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Nov. 16, 2005
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:International Coverage
Colon cancer screening of little value for some
Reuters (UK)
The risks of colorectal cancer screening may outweigh the benefits for some patients aged 70 years and older, a group of doctors warn in the journal Gastroenterology. ...In a commentary, Dr. Carmen Lewis from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, says "this information should be used as an aid to help inform patients about the risks and benefits of colon cancer screening and then with their physicians, patients can explore their personal values and make the decision that is right for them."'
National Coverage
Johnson and Guidant Agree on Revised Buyout Deal
The Associated Press (National)
Ending a week-long standoff, Johnson & Johnson agreed yesterday to acquire the struggling medical device manufacturer Guidant Corp. for $21.5 billion, about 15 percent less than its initial offer last year. ...Dr. Sidney Smith, a former American Heart Association president and professor of medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the agreement could help patients get better heart devices.
Dog Visits Help Heart Failure Patients
WebMD
Spending a few minutes with man's best friend can relieve the anxiety of people with heart failure, a new study suggests. ...Sidney Smith, Jr., MD, an American Heart Association spokesman and a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, tells WebMD that the study shows that man's best friend can have beneficial physiological and psychological effects on people with heart failure.
UW's Common Book program puts freshmen on same page
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The University of Washington is launching a book club with 5,000 members — some more willing than others. ...Perhaps the most well-known program is run by the University of North Carolina, which found itself at the center of an international controversy for its 2002 choice: "Approaching the Qur'án: The Early Revelations." Some argued that the public university was overstepping the line between church and state. But a little controversy helped readership, apparently. About 65 percent of students read the text that year, a record in eight years, said Judy Deshotels, who helps run the program. Most years, the school gets about 50 percent participation, she said.
State & Local Coverage
UNC trustees to return to annual tuition debate
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Members of the UNC Board of Trustees will begin their annual tuition deliberations Thursday by reviewing four proposals put forth by a campus task force. ... Seth Dearmin, UNC's student body president, is among those task force members favoring that plan. He supports it with some reservation, but believes that the $300 proposal for in-state undergraduates, while the largest of the four plans, would do the most good because it would raise a good deal of revenue without putting an exorbitant burden on out-of-state or graduate students.
Top-tier grads do tour of duty
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
It was the last period of the school day, and Dan Tifft struggled a bit to manage his class. .... In North Carolina, UNC contributes the most students to Teach for America and this year the third-most in the nation -- 43. Kopp will be UNC's commencement speaker in the spring.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov05/comspeaker06110705.htmFever
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
Sean Rowe, a Morehead Scholar at UNC-Chapel Hill and former journalist, was featured on today's (Nov. 16) edition of "The State of Things." The author of the novel "Fever," a thriller set on a Miami-based cruise ship, Rowe says he might never have completed the book if he had not nearly died in an accident with a train.
Surveillance system links hospitals
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Today the state will unveil a powerful new tool for safeguarding public health: a statewide electronic surveillance system that will monitor hospital emergency-room data for early signs of disease outbreaks and bioterrorism threats. ...The new system builds on a test project established in 1999 by the Department of Emergency Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Medicine and the Division of Public Health. UNC will continue to be involved in the statewide surveillance project.
Nonprofit wants to rewrite book on how students learn
The Triangle Business Journal
Fresh off its 10th birthday, the nonprofit institute All Kinds of Minds is gunning for another number - $20 million. ... The genesis of All Kinds of Minds was a grant awarded in 1987 to pediatrician Dr. Mel Levine by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. The grant enabled Levine, director of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Clinical Center for Development and Learning, to establish the Schools Attuned professional development program for teachers. The program was aimed at helping educators identify and manage differences in learning within the classroom.
John Edwards opens Democrats Abroad chapter in India
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Asserting that the Democratic Party would win the next U.S. presidential elections, former Sen. John Edwards opened a Democrats Abroad chapter in India on Wednesday. ..."I have not decided yet," Edwards said, adding that he was focusing his attention on a new poverty center at the University of North Carolina, which he is presiding over.
Neighbor of planned project sues Clemmons
The Winston-Salem Journal
In January, the Clemmons Village Council approved a subdivision plan that mistakenly allowed too many lots on the property. ...David Owens, a professor of public law and government at the Institute of Government at UNC Chapel Hill, said that lawsuits such as the one brought by Slick can be difficult to win because state law gives municipalities discretion in how they handle such mistakes.
A timely passage, a deadly appointment (Opinion-editorial column)
The Winston-Salem Journal
Whatever one's position on the Bush administration's original decision to go to war with Iraq or on the conduct of the war itself, there is virtual unanimity that the United States and its allies have to a greater or lesser degree mishandled things since May 1, 2003, the date the president declared "major combat operations" over. ...Peter A. Coclanis is associate provost for International Affairs and Albert R. Newsome Professor of History at UNC Chapel Hill. He is currently Raffles Visiting Professor in the Department of History at the National University of Singapore.
This is not your mother's pressure cooker (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
When you're under pressure to fix fast, healthy meals, one product can help you produce a two-hour meal in 10 minutes. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.
To McCann's defense (Letter to the editor)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
As a left-right-moderate reader of The Herald Sun, I found John McCann's Nov. 6 column to be on target regarding discipline and the "culture war." ...The students at UNC are advocating unisex bathrooms and dorms to allow transgender students to feel comfortable. Is this an important societal issue?
Tribal leader inspires
The Chapel Hill News
Michell Hicks may be the principal chief of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, but he has been an accountant for longer than he’s studied his tribe’s language. Still, Hicks, 41, introduced himself in the American Indian language last week in front of a standing-room-only crowd in a lecture hall at UNC.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov05/hickslecture110705.htmIssues & Trends
America's Future Is Stuck Overseas (Opinion-editorial column)
The New York Times
According to a recent survey, more foreign graduate students enrolled in American universities this year than last, but their numbers remain far lower than they were in 2002. That international graduate student enrollment is no longer declining is welcome news. But it should not distract us from the obstacles the United States still faces in attracting top talent to its shores. ...Stuart Anderson, the executive director of the National Foundation for American Policy, was the executive associate commissioner for policy and planning at the Immigration and Naturalization Service from 2001 to 2003.
Mayoral candidate thanks voters (Opinion-editorial column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)/The Chapel Hill News
As I turn my focus back to my busy life as an attorney, business owner and family man, I thank each and every one of you who supported me in my campaign for mayor of Chapel Hill. ...To the trustees, chancellor and administration of UNC, you have my support. To these people, I will now dedicate my spare time working with the city government to make better decisions for the good of all the citizens of Chapel Hill and being an advocate for those who feel they are not being heard.
Incentives needed to draw business (Editorial)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
County Commissioners chairwoman Ellen Reckhow must feel like a lot of hardworking taxpayers about offering incentives to convince corporations to move here. ...Even without incentives, Durham has much to commend it to businesses: Two fine universities in Duke and N.C. Central University, two more nearby in UNC and N.C. State, world class medical facilities, a downtown that's on the move, and a well trained workforce. And how about this weather?
It pays to be in power
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A wise person once said the test of a person's character is not how they handle adversity, but how they handle power. ...If you're a state employee who keeps the plumbing working at UNC-Chapel Hill or N.C. State University, your pay raise was 2 percent. If you're a state employee who's the chancellor at either school, your raise was 13 percent. Both UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser and N.C. State University Chancellor Jim Oblinger received raises of $35,100. They now make $309,897 per year.
Salary hikes are a public relations misstep (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
To understand why it was so predictably clear that the decision last week by the university system's Board of Governors to give substantial pay raises to chancellors at most of the system's campuses would receive such a tepid reaction from university rank-and-file you only have to know two numbers. ...It may be only a public relations issue, a question of image, but that doesn't mean it's a question the UNC system can avoid.
Roses & raspberries (Opinion column)
The Chapel Hill News
Raspberries to the General Assembly and UNC Board of Governors, for handing out raises to top university officials as if they had already won the lottery. Raise your hand if you’re accustomed to raises of up to 16 percent from one year to the next. That’s what we thought.
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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