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May 24, 2007
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
FDA told of Glaxo's Avandia risk in 2000
Reuters
A leading doctor voiced concerns about the heart risks of GlaxoSmithKline Plc's diabetes drug Avandia in a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000, years before Monday's high-profile study questioning its safety....John Buse, president-elect of the American Diabetes Association and faculty member at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, cited "a worrisome trend in cardiovascular deaths and severe adverse events" among patients using the drug in a letter to the agency in March 2000 (http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/00/apr 00/040500/c01.pdf).Breaking Into News: Journalism Education in US
Voice of America
A student at Vietnam National University has a question for our Foreign Student Series. Phuong Lan wants to earn a master's degree in the United States and would like to know about journalism programs. ...One hundred nine programs are recognized by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. Some of the best-known include the ones at the University of Southern California, the University of Missouri and the University of North Carolina.National Coverage
Years Ago, Agency Was Warned of a Drug’s Risks
The New York Times
A leading diabetes doctor sent the Food and Drug Administration a letter warning of the heart risks of the drug Avandia seven years ago. And the next year the FDA censured the maker of the drug for playing down safety concerns, according to documents from 2000 and 2001. ... The 2000 letter to the FDA was written by Dr. John B. Buse, chief of endocrinology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and soon to become the president of the American Diabetes Association. His letter cited "a worrisome trend in cardiovascular deaths and severe adverse events" among patients using Avandia.Diabetes expert raised Issue of Avandia heart risk in 2000
The Wall Street Journal
A leading diabetes expert wrote to the Food and Drug Administration in 2000, raising concerns about a potential heart risk tied to the diabetes drug Avandia. ...John Buse, a professor at the University of North Carolina who is president-elect of the American Diabetes Association, told the FDA seven years ago that he was concerned about a "worrisome trend in cardiovascular deaths and severe adverse events" in the data submitted to win FDA approval for Avandia.
Related link: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aFiT9xyeuXJ8&refer=homeBusiness Journalism Group Elects Board
The Associated Press (National)
Business journalists from CNBC, Dow Jones Newswires, the Miami Herald and Smartmoney.com were elected to the board of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers. ...Five new governors were elected to the 22-person board: Lisa Gibbs, business editor of The Miami Herald; Dawn Wotapka Hardesty, a reporter for Dow Jones Newswires; Ray Hennessey, editor of SmartMoney.com; Rebecca Jarvis, a reporter for CNBC, and Chris Roush, a business journalism professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Deciphering the Cell's Code
MIT Technology Review
Each cell in the body has the same genetic code, yet different cells interpret the code differently. ...The findings suggest that "there's going to be enormous amounts of complexity to wade through" in searching for the code, says Brian Strahl, a histone biologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who was not involved in the research.Regional Coverage
With one voice, House OKs teen driving bill
The Chicago Tribune
Without a single dissenting vote, the Illinois House on Wednesday sent to the governor one of the nation's toughest sets of teen driving restrictions -- including a tripling of the duration of the learner's permit phase -- in a package experts say should reduce the heartbreaking No. 1 killer of teens. ..."You've got all the pieces you want to have, and most of those pieces look pretty good," said Rob Foss, director of the Center for the Study of Young Drivers at University of North Carolina's Highway Safety Research Center. "This is not a Mercedes, but it's a pretty good Audi, anyway."AD suggests helmets during batting practice
The Boston Globe
Weeks after Hamilton-Wenham freshman Matt Cook sustained severe injuries when he was struck by a batted ball while throwing batting practice in late March, athletic director Don Doucette went to the Cape Ann League with an idea for preventing an accident like that from happening to another player. ...Dr. Frederick Mueller of the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research at the University of North Carolina listed a helmet as one of his solutions for preventing the kinds of injury Cook sustained.Study says black folks trust pastors more than doctors
The St. Louis American (Mo.)
Black churches play essential role in eliminating health disparities. ...The study was conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and published in the scientific journal, Patient Education and Counseling.North Carolina has the edge (Letter to the editor)
The Gainesville Sun (Fla.)
In his May 20 column titled "Ivory Tower of Babel," Ron Cunningham made a brief reference to the ages of the University of Georgia and the University of North Carolina. Having been born in North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I had always understood that the University of North Carolina is the country's first state university.Fighting poverty
The Washington Times
"Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, who recently proposed an educational policy that urged 'every financial barrier' be removed for American kids who want to go to college, has been going to college himself -- as a high-paid speaker, his financial records show," the San Francisco Chronicle's Carla Marinucci writes in a blog at www.sfgate.com. ...The candidate -- who was then the head of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina -- chose to speak on 'Poverty, the great moral issue facing America,' as his $55,000 topic at UC Davis."
Related link: http://www.projo.com/news/mcharlesbakst/BAKST_COLUMN_24_05-24-07_JL5OAF1.30340b1.htmlState and Local Coverage
Student screening rises
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC-Chapel Hill has increased its mental health screening of students in the past couple of years, and the university is looking to do more in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech killings in April. ...Starting this summer, any student who goes to the counseling center will be able to see a therapist the same day rather than waiting for an appointment, said Margaret Jablonski, vice chancellor for student affairs.UNC reacts to Va. Tech shootings
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
The university has started an online mental health screening program which has yielded impressive results, the vice chancellor for student affairs told the Board of Trustees on Wednesday. Peggy Jablonski reported to the trustees' University Affairs Committee about efforts to change the campus culture and focused on three issues she said the Student Affairs Department has been concerned about -- fraternity and sorority life, alcohol and substance abuse, and mental health on campus.Diabetics wary after news about Avandia
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Triangle diabetes patients have lit up their doctors' phone lines since Monday, the day a medical journal published a study suggesting GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes pill Avandia increases the risk of heart attacks. The UNC diabetes center, which has about 5,000 patients, has fielded nearly 200 inquiries from patients about what they should do, said Dr. John Buse, the center's director, on Wednesday.UNC doctor warned FDA about Glaxo drug years ago
The Triangle Business Journal
A top endocrinologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill cautioned U.S. officials about GlaxoSmithKline's anti-diabetes drug Avandia years ago, according to documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A letter in the FDA's database from Dr. John Buse, then and now the director of UNC-Chapel Hill's Diabetes Care Center, dates to March 2000.UNC gives students studying abroad $100K in scholarships
The Triangle Business Journal
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said Thursday that it's awarded more than $99,000 in scholarships to 34 undergraduates studying abroad this summer and fall. The number is almost four times the previous high of $27,000, the university said. It owes the bump to an increased pool of money and relaxed eligibility criteria for one scholarship.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may07/studyabroad052407.htmlScholarship to honor Dibbert
The Chapel Hill Herald
A scholarship fund set up six years ago by the UNC General Alumni Association is being increased by $50,000 in honor of Douglas Dibbert of Chapel Hill, who has served as the association's president for 25 years.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may07/gaascholars052207.htmlLetter: Program encourages science teachers (Letter to the editor)
The Daily Reflector (Greenville)
The May 17 edition of The Daily Reflector featured a front page article in the Local & State section describing a laudatory program for science education, the DESTINY Traveling Science Lab. This mobile science laboratory, based at UNC Chapel Hill, provides students around the state with the opportunity to glimpse into the inner workings of a biotechnology laboratory, replete with technologically advanced equipment that can be used for laboratory experimentation.Project Uplift taps Pender High teens
The Star-News (Wilmington)
Four Pender High School students - Valerie Barnhill, Kendra Branch, Darryl Mott and Sayra Portilla - will attend Project Uplift 2007 this weekend. The program is for high-achieving students from historically under-served communities. The students will experience the University of North Carolina, where people of diverse backgrounds, ideas and experiences thrive.Those left out (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The annexation debate has not addressed what areas are not being annexed. Residents of areas being annexed protest the process and increases in taxes. Municipalities argue that annexation laws have built a strong fiscal base in our cities benefiting the entire state. ...We have documented minority exclusion across the state, and the UNC Center for Civil Rights is working with residents of some neighborhoods to gain a political voice and needed services.Issues and Trends
UNC Health cuts bonuses for top execs
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The board that oversees the UNC Health Care system has decided to cut executive bonuses after harsh public criticism last summer about financial windfalls paid to leaders of the state-supported system.
Related links: http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-850522.cfm
http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=3710Making the grade (Editorial)
The Greensboro News & Record
The better the students coming in, the better the outcomes. That's the idea behind a proposal to raise admission standards at University of North Carolina system campuses. The Board of Governors hasn't adopted new measures yet but wants to find ways to improve graduation rates well above current levels of 35 percent for four years and 59 percent for six years. At some UNC institutions, including N.C. A&T, the numbers are much lower than that.Thumbs up (Commentary)
The Kannapolis Citizen
Thumbs up to David H. Griffin Construction and other construction companies working on buildings for the North Carolina Research Campus. Buildings are going up faster than we can keep up with, including the new Curb Motorsports facility, which looks closer to being completed every day. The Core Lab is expected to be operational at the beginning of the year, the UNC-Chapel Hill building is underway and ground was recently broken on the N.C. State University building.Swett declines a UNC board seat
The Robesonian
Purnell Swett, the former Robeson County schools superintendent chosen for the University of North Carolina System's Board of Governors, said he will not take his seat on the board.
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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