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May 22, 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
The Da Vinci Code
Guarding Unlimited (United Kingdom)
We have had Dan Brown's novel, two dozen books expanding, exploiting or refuting it, numerous cultural commentators on 'The Da Vinci Code - the Phenomenon' and 'The Da Vinci Code - the Trial' (complete with cryptic message built into his judgment by Mr Justice Peter Smith). ... Anyone worried or puzzled about the theological issues raised by Dan Brown could do worse than read Bart D Ehrman's Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code (OUP, £6.95), a lucid, unaggressive book by the chairman of the department of religious studies at the University of North Carolina.National Coverage
If You've Got a Pulse, You're Sick
The New York Times
For a nation that spends more than any other on health, the United States certainly doesn't seem very healthy. ... "What do you mean by saying we're not healthy?" asks Dr. Nortin M. Hadler, professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina. "How do you define health?"Federal Government Names 72 Colleges Among 1,500 'Best Workplaces for Commuters'
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Seventy-two colleges -- including Emory University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tacoma Community College, and the University of California at San Diego -- have been recognized as the Best Workplaces for Commuters. ... To see the entire list, go to link - http://www.bwc.gov/pdf/colleges-final-c-and-u-list-2006.pdf.The challenge: Meat that pleases the palate
The Los Angeles Times
In a quest for the perfect faux meat, labs are experimenting with a variety of technologies. ... Kosnik and his colleague Bob Dennis, a tissue engineer at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, have developed a method to get around the jello problem that creates a three-dimensional tissue.The Quest for Crossover Books
Inside Higher Ed
For many scholars — especially in the humanities and social sciences — their secret or not-so-secret is to be the next “crossover” author: the Ph.D. whose book becomes a best seller, and not just in campus bookstores. ... The University of North Carolina Press is appealing to our interest in animals (with Pets in America: A History, promoted with dog biscuits) and gardens (with Gardening With Heirloom Seeds, promoted with, of course, heirloom seeds).Regional Coverage
Pee Dee entities get honors for health center plan
The Morning News (Florence, SC)
A pair of Pee Dee health entities have won recognition for a proposed business plan that would create a community health center for inner-city Florence. ... Representatives from HopeHealth Inc. and the Pee Dee Public Health District participated in a nine-month management-training course overseen by the Management Academy for Public Health, which is part of the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.State & Local coverage
UNC-CH faculty get details about Guard initiative
The Dispatch (Lexington)
Visiting faculty members from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill saw first-hand Friday how a collaborative program based at the school is helping local National Guard families. ... "It's a wonderful example, I think, of this university's involvement with the people of our state," Chancellor James Moeser said of the program.
UNC News Advisory: http://www.unc.edu/news/media/2006/bustourdayfive051806.htmNew UNC Faculty Visit Jackson Hamlet
The Pilot (Southern Pines)
A bus load of new faculty members from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill visited Jackson Hamlet on Wednesday to see what the university's law school has been doing to help this 100-year-old black community wedged between Aberdeen and Pinehurst. ... The Tar Heel Bus Tour is an exploration of The Old North State for faculty who are in their first three years at UNC.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may06/bustour051106.htm
UNC News Advisory: http://www.unc.edu/news/media/2006/bustourdaythree051606.htmState jobless rate dips, bodes well for worker raises
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
With North Carolina's unemployment rate falling to a five-year-low last month, economists say the state's workers may be in line for a trend in the opposite direction: rising wages. ... "Our population growth has driven a construction boom fueled by accessible mortgages, and a lot of commercial construction is now taking place," said James F. Smith, professor of finance at UNC-Chapel Hill. "Tourism has picked up because people can't afford to drive to Florida."Good cheer on campus drinking
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
News coverage of student drinking at local universities has missed an important part of the story. Although problems remain with excessive drinking by students at nearly every college and university, including UNC-Chapel Hill, a multi-year program conducted here has produced clear and impressive decreases in risky forms of drinking. ... Robert Foss is director of the Center for the Study of Young Drivers and senior research scientist at the UNC Highway Safety Research Center. Arthur Goodwin is senior research associate at the center.We can insure all our children (Opinion-Editorial column)
The Star-News (Wilmington)
Opponents of reform will have to explain why guaranteeing our children access to medical care should not be a state priority. North Carolina's health care system is in trouble. According to the latest estimates, 1.4 million state residents (over 17 percent of the population) lack health insurance. ... Jonathan Oberlander is an associate professor of social medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.May 25 is registration deadline for high school journalism institute
The Lincoln Tribune (Lincoln)
The N.C. Scholastic Media Association will host its annual journalism institute from June 19-22 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Registrations must be postmarked by May 25.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may06/schools051806.htmTheater company to select director
The Chapel Hill Herald
PlayMakers Repertory Company is close to having a permanent head. ... Three finalists ... Joseph Haj, Betsy Shevey and Philip Sneed -- are in the running to be producing artistic director of the UNC-based and nationally known regional theater company.Tap water could be ‘taste of mountains’
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)
Soon the water that comes out of your tap could be moonlighting under the name “Blue Ridge Mountain Mist.” ... Jeff Hughes, executive director of the Environmental Finance Center at UNC Chapel Hill, said Asheville is in a good position when it comes to marketing water.A time-saving alternative for readers?
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
"Alternative Story Form," or ASF, is a new trend in journalism designed to streamline communication between newspaper and reader. ... Andy Bechtel, an assistant journalism professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, teaches alternative story form to his students.Rutledge 'Rut' Tufts, 59, fought for workers' rights
The Chapel Hill News
A longtime UNC administrator who led efforts to make sure products bearing the Carolina logo were made under fair working conditions died Tuesday. Rutledge "Rut" Tufts was 59. He died six days after hitting his head in a fall as he entered the Washington, D.C., apartment he kept while he commuted from Durham to his job as executive director of the nonprofit Fair Labor Association.
UNC Statement: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may06/tuftsstatement051806.htmChapel Hill logo gets seal of approval
The Chapel Hill Herald
Downtown Chapel Hill has a new logo … Approved by the Downtown Partnership, the logo looks like a rectangular passport stamp and ahs images of awnings, UNC’s Old Well and a streetlamp on it.
Note: No link available. For a copy, email Todd at tvinyard@dev.unc.edu.Partnership selects logo for downtown
The Chapel Hill News
After rejecting futuristic images, debating color schemes and discussing the respective merits of horizontal versus diagonal type, the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership has picked a downtown logo. ... A shadow drawn at the top of UNC's famous domed well apparently gave the landmark too angular a look for some board members' tastes.Edwards speaks at annual NAACP event
The Associated Press (National)
America remains divided between the haves and have-nots, former vice presidential candidate John Edwards said during the state NAACP's annual Freedom Fund Celebration event Saturday. ... The former trial lawyer now leads the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina law school.Business owners join forces
The Charlotte Observer
Business owners in the historic buildings along Third Avenue Northeast, between N.C. 127 and North Center Street, have joined to create Third Avenue Commons, which they hope will become a distinct, high-end professional district. ... Old-fashioned lights originally used at UNC Chapel Hill will be used in the parking area and in front of the homes, and each business will have uniform, vintage-inspired signage.Loss of West House will be a tragedy (Letter to the Editor)
The Chapel Hill News
It is quite disconcerting to read more of the same rhetoric attempting to cast aspersions or nearly vilify West House as some kind of shameful display of elitism. Try to see it for what it actually was and is -- a charming house with a special enclosed garden built by a leading textile family, designed by a significant North Carolina architect, that was then given to the university and subsequently housed many departments, including computer science, arts and humanities and most recently, Asian studies.Issues & Trends
With $4 Billion, Columbia Raises Fund-Drive Ante
The New York Times
The University of Virginia will announce a $3 billion fund-raising drive in the fall. New York University is in the middle of a $2.5 billion campaign. And officials at Columbia University say they are moving ahead with plans for the largest university campaign so far, a push to raise $4 billion over seven years. ... These efforts are a sign of the fierce competition among major universities as they look to improve their rankings and images, attract students and grab star faculty members.N.C. school systems turn to pay incentives to draw, keep teachers
The Associated Press (NC)
It's a perennial problem for education officials across North Carolina. How do you draw teachers to struggling schools and unpopular subject areas? ... Elsewhere in the state, the University of North Carolina system wants to offer higher pay for new math teachers in four poor districts as a trial program.
Related link: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/14632709.htmNCCU to alter media rules
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
N.C. Central University will revise guidelines that went too far in restricting reporters' access to the public campus, the UNC system attorney said Friday.“North Carolina Voices: Inside High School: The Story of Western Guilford”
WUNC-FM
As part of a series a team of reporters has done your homework for you. They spent the school year with students and teachers at Western Guilford High School in Greensboro to see how a “typical” North Carolina high school is dealing with some daunting new realities.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may06/ncvoicesgreensboro051906.htm
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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