dating. Its photos show pretty girls, skateboarders, guys with cornrows and teens cruising in convertibles....Christian Smith, a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said not everything can be used as a tool to bring youngsters to the Bible.

South sees integration gains slip into past
Chicago Tribune
Millicent Hall is supposed to be part of the multiracial society that Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed about, where black and white students would be educated side by side...."In 2004, there are still vestiges of the '50s and '60s. It's pretty prevalent, but it just doesn't get expressed the same way. People are reluctant to express their true feelings about integration," said Julius Chambers, a NAACP attorney and director of the University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights.

Online music plunges into mainstream
USA Today
Apple launched its iTunes Web site in April 2003, allowing MP3 music files to be downloaded from the Internet for a price. What was once covert suddenly became legitimate....That leaves the moguls looking like Mr. Smith, the villain in the Matrix movies, particularly because a recent study by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina said CD sales are unaffected by online "piracy."
Related link: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/8684456.htm

State and Local News Note

Coverage of the Carolina Covenant and the Peck Elementary School partnership was broadcast on Fox 8 WGHP in the Triad.

State & Local Coverage

Cancer center hopes high
The News & Observer
An optimistic bunch, UNC health care officials have spent five years now thinking about building a new cancer hospital....And UNC Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser, who says the cancer center is UNC's top capital priority, fears that a package with too many projects could get bogged down.

Program encourages students to anticipate college
Greensboro News & Record
Tyler Thompson has set his sights on UNC-Chapel Hill. He wore Carolina blue Friday as he gave visiting professors from the state's flagship university a tour of his school...."The point is, if we can get them competitive for Carolina, then they'll be competitive for anywhere," Herb Davis, the university's associate director of undergraduate admissions, told about 40 professors who visited the school Friday as part of a state tour.

Pillowtex crowd to soon lose benefits
The Charlotte Observer
The first round of tough times hit Cabarrus County last summer when Pillowtex Corp. shut its doors. Now community leaders are bracing for Round 2....Last week, former Pillowtex workers gathered for a visit by 35 new faculty members at UNC Chapel Hill. The faculty was visiting as part of a university-sponsored bus tour of the state to become familiar with its issues.

Fifty years after Brown
The Charlotte Observer
From Charlotte lawyer Julius Chambers' commencement speech May 9 at UNC Chapel Hill:
Imagine with me, if you will, that this is the year 1954 -- the year I graduated from high school with the highest of hopes and the biggest of dreams.

NCSU's 'green dean' plays catch-up
The News & Observer
Sometimes, after the catered lunches among the suit-wearing brass at N.C. State University, Larry Nielsen rifles through the trash can to collect empty soda cans....Other universities, including UNC-Chapel Hill, have full-time staffers devoted to pushing Earth-friendly practices.

Union County must go to district representation (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
Quite a few taxpaying citizens think the time has come for the Union County commissioners to be elected from districts instead of at-large, and that the number of this important governing body be increased to more than five....According to Robert Joyce with the Institute of Government at UNC Chapel Hill, Union County can vote on district representation and increase the number of commissioners by one of two methods.

Limits on public comment at town meetings?
The Charlotte Observer
Some commissioners apparently want to limit what people can talk about during the public comment part of town meetings....The board is not legally required to offer the option, though it is common among government bodies across the state, according to Fleming Bell, professor of public law and government at the Institute and School of Government at UNC Chapel Hill.

The inner artist: reaching out, drawing in
The News & Observer
In a small wing of the N.C. Museum of Art, on the entrance level and through a set of glass doors, is a modest exhibition of art that confounds expectations....In a yearlong collaboration between the museum and the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Psychiatry, outpatients in the STEP program (Schizophrenia Treatment and Evaluation Program) took part in art instruction workshops that included painting, drawing and clay projects.

Carolina North project must not include airport (Letter to Editor)
The Chapel Hill Herald
Last week, the university unveiled its revised plan for Carolina North, which proposes starting construction quite near the airport runway while keeping the airport open. Based on the university's graphic, the only concern about building so near to a working runway seems to be whether the construction will meet FAA regulations regarding navigation and noise.

New Tendonitis Treatment with Old Machine
WTVD-TV (ABC, Raleigh)
Whether you're an athlete or a weekend warrior, you're likely to suffer from tendonitis at some point....UNC Associate Athletic Director, Willie Scroggs developed chronic tendonitis after years of playing and coaching football and lacrosse....The shock wave therapy works best for chronic tendonitis of the shoulder, elbow, knee and foot. Right now UNC Hospitals is one of the only centers offering the treatment in the Heart of Carolina.

Central Park Jogger
WB 22-TV
For brain and spinal cord injury patients learning how to walk and talk is a challenge. Today Triangle patients received a message of hope and recovery from a woman who has been through it all....For patients at the UNC Rehabilitation Unit...Trisha's message was one of
hope and encouragement.
Note: The News & Observer; The Herald-Sun and NBC-17 were also present.

Issues & Trends

In Athletics, Level Field Must Begin In Classroom (Opinion-Editorial)
The New York Times
On April 29, the N.C.A.A. took dramatic action to improve academic performance and graduation rates of Division I student-athletes. Football and men's basketball teams, indeed all teams, will lose scholarships and opportunities to play in postseason tournaments, like the Final Four, if team members fail to make genuine academic progress and graduate....Myles Brand is the president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

U. of Michigan Announces Drive to Raise $2.5-Billion
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The University of Michigan announced on Friday that it will try to raise $2.5-billion by the end of 2008. Even before the announcement, it had raised more than half that amount.
Subscription required.

Request shortchanges workers, UNC (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
North Carolina's budget situation for fiscal 2004-05 is better than it's been in a while, but the improvement isn't anything to crow about....The State Employees Association of North Carolina has been arguing for a 5 percent increase, which would go further than the governor's request in making up this lost ground.

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

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