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Sept. 8, 2006
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:International Coverage
Many U.S. adults don't get enough choline
United Press International
The researchers found the average American consumes 314 milligrams of choline each day -- much less than the 425 milligrams recommended for women and 550 milligrams recommended by government health officials. Choline is a nutrient essential for human brain development, normal memory function and fertility and is thought to be particularly important during pregnancy, according to Dr. Steven H. Zeisel of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/oct05/choline101705.htmSchools find free veggies a hard sell
The Associated Press
In both fall and spring, researchers surveyed 725 students in grades 5, 8 and 10. They didn‘t ask the fifth-graders what they actually ate, because "history has shown that you can‘t trust them" at that age to be accurate, Wechsler explained...The results are not surprising, said Alice Ammerman, a nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health.
National Coverage
A Spiny Invader Proliferates in L.I. Waters, and Scientists Wonder About Its Impact
The New York Times
Long Island’s waters are being invaded by the exotic lionfish, an alien tropical species native to the Pacific Ocean that has vividly colored stripes and a freakish array of venomous spines...“That’s really the $2 million question: What are they eating and what are they competing with for habitat?” said Paula E. Whitfield, a biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is studying the phenomenon with Mr. Gardner and the University of North Carolina.
Note: This article is available through subscription only.Blacks face unique breast cancer threat (Editorial)
USA Today
Nearly 10 years ago, I got my first mammogram in a pink gown while an ABC cameraman shot footage. Because I was a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society, my exam was aired to encourage minority women to schedule regular mammograms...That study followed on the heels of an initial 2005 study by the same research team from the Lineberger center at the University of North Carolina. It first uncovered the existence of a basal-like tumor that can grow quickly and is associated with a higher mortality rate than other types of breast cancers.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun06/breastcancerjama060206.htmHow to Punish Rumsfeld (Opinion)
The Los Angeles Times
Very few cabinet secretaries have done what Donald Rumsfeld has done. He is both the youngest and oldest person to serve as secretary of Defense (having served previously in the job more than 30 years ago under President Ford), and, at least this time around, he has become one of the most despised Cabinet secretaries ever...Michael Gerhardt, a professor of law at the University of North Carolina Law School, is the author of "The Federal Impeachment Process: A Constitutional and Historical Analysis."
Teenage Alcoholism Can Have Lifelong Effects
HealthDay News
Becoming alcoholic as a teenager doesn't just spell a booze-soaked adolescence. It can also portend trouble for decades, apparently contributing to more severe levels of alcoholism and a reluctance to seek help, a new federal study found...Still, the study included a large number of people, and the question format that was used for the survey doesn't mean the results are invalid, said Dr. J.C. Garbutt, a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
State and Local Coverage
Pope Foundation grants $2.3M to UNC
Triangle Business Journal
The John William Pope Foundation on Thursday said it will donate more than $2.3 million to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to support its football program and to promote the university's Western culture studies program. The donation comes less than a month after the death of the foundation's namesake, John Pope Sr., a UNC alumnus.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep06/popegift090706.htmPope gift aids UNC football
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
After years of controversy over a proposed donation to the study of Western cultures, the John William Pope Foundation of Raleigh will give UNC-Chapel Hill $2.3 million, most of which will go to the football program. The university announced the gift Thursday. It includes $2 million for an investment fund that will generate $100,000 a year to supplement the salaries of assistant football coaches.
Donation helps UNC football's continuity
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The North Carolina football program received a big boost toward maintaining staff continuity Thursday, thanks to a donation from the John William Pope Foundation of Raleigh. The foundation donated $2.3 million to the university, with the football program getting $100,000 per year from a $2 million endowment to recruit and retain assistant coaches. John Pope Sr. died on Aug. 19, 2006, after a long illness, but he met with UNC coach John Bunting a few months before to tell the coach about his plans.
Note: This article is available through subscription only.A great address (Editorial)
The Daily Tar Heel
When Chancellor James Moeser delivered his State of the University address, some people counted the number of times he used the word "great" - 37 times, if you're wondering. Others marveled at the fact that he used a Charles Kuralt quote that did not include the words "well" or "bell". One person was so inspired by his hot-air balloon analogy that she drew a cartoon about it...As this page has argued before, the University must improve its not-so-great faculty salaries if it intends to fight off the other universities looking to steal our greatest professors.
Bowles gives UNC efforts high marks
The Daily Tar Heel
UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser received high praise Thursday for his efforts to raise graduation rates. At Thursday's meeting of the UNC-system Board of Governors, System President Erskine Bowles said Moeser's plans, outlined during his State of the University address Wednesday, are exactly the caliber of work he wants to see. "You saw James come out with some very, very specific goals for graduation and retention," Bowles said.UNC needs to remain affordable (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
During his recent annual state of the university address, UNC Chancellor James Moeser talked about going from "good to great" and the quest for excellence. Essential to that quest, the underpinning of a great university, he reiterated, was "to continue to strengthen support for faculty." "this is the key to everything," Moeser emphasized. "It all starts with the faculty."
Note: This article is available through subscription only.UNC to host national forum
The Daily Tar Heel
Movers and shakers in national education are set to engage in a massive brainstorming session at UNC. Starting Sunday, the University will host "The Politics of Inclusion: Higher Education at a Crossroads," a conference that aims to address the affordability and accessibility of American higher education.Carolina North panel agrees to meet twice a month
The Herald Sun (Durham)
The Carolina North committee pecked away at its collection of possible principles Thursday, but when it was done, member Cam Hill noted the group really hadn't gotten very far. Although the Chapel Hill councilman said only half-jokingly that he was reluctant to bring up the idea, Hill said perhaps the committee needs to meet more than once a month, and the group agreed to add a second session each month.GOP senators searching for campaign successor to Dole
Winston-Salem Journal
Senate Republicans are having a difficult time finding a successor for Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Her colleague, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., has often been mentioned as a potential candidate. But he has repeatedly said he is not interested, and he reiterated that position yesterday after his name resurfaced in several Capitol Hill publications. Ferrell Guillory, the director of the Program on Southern Politics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that it would be possible for party leaders to "figure out a way to make it work." But he couldn't recall any precedent for such an arrangement.
Note: This article is available through subscription only.
Building Block
The Winston-Salem Journal
David Lawrence, a professor of public law and government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Institute of Government, said that counties have the power to reject the use of TIF bonds. "The way the legislation is written, a county can refuse to approve a project located within a city, even if no county taxes will be involved in paying the bonds off. I don't think a county would do this, but it has the power to do so. If the county disapproves, the TIF bonds cannot be issued," Lawrence wrote in an e-mail.
Note: This article is available through subscription only.Medicare cut would hurt elderly
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Fewer doctors are likely to accept Medicare as a result of fee cuts planned next year, causing concern about access to health care for seniors, the nation's largest doctors group said Thursday..."The AMA has never met a payment cut that they like," said Jon Oberlander, associate professor of social medicine and health policy administration at UNC-Chapel Hill. "If they are going to play their political trump card, the best one they have is access [to care]."Driving like they were on a mission
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Anyone who asks UNC-Chapel Hill senior Brian Hollingsworth what he did this summer better have time to spare. The North Raleigh native and a buddy spent eight weeks traveling coast-to-coast in an adventure aimed at helping people. Logging 10,146 miles through 28 states, the pair met countless new friends, saw breathtaking scenery and worked four weeks of mission projects.
John White Edgerly (Obituary)
News & Observer (Raleigh)
John White Edgerly, 68, of Chapel Hill, passed away Tuesday after a long illness. He was born in North Conway, N.H. He received his doctorate from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1968. He directed the Counseling and Psychological Services program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill until his retirement in June.
Issues and Trends
UNC system seeks to improve rates
The News and Record (Greensboro)
The UNC system's track record for retaining students and graduating them within six years would warrant a flunking grade. Of the freshmen who entered the UNC system in 1999, only 34.9 percent graduated in four years and just 59.1 percent graduated in six years, according to data from the system. That data does not include transfer students, said Harold Martin, the system's senior vice president for academic affairs.A clarion call to action
Business Week
The newly inaugurated University of North Carolina (UNC) President, Erskine Bowles, most recently served as U.N. Deputy Special Envoy for Tsunami Relief during 2005. He describes the devastation he saw as he flew low over the Asian coastline as “a horror show that just wouldn’t end.”… In his UNC inaugural speech, Bowles reflected upon the impact of global competition on North Carolina’s economy.
Note: This article is available through subscription only.
UNC head proposes new tests
The Winston-Salem Journal
How do you know if you got your bang for the buck - or your student loans - at a North Carolina college? Erskine Bowles, the president of the University of North Carolina system, says he wants to be able to answer that question, or at least try to. He laid out a plan yesterday that he says will eventually create a series of benchmarks and targets to determine how well each of the state's 16 public-college campuses are doing.
Note: This article is available through subscription only.
Bowles seeks UNC leaders' opinions
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
NC President Erskine Bowles asked the university's leaders on Thursday to start thinking seriously about how they want to gauge his success as president, and the success of the 16 campuses in their missions. The question of success relates in large part to the push from Bowles to make both the general administration of the UNC system and the individual schools more efficient and effective. He told the UNC Board of Governors that he wants the ideas for measuring that success to come from that board, rather than starting with a proposal from his administration.
UNC System fails affordability test (Editorial)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
At a time when a college education is seen as a prerequisite for all but the lowest-paying of jobs, guaranteeing broad access to that education is our obligation to the next generation. That is why it is unsettling that a study released Wednesday faulted virtually every state, including North Carolina, for making post-high-school education too costly for too many potential students.
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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