Carolina Connects - Public Service and Engagement at Carolina

Public Service and Engagement News

In this section you will find news and information about Carolina faculty, staff, and students addressing issues that North Carolinians care about and helping to solve problems in communities across our state  - and beyond.

1. Thursday, May 29, 2008

   New federally funded health initiative to speed benefits of science to North Carolinians

   The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received a $61 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant that will help speed up how scientific discoveries directly benefit patients in communities across North Carolina.

   UNC is among 14 academic health centers in 11 states to join the ranks of the NIH’s Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium. By creating a network of medical research institutions across the nation, the consortium aims to reduce the time it takes for laboratory discoveries to become treatments for patients, engage communities in clinical research efforts, and help train the next generation of clinical and translational researchers. The consortium is led by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a part of the NIH.

   The five-year grant will partially fund efforts by the University’s new North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (TraCS) Institute to engage communities across North Carolina in a continuous cycle of knowledge, discovery and dissemination of new ideas for delivering health care. The TraCS Institute was created with an annual commitment of $3.5 million in state funding to UNC-Chapel Hill.

   “This institute will transform the way research is performed in our state,” said Dr. William L. Roper, dean of the School of Medicine, vice chancellor for medical affairs and chief executive officer of UNC Health Care. “The initiative will bridge science and clinical practice and speed up the movement of innovations from the laboratory bench to the bedside and the community.”

   This initiative is campuswide, drawing on the diverse expertise of doctors and clinicians, biomedical researchers, and a broad spectrum of experts from public health, the social sciences, information technology and other fields.

   An example of a project the grant will make possible is the establishment and operation of community research units, one of which is already successfully operating in Greensboro, N.C. Local physicians will be able to refer patients to these units, giving the patients access to new treatments and therapeutic programs, while also allowing researchers opportunities to better evaluate their effectiveness.

   Read more at uncnews.unc.edu.

2. May 5, 2008

   Three NC counties win weather stations through RENCI Competition

   Weather Web means better weather data, new curriculum in underserved counties

   CHAPEL HILL - Three counties in North Carolina will soon have detailed information about the weather patterns in their region and new classroom curricula that uses real-time weather station information as a result of the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) Weather Web competition. The winners are Yancey, Hyde and Alexander counties.

   Each county will acquire a research and operational grade weather station through the Weather Web project, which is aimed at enhancing weather-related K-12 education and improving the quantity and quality of weather data in underserved areas of the state.

   The winning proposals came from Alexander Central High School in Taylorsville in the west central part of the state; Ocracoke School on Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks; and from a collaboration of several schools in Yancey County in the Appalachian Mountains near the Tennessee border.

   Read more at http://www.renci.org/focusareas/eduoutreach/weatherweb.php

3. Early Registration Ends March 20

   Global South Conference

   The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will host its annual interdisciplinary conference on the globalization of the southern United States on April 13-14, 2008. This year's conference, “Beyond the Sunbelt: Southern Economic Development in a Global Context,” is the fourth in the Global American South series. The conference will bring together 200 academics, policy makers, and economic development practitioners from across the region and beyond. Merle Black (professor of politics at Emory University), Michael Crow (President of Arizona State University), and Martin Lancaster (President of the North Carolina Community College System) will deliver keynote lectures. Topics for plenary and breakout sessions include: trade with India and China, labor migration and demographic shifts, uneven effects of globalization across regions and sectors, environmental concerns and opportunities, technology and regional economic development, and education and retraining. There will also be a special focus on private and public partnerships with institutions of higher education to capitalize on opportunities and solve problems created by this profound change in the economic landscape.

   More information, including registration details, is available at http://gi.unc.edu/research/ngasc/

4. Jan. 18, 2008

   Former Law Dean Honored With Faculty Service Award

   Her commitment to making Carolina a better and fairer place has defined Judith W. Wegner's more than 25 years of service to the University as faculty leader and former dean of the School of Law. For her work in heightening the school's engagement with public service, Wegner was honored Friday evening with the General Alumni Association's Faculty Service Award.

   The award was established in 1990 and honors faculty members who have performed outstanding service to the University or the alumni association.

   Wegner served as dean of the School of Law from 1989 to 1999, after working as a teacher and legal scholar and an as associate dean for the University. She was the first former dean in more than 40 years to be elected faculty chair, taking over the position in 2003. She has taught and written on the subjects of land use, property law, state and local government law and the rights of disabled persons and has worked on myriad committees.

   Read more at: http://alumni.unc.edu/article.aspx?sid=5632

5. Feb. 11, 2008

   School of Dentistry Faculty, Residents Give Free Dental Care to Durham, Greensboro Children

   On Feb. 1, faculty members and residents from the UNC School of Dentistry’s department of pediatric dentistry provided free screenings, preventive care and restorative treatments to children in Durham and Greensboro. This initiative was part of the “Give Kids a Smile” national children’s dental access day.

   UNC pediatric dentistry residents Drs. Jonelle Grant, Liz Prada, Liz Miller, Julie Molina and Jossein Shahangian provided care to 13 children at the Durham County Health Department. Dr. Michael Day, dental director for the Durham County Health Department and an adjunct faculty member at the School of Dentistry, coordinated the health department visit.

   Dr. Bill Vann, a pediatric dentist and UNC professor, joined Drs. Stephanie Blumenshine and Antonio Braithwaite, residents in pediatric dentistry, in providing care to nine children in Greensboro. The Greensboro event was for Gateway Education Center, which serves special needs students in Guilford County.

   The “Give Kids a Smile” event, founded by the American Dental Association, is held annually to provide free dental care to children from underserved communities and to raise awareness of the importance of access to dental care for children. The 2007 North Carolina Child Health Report Card reports that 19 percent of N.C. kindergartners have untreated tooth decay.