October 21, 2003

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

International Coverage

International Education: For U.S. universities, alternative investments are paying off
International Herald Tribune
Universities are struggling to make ends meet, just as everyone else is...."We would argue that our portfolio is more conservative than others because we're in alternatives," said Mark Yusko, chief investment officer at the University of North Carolina.
(News Services arranged this interview with Yusko.)

National Coverage

Decisions, decisions
U.S. News & World Report
...How has early decision become, well, a federal case?....For a handful of schools, the logical response to all this bad press was to ax early decision entirely. Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va., the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Beloit College in Wisconsin all dropped early decision recently in favor of nonbinding "early action."

Crowd-pleasing maples squeeze out other trees
The Philadelphia Inquirer
On hillsides and valleys across the region, scarlet-tinged forests herald the arrival of autumn and signal an epic transformation in the woodlands of the Eastern United States...."It's not an invasion," said Robert K. Peet, professor of biology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who compares the red maple to algae.

State and Local Coverage

AlphaVax secures more federal money
The News & Observer
AlphaVax, which last month won two federal research grants totaling more than $16 million, has received an additional $16.8 million from the National Institutes of Health to advance the development of the company's experimental AIDS vaccine....The company's technology was developed by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.

Students praise idea to raise cap
The Daily Tar Heel
Many students voiced support for a proposal to increase the UNC-system's out-of-state enrollment cap at a forum Monday night.

Especially for Roy (Editorial)
The News & Observer
Roy Williams, the coach who's already become a hero before his first basketball game as head coach at UNC-Chapel Hill, is by all accounts a fine fellow in the tradition of his mentor, Dean Smith. Cares about players, emphasizes academics, etc. There's justifiable excitement at his return to his alma mater.

Williams' contract defines priorities (Editorial)
The Herald Sun
When he signed an eight-year contract last week as head basketball coach at UNC Chapel Hill, Roy Williams set a record without having won a single game.

The News and Observer (Correction)
A summary paragraph on an article about Roy Williams' contract on Page 1C Saturday incorrectly detailed the terms of Williams' deal. His eight-year contract is worth about $1.6 million a year.

Duke, UNC pair in dual degree
The News & Observer
The Duke University Divinity School and the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work are teaming up to offer a dual degree for students interested in working as ministers, social workers or both, the schools announced last week. Students may enter the program at either university starting in fall 2004. Graduates will receive a master of social work degree from UNC-CH and a master of divinity degree from Duke in four years -- something that would normally take five years. Transportation between the campuses will be provided by an existing shuttle for Robertson Scholars. Students will work in hospices, crisis response centers, urban ministries, prisons or other agencies to learn about both fields. L. Gregory Jones, dean of Duke's Divinity School, said the program would provide graduates with a more "holistic vision" and make them attractive to employers in tight economic times.
(This article was not available online.)

The gender game
The News & Observer
In the 1940s, when men took the lead in the workplace and on the playing field, the Gallup Organization asked Americans what gender they would want if they could only have one child --most chose boys. ...Ronald Rindfuss, a sociology professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, said that contrary to the Gallup findings, the United States has not become like some Asian countries that historically have had a strong son preference. Most couples, he said, want balance -- a son and a daughter.

Those who knew Charlie `Choo Choo' Justice take a moment to reflect on his life, death
Asheville Citizen-Times
Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice rose slowly and gave his visitor a firm handshake and slap on the back.

Issues and Trends

The cost of both private and public college education rises again
National Associated Press
A new study by the College Board shows the average cost of tuition and fees at the nation's four-year colleges and universities is more than 40 percent higher now than it was ten years ago.
College Board release and information.

It's past time for fairness (Editorial)
The Wilmington Star News
It's a familiar story, and it doesn't get any happier: The University of North Carolina shortchanges its Wilmington campus. And not by a little. By an unconscionable amount.

Four for Town Council (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill News
When Chapel Hill voters cast ballots for Town Council in a couple of weeks, they'll be doing more than filling open seats on the town's governing board. They'll also be deciding the course of development of UNC's Horace Williams tract, the future of downtown revitalization and other key issues.

Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, please call Russell Campbell at News Services, (919) 962-2091, russell_campbell@unc.edu, or Mike McFarland in University Communications, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu

Note: Web links on this page are time-sensitive, so stories might not be available after the day they first appeared.