uncnews.unc.edu

Carolina in the News

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

International Coverage

Coral reef loss at unprecedented levels
The Telegraph (United Kingdom)
Pacific coral reefs are dying at an unprecedented rate, scientists have found. ...(John) Bruno, associate professor of marine ecology and conservation in the department of marine sciences in UNC-Chapel Hill's College of Arts and Sciences, said the findings would be important to policy makers and resource managers searching for ways to reverse coral loss.

National Coverage

Creating a Better Playground
The New York Times
If you want your child to be more active, try throwing him a ball. ...The findings are important because they show that schools and day care centers don’t need expensive playground equipment to keep kids active. The data were collected by researchers from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health from 20 child care centers across North Carolina.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec07/wardplayground121107.html

Students Take Over Donor-Advised Funds
The Chronicle of Higher Education
More colleges are offering students courses and programs in nonprofit management and fund raising, but few have the resources to give them real-world lessons in how to invest, and give out, charitable funds. ...Of the applicants from 35 institutions, five were chosen: Boston University, California State University at Fresno, Portland Community College, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Whitworth University.
News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec07/students4giving121307.html
Related Links:
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/12/14/
fidelity_program_encourages_good_will/
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071214/BUSINESS/
312140020/-1/news01
http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071213/REG/71213010
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/266856.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/print/friday/city_state/story/829791.html

SEC Gets Conflicting Advice On Accounting Standards
CNNMoney.com
The Securities and Exchange Commission got conflicting advice Thursday on whether to allow or possibly require U.S. companies to switch from U.S. to international accounting rules. ...U.S. and international accounting "stack up very well against each other," even though the U.S approach is rules-heavy and the international standards call for more use of judgment, said University of North Carolina accounting professor Mark Lang.

Growing evangelical movement finding new ways to proselytize
The Jewish Standard
An arctic blast has emptied the streets of the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn, yet inside the Living Springs Family Center, a storefront Pentecostal church with stamped-tin ceilings, the space heaters are cranked up. ...Israel has more than 100 Messianic congregations, says Yaakov Ariel, associate professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina and author of "Evangelizing the Chosen People."

'American Transcendentalism' by Philip F. Gura and 'The Tao of Emerson,' edited by Richard Grossman (Book Review)
The Los Angeles Times
ALMOST anyone who muddled their way through high school has heard of the Transcendentalists. ...Philip Gura, a professor of American literature and culture at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, sets out to change all that.

Business Schools Groom Foreign Students for Jobs
"All Things Considered" National Public Radio
With the advent of the global economy, you might think companies are doing more to recruit employees who can speak many languages. But at business schools across the United States, many recruiters have refused to interview foreigners, citing problems with their English or difficulties with their work visas. Some campuses are working to change that trend and improve prospects for these students. (This story featuring sound from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler School of Business originally aired on WUNC News on Dec. 12, 2007)

Regional Coverage

Tuition help is on the way
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Wash.)
...At the same time the school's athletic programs were back on track, the administration was announcing that the university had raised more than $650 million toward a goal of $1 billion to drop the costs of attendance for in-state moderate to low income students to practically zero. ...Princeton, Yale, Pomona College, the University of North Carolina and the University of Virginia began cutting costs and eliminating loan requirements for low-to-moderate-income students.

Early Christians
KUAR-FM (Little Rock, Ark.)
...Bart Ehrman chairs the religious studies department at the University of North Carolina. He talks with Steve Paulson about the complex set of beliefs that existed in the early days of Christianity and says it was several hundred years before a single version of the truth was negotiated.

Battle on payday lending scrutinized
The Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
Three new payday lending studies released in the past month spar over two key questions Virginia legislators will face when they convene in January: What happens to borrowers if payday lending is banned, and do proposed reforms of the industry help borrowers who get in over their heads? ...The Fed paper, based on statistics rather than interviews, was a stark contrast to a University of North Carolina study done for the state banking commission.

State & Local Coverage

Dirty Words
The Winston-Salem Journal
Politicians like to use dirty words. Not the four-letter kind that, when uttered near mother, would warrant a bar of soap in the mouth. No, they prefer politically loaded words that belittle an opponent’s proposals and end all discussion of the underlying issue. ...Jonathan Oberlander, a professor of health policy at UNC Chapel Hill, explained that the term itself has no meaning.

UNC well represented on best doctors' list
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
The latest compilation of the global Best Doctors list includes nearly 200 names from UNC Health Care. Hospitals Chief of Staff Dr. Brian Goldstein believes that large number is a sign of smooth day-to-day operation.

Carpenter cancels Feb. 15 concert scheduled at UNC
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Mary Chapin Carpenter, who was scheduled to perform at a sold-out concert on Feb. 15 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has canceled her 2007-2008 tour and will be unable to keep the date.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec07/girlsbuddy121207.html

Issues & Trends

Water conservation costing OWASA
The Chapel Hill Herald
Orange Water and Sewer Authority officials are hoping they won't have to raise water rates to make up revenues lost to water conservation, but with an uncertain future, there's no way to say for sure. ...If the drought continues, it may be necessary to buy water from other sources and run a water reclamation system to UNC Chapel Hill, Merklein said.