Carolina Connects - Public Service and Engagement at Carolina

Tar Heel Bus Tour 2008

For the 11th year, new Carolina faculty members took the Tar Heel Bus Tour the week after Commencement to find out more about the state of North Carolina and how the University is connected to its residents, from the coast to the mountains and in places in between.

Lynn Blanchard, director of the Carolina Center for Public Service, called in to WCHL-1360 each morning to report on that day's stops. Click on the links below to hear her conversations with morning show host Ron Stutts:

Listen to the Interviews

Day 1 (Monday, May 12):

After leaving the Friday Center at 6:45 a.m., we made our first stop in Rocky Mount at Dudley’s Beauty Salon, where we saw how the Breaking Free! Project lets customers learn about breast cancer awareness and have a makeover at the same time. The project targets African American women in Nash and Edgecombe counties. About 25 women referred by the program’s stylists received mammograms in 2007.

Later that day, we visited the Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City, where we learned about the effects of humans on water quality from the institute’s scientists during a boat ride in the Pamlico Sound to Shackleford Banks. A project called FerryMon uses monitors placed on ferries to relay information about the development, pollution, sedimentation and pressures on the shellfish and fish industries.

Day 2 (Tuesday, May 13):

At Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, we felt like we were on the set of “Top Gun” as we viewed a display of the F-15E Strike Eagle, the base’s premier aircraft. In 2006, the base had an economic impact of almost $460 million on Wayne County.

Next we traveled to Carbonton Dam in Lee County, where we saw the site of the largest dam removal project to date in North Carolina. Martin Doyle, associate professor of geography, worked with Restoration Systems, LLC, a Raleigh-based company led by several Carolina graduates, to remove the dam and improve the ecology of the Deep River. As a result, a rare mussel and the Cape Fear shiner have re-established and grown in numbers, and the river’s water quality has improved.

In Kannapolis, we took a look at the newly constructed National Research Institute of the North Carolina Research Campus. In the 125,000-square-foot-building, researchers will study nutrition and more effective treatments for obesity, cancer and diabetes.

Day 3 (Wednesday, May 14):

Midway through the tour, we visited the Carole Hoefner Center, where leaders are trying to develop comprehensive strategies that move people in Charlotte from poverty to self-sufficiency. Pathways to Prosperity, a demonstration project coordinated by the UNC Center for Community Capital, targets approximately 500 households involved in the Charlotte Housing Authority's Family Self-Sufficiency program.

That afternoon, we learned how to create safer and more inviting walking conditions, especially for older adults, along a Walk Wise trail in Hendersonville. The first “Walk Wise, Drive Smart” route was opened in December 2007, with plans to create at least one designated senior-friendly route in each of six Hendersonville neighborhoods.

Day 4 (Thursday, May 15):

Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, we saw a glimpse of this national park that provides North Carolina with a variety of benefits, including tourism and the preservation of natural mountain beauty.

In Cherokee, we took a step back in history to the Trail of Tears. Carolina’s Research Laboratories of Archeology and Brett Riggs, adjunct professor of anthropology there, have worked to extend the National Historic Trail of Tears into the southwestern counties of North Carolina. Specifically, we visited the site of Qualla Town, where about 1,000 Cherokee hid to escape from being forced out of their hometown.

That afternoon in Fairview, we learned about the process of producing local, organic food at Spring House Meats at Hickory Nut Gap Farm, where owners Jamie and Amy Ager are active in the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Program.

Day 5 (Friday, May 16):

In Greensboro, we boarded the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center’s Destiny science bus at James B. Dudley High School. We watched students explore the connections between obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol with the “Weigh To Go!” curriculum model. At lunch, we learned about the Carolina College Advising Corps, which puts recent Carolina graduates in North Carolina high schools to encourage students to consider college.

Our last stop was Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, a year-round facility that offers 24 disease-specific weeklong sessions during the summer for campers ages 7 to 15. It combines the bright colors of an amusement park with the lure of NASCAR to provide a camp experience for children who might not be able to attend traditional camps. What an inspiring way to end such an amazing journey through North Carolina.

Blogs kept by 2008 Tar Heel Bus Tour participants:

• Blog kept by Anna Beeber, assistant professor in School of Nursing
• Blog kept by Ryan Thornburg, assistant professor in School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Media coverage of the 2008 Tar Heel Bus Tour:

• Tar Heel faculty bus visits Hendersonville [Hendersonville Times-News]

University publications about the 2008 Tar Heel Bus Tour:

• Bus tour introduces new Carolina faculty members to the state [News Services]
• Classroom on wheels ready to roll for 11th year [University Gazette]
• On the road again [University Gazette]