Nov. 15, 2007

Carolina in the News

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

National Coverage

Faculty-Productivity Index Offers Surprises
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Intellectual heft may seem like a tricky thing to measure, but Academic Analytics says it can be done. The for-profit company, owned in part by the State University of New York at Stony Brook, recently compiled its third annual Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index — a ranking of graduate programs at research universities based on what purports to be the first objective measurement of per-capita scholarly accomplishment. The measurement this year considers several new factors, causing some surprising fluctuations in the rankings.
Note: The Chronicle lists numerous rankings charts and lists along with the story above in this week's print and online editions. Carolina's results are:
1st in urban and regional planning, philosophy and Slavic languages
2nd in toxicology and natural resources and conservation
3rd in sociology, materials science and engineering, and linguistics
4th in business administration, nutrition sciences, general education, and Germanic languages and literatures
5th in biomedical sciences
6th in genetics, general music, geography, and biostatistics
7th in political science, and pharmacology
9th in biochemistry, biophysics, and oral biology and craniofacial science
10th in nursing, speech and hearing sciences, and ecology

Obama Says He Has No Illinois Records
The Associated Press
Barack Obama, who's been scolding Hillary Rodham Clinton for not hastening the release of records from her time as first lady, says he can't step up and produce his own records from his days in the Illinois state Senate...As for Edwards, the AP asked the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for records and papers from the Center on Poverty Work and Opportunity, the research center Edwards founded and ran after the 2004 campaign.

Regional Coverage

Polk Schools chosen for minority achievement gap study of students
The Lake Wales News (Lake Wales, Fla.)
Polk Public Schools are one of four school districts nationally chosen for a project to study and overcome the achievement gap exhibited by minority male students. The Promoting Academic Success (PAS) of Boys of Color Initiative is a project of the FPG Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is funded by a $6.2 million, five-year grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/aug06/kellogg081606.htm

State & Local Coverage

UNC-CH board might decide on tuition increase
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Chancellor James Moeser's proposals for relatively small increases for all students except in-state undergraduates will go before the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees this morning.
Related Link: http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-898782.cfm
Related Link: http://news14.com/content/top_stories/589640/tuition-hike-proposed-at-chapel-hill/Default.aspx

UNC study shows pay gap persists (Editorial)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
There were no big surprises in a study of the economic impact of blacks in North Carolina released Tuesday by UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School. In fact, the overall conclusion -- that blacks contribute more than they cost the economy -- seemed self-evident.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov07/aarelease111307.html

Illegal Immigrant Healthcare May Not Be Costing Taxpayers As Much As Many Believe
WSOC-TV/ABC (Charlotte)
The emergency department of any hospital is the great equalizer. Federal law says doctors have to care for patients with emergencies...With so much interest in the immigration debate and so little solid information on how it's impacting health care, Dr. Annette DuBard of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researched the subject.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar07/medicaid030807.html

Professorship honors journalist
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The children of a Ku Klux Klan-fighting journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize have established a $1 million W. Horace Carter Distinguished Professorship at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UNC Chapel Hill.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov07/carterprofessorship111407.html

Autism Study Begins Enrolling Families; UNC Participating
WGHP-TV/FOX (High Point)
Researchers across the country today began enrolling families in the largest study to date of the genetic and environmental factors that may cause autism and other developmental disabilities. The five-year study, called the Study to Explore Early Development, will involve 2,700 children and their parents from six areas around the nation, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Parental Dilemma: To Get Kids Immunized or Not
WRAL-TV/CBS (Raleigh)
To get the shots or not to get the shots – that's the dilemma many parents face when they suspect their child is at risk of developing problems from immunizations..."Despite the fact these vaccines no longer contain thimerosal, actually the rates of autism have continued going up," said Dr. David Weber, a UNC infectious disease specialist.

Ex-chronicler weighs in on White House hopefuls
The Chapel Hill Herald
Walter Mears has difficulty paying close attention to the presidential race. It's a little surprising, since he was one of the foremost chroniclers of political campaigns for 40 years...Tonight Mears will speak at the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication to present an exhibit illustrating the history of the AP based on the wire service's recent book, "Breaking News: How the Associated Press has Covered War, Peace and Everything Else."
UNC News Brief: http://www.unc.edu/news/briefs/2007/111207.html

Business doings
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC-Chapel Hill has a new building devoted to global education. The FedEx Global Education Center puts international studies and research under one roof. The four-story building includes classrooms, offices, a 256-seat auditorium and exhibit space.

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.