May 11, 2006

Carolina in the News

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

International Coverage

Vaccine Shown Effective
Against Chancroid
Medical News Today
HIV plagues more than 25 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Health Organization, and efforts to develop a vaccine against the virus have achieved limited success. But what if a vaccine against another sexually transmitted infection found widely in that region of Africa - chancroid - was relatively easy to develop and could reduce transmission of HIV as much as 10-fold? That may be the case, according to researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Medicine and N.C. State University's College of Veterinary Medicine.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may06/chancroid050506.htm

National Coverage

Scores on New SAT Expected to Decline
The Washington Post
College Board officials say they are expecting as much as a five-point average decline in math and verbal scores on the new SAT, leading many high school counselors to conclude that the longer test is wearing out test takers and hurting their performance. ... On the nine campuses of the University of California, the largest user of the SAT, average scores declined by 15 points, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reported a 12-point drop. Final national figures are not expected until August.
Related Link: http://www.newsobserver.com/701/story/438201.html

Hispanic births spike in Southeast
N.C., Georgia record highest rates for Mexican mothers
The Associated Press (National)
Hispanic births are skyrocketing in the Southeast, where an increase of at least 40 percent was recorded in five states between 2000 and 2003, according to a new government report.Among the states with the largest increases were Kentucky (80 percent), South Carolina (62 percent), Alabama (53 percent), Tennessee (53 percent) and Arkansas (40 percent), the report found. ... Most years, more than 90 percent are Mexican, said Dr. Juan Granados, a University of North Carolina professor of obstetrics and gynecology and maternal and fetal medicine.

Regional Coverage

Breastfeeding a Top Priority in Addressing Infant Growth and Nutrition,
According to Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and UNICEF
The Providence Journal
The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (www.bfmed.org) strongly endorses the recent recommendation from UNICEF to promote breastfeeding as the exclusive source of nutrition for the first six months of life. ... "Worldwide, nutrition could be improved at minimal cost by supporting early and exclusive breastfeeding, with age-appropriate complementary foods and feeding practices," said Miriam Labbok, MD, MPH, Director of The Center for Infant and Young Child Feeding and Care at UNC at Chapel Hill.

Grapefruit comeback
WNDU-TV (South Bend, Ind., NBC)
It's a popular fruit, consumed by millions each day, but its juice can cause potentially deadly drug interactions. But now, grapefruit juice may soon be making a comeback. ... Now, scientists at the University of North Carolina have confirmed the identity of the culprit, a group of chemicals called furanocoumarins, FC's; removing the compounds eliminated the drug interaction.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may06/grapefruitstudy050806.htm

State & Local Coverage

Getting Ready
The Chapel Hill Herald
Ronnie Hunt and Jimmy Wood, UNC Facilities Service carpenters, place columns on stage at Kenan Stadium Wednesday in preparation for commencement ceremonies for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/media/2006/commencement050906.htm

Modern Motherhood
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
Maria Mangano, director of Career Services at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law and the mother of two teenagers joins a panel of North Carolina mothers whose children range in age from one to 33 to talk about the topic. How much of motherhood is sacrifice? Compromise? Joy? Patience? Frustration? Insight? Love? Listener Call-In.

For N.C.'s health, insuring all children (Opinion-editorial column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
North Carolina's health care system is in trouble. According to the latest estimates, 1.4 million residents (over 17 percent of the state's population) lack health insurance. As the costs of health insurance premiums rise and businesses cut back on coverage, the number of uninsured North Carolinians will surely grow in coming years. ... Jonathan Oberlander is an associate professor of social medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Community Milestones
The Winston-Salem Journal
These area high-school students have been named Morehead Scholars at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Scott Davis Gallisdorfer, a student at Forsyth Country Day School. He is the son of Jeff and Sherry Gallisdorfer of Lewisville. Colleen Shannon McGary, a student at West Forsyth High School. She is the daughter of Fred and Karen McGary of Lewisville. Jasmine Renee Mitchell, a student at Smith High School in Greensboro. She is the daughter of Randolph Mitchell and Carol Shepherd of Winston-Salem.
UNC News Services: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/morehead031006.htm

A Western with a
(so-far) happy ending (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
The saga of the John William Pope Foundation and its potential financial donation to a Western cultures and civilization program at UNC seemed destined for a nasty ending, one way or another. But like in many Western sagas, hope finally seems to be looming on the horizon. ... But just when the two sides seemed destined for a messy fight, peace appears to have broken out. UNC officials are amending their request to the Pope Foundation, and asking the foundation to delay consideration of part of its request for funding.
Note: No link available. For a copy, email Todd at tvinyard@dev.unc.edu.

Mickey is a
desired employer
The Charlotte Observer
Where do Carolinas college students most want to work? Disney. They also expect to make 41 grand right out of school. These are a few findings from a recent survey of 1,697 undergrads at 10 Carolinas colleges, including UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, UNC Charlotte and South Carolina.

Issues & Trends

Engineering Center: Building for the future
The Hickory Record (Hickory)
A new engineering center already is paying dividends before classes even begin. An undisclosed company looking at land near Morganton-Lenoir Airport chose the Hickory region, in large part, due to the ability to train and attract workers from the education institution. ... A recent boost came when the University of North Carolina system made a budget request of $1.76 million in state money for the center. Of that amount, $600,000 is for recurring funds.

$100M UNC, State deal collapses
The Chapel Hill Herald
A deal that would have brought UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. State University $100 million for a biomedical engineering institute is dead due to disagreements with the potential donor about intellectual-property rights. The Alfred Mann Foundation for Biomedical Engineering had approached the two universities about paying for a center to help them commercialize biomedical products based on research occurring on their campuses. UNC officials said talks fell through because the Mann Foundation wanted to give the proposed institute the first look at most biomedical research coming out of the two schools, as well as the option to license the research.

Fayetteville is 143rd and movin’ on up (Opinion-editorial column)
Fayetteville Observer
They are shouting it from the top of the Systel building, and from cars in the traffic circle around the Market House. But Fayetteville being ranked by Forbes Magazine as the 143rd best place to do business is still something. Especially considering where we’ve come from. ... The county now has 15 doctors per 10,000, according to 2004 numbers from the Sheps Center for health research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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.