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Oct. 4, 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
Imagine that, children actually walking to school
The Chicago Tribune
... International Walk to School Day grew out of efforts that began in England in the mid-1990s, with five primary schools in Hertfordshire leading the way. ... For some, it's about promoting physical activity; others want to encourage safety or reduce traffic congestion," said Nancy Pullen-Seufert, the U.S. coordinator. She estimated 5,000 schools across the country participate. "It's really grown," said Pullen-Seufert, who works for the National Center for Safe Routes to School at the University of North Carolina.
Yankees, rebels call truce
The Associated Press (National)
In an unlikely marriage of desire to secede from the United States, two advocacy groups from opposite political traditions — New England and the South — are sitting down to talk. ... Harry Watson, director of the Center for the Study of the American South and a history professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said it was a surprise to see The Middlebury Institute conferring with the League of the South, "an organization that's associated with a cause that many of us associate with the preservation of slavery."
Entrepreneurship: Making money on the obese
Fast Company Magazine
But the recent study quoted above takes a reward approach, and opens the doors for a number of potentially profitable (and ethically questionable) mechanisms for altering human behavior. In the study, which was conducted at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, participants were allowed to form "teams" to support each other in their weight-loss attempts, and were paid a pro-rated amount depending on how much weight they lost.
Regional Coverage
Iraq's toll on state is worst since 2005
The Orlando Sentinel
The past three months in Iraq have been the deadliest stretch for Florida's fighting men and women since 2005. From July through September, 15 service members who called Florida home were killed in Iraq - including six last month. ... Richard Kohn, professor of history and peace, war and defense at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explained that the "tempo of operations, how aggressively Americans are pursuing the enemy and the current state of the enemy and their operational goals" could influence casualty rates.
State looking for input in autism plan
The Rutland Herald (Vermont)
Jamie Pemrick of Rutland moved to Vermont almost a decade ago with her son, who was diagnosed with autism, in search of quality of life. ... The act was signed into law in May. Pemrick moved from North Carolina, where her son, now 13, was tested and diagnosed through the University of North Carolina's Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-handicapped Children or TEACCH program. She gave credit to the college program, which helped her with accuracy and early intervention.
Is your diet fizzling?
The Monitor (Rio Grande Valley, Texas)
It goes by many names — soda, pop or plain old Coke. But, some nutrition experts have just one label for the carbonated beverages of which an average American drinks more of a gallon a week: unhealthy. They paint the fizzy, sweet liquid as the leading culprit in the nation's obesity epidemic. ... A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study shows that from 1977 to 2001 Americans nearly tripled the amount of calories they ingest each day from soft drinks, to 144 calories a day.
Local theatrical legend Leon Katz returns to discuss his controversial project revolving around a century-old notebook of Gertrude Stein's
The Pittsburgh City Paper
A leading figure from Pittsburgh's theatrical past returns for the first time in a quarter-century, playing another lifelong role: keeper, and lone qualified interpreter, of likely the most intriguing remaining piece of the legacy of Gertrude Stein. From 1968-1981, Leon Katz taught theater at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh... At the University of North Carolina, where he's teaching, he's given notice that he will retire at the end of the school year. His priority, he says, is finishing the book.
State & Local Coverage
Chancellor search panel to meet next week
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A committee to search for a new chancellor at UNC-Chapel Hill has set its first meeting for next week. The committee will receive its charge from UNC System President Erskine Bowles at an organizational meeting at 3 p.m . Friday, Oct. 12, in Chapel Hill. A second meeting has been set for Oct. 16. Public forums are planned for Oct. 26 and Oct. 30.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct07/searchadd100307.htmlChancellor search committee expands
The Daily Tar Heel
Two new members have been added to the chancellor search committee, bringing the total number of members to 21, officials announced Wednesday. The committee is the second-largest chancellor search committee of the three most recent searches. But it only has two students and no official representatives from the town of Chapel Hill. The new members are Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, chairman of the Department of Philosophy, and Dwight "Davy" Davidson, chairman of the General Alumni Association's Board of Directors.
Rockingham to be part of national health study
The News-Record (Greensboro)
Rockingham County will be one of 22 sites across the U.S. taking part in a National Institutes of Health study on what affects the health of children, government researchers announced today. At a planned 100,000 participants and a cost of $3.2 billion, researchers say it is the largest-ever research project of its kind.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct07/cpcnationalchildrensstudy100407.html11 N.C. Special Olympics athletes to compete in China
WRAL-TV (CBS; Raleigh/Durham)
Eleven athletes from across North Carolina have qualified to compete at the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China, officials said Wednesday. ... Special Olympics, the University of North Carolina and Fudan University in China also announced the launch of specialolympicslive.org, a student-led project that will make it possible for Internet users around the world to watch their favorite athletes compete at the games.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct07/cpcnationalchildrensstudy100407.htmlNever give up (Editorial)
The Daily Tar Heel
Given the Board of Trustees' penchant for excessively raising tuition year after year, it makes sense that we, as students, need all the help we can get in combating the drive to pick our pockets. That is why it is disheartening to see what appear to be signs of attrition coming from the tuition and fee task force. After aggressively seeking a reasonable tuition plan last year - $250 for residents, $500 for out-of-staters - only to see it ignored once again, the task force has changed its tune.
New clinic helps patients with bipolar disorder
WTVD-TV (ABC; Raleigh/Durham)
There's a new clinic in the Triangle helping patients with bipolar disorder. More than five million Americans have the mood disorder. ... In the Triangle, UNC Hospitals has just opened the UNC Bipolar Center - completely dedicated to researching and treating the mental illness. "In all likelihood, we probably work with somebody who has it or have somebody with bipolar disorder in our families or have a friend just as a function of how common it is," Dr. Jair Soares, director UNC Bipolar Center, said.
Clinics care for kids' dental needs
WRAL-TV (CBS; Raleigh/Durham)
Why do some children not get the dental care they need? The answer involves money, no insurance and dentists who limit their number of patients on Medicaid. ... Now the Southern Pines clinic has more space with six operatories, two dentists and help from other local dentists and students from the UNC dental school.
UNC Advisory: http://www.unc.edu/news/media/2007/firsthealthadvisory082907.htmlThe Bible -- errors made by scribes
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Ross Baker brought her copy of Bart Ehrman's "Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why" to the UNC Chapel Hill professor's talk Tuesday night in Durham. Ehrman, a UNC religious studies faculty member since 1988, is a religious scholar whose work has been discussed around the world. His lecture and question-and-answer session at Healthy Start Academy was a fundraiser for Urban Ministries of Durham.
Reading coincides with dedication
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
As part of a week of special events planned for the dedication of UNC Chapel Hill's new FedEx Global Education Center, James Peacock will read from his book, "Grounded Globalism," at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Peacock is Kenan Professor of Anthropology at UNC. In 1995 Peacock was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2002 the American Anthropological Association awarded him the prestigious Franz Boas Award for Exemplary Service to Anthropology.
Issues & Trends
UNC leaders ask public for advice
News 14 Carolina-TV (Raleigh/Durham)
Officials with the University of North Carolina system are asking the public for ideas to enhance and improve the universities. They are traveling around the state for 11 forums called the UNC Tomorrow Commission, and on Wednesday, system president Erskine Bowles and the board of governors made a stop in Charlotte.
Liquidia gets $2M award
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Liquidia Technologies, a nanotechnology company in Research Triangle Park, announced Tuesday it had received a $2 million award from the National Institute of Standards and Technology of the U.S. Commerce Department, to support its development of cost-effective patterned thin film solar cells. The technology is based on the company's breakthrough PRINT platform for precision nano-molding. Liquidia was founded in 2004 as a spin-off of UNC Chapel Hill.
Warren Wilson featured in Kiwi magazine
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)
Warren Wilson College is among 50 colleges and universities nationwide cited in Kiwi magazine's first "Green College Report" for having "eco-friendly campuses and programs."... Warren Wilson, Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill are the only schools in North Carolina to be featured in the report, which also includes information on tuition, enrollment and campus setting.
Campus Notebook
The News & Record (Greensboro)
The UNC Tomorrow Commission is working to determine how the UNC system's 16 universities can meet the needs of the state during the next 20 years — and they want to hear from you. The commission will hold a community listening forum from 4-7 p.m. Monday at the north campus of the Gateway University Research Park in the gymnasium. The research park is at 5900 Summit Ave. in Browns Summit.
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.
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