uncnews.unc.edu

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

National Coverage

Scholars and Sports
Inside Higher Ed
After a false start more than a year ago, the inaugural National Collegiate Athletic Association-sponsored scholarly colloquium opened Thursday with a medley of presentations from professors who addressed the dearth of academic research on college sports and the often tenuous relationship between academics and athletics. ...Added Jack Evans, executive director of Carolina North, a new research campus being planned at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: “Professors who like college sports aren’t as likely to want to see critical analysis. And the bottom line is people who would be the researchers have other opportunities that entail less risk and more reward.”

Regional Coverage

The relationship between quality and college cost (Editorial)
The State (Columbia, S.C.)
...High quality isn’t cheap, but Kiplinger’s annual “Best Values in Public Colleges” list seeks to identify those schools that are “noteworthy for their combination of top-flight academics and affordable costs.” ...That’s underlined by a trip across the border, where the University of North Carolina is once again ranked first, and the state’s other major university, N.C. State, ranked 13th.

State and Local Coverage

Helping Kenya heal itself (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
With Americans' eyes on the primary elections, it's easy to lose track of a presidential election a continent away. ...For the past seven years, dozens of UNC-Chapel Hill students, professors and alumni -- backed by hundreds of supporters across the United States and elsewhere -- have worked with Kenyans through a nonprofit called Carolina for Kibera. (Rye Barcott, a 2001 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, is founder and president of Carolina for Kibera. Joseph Nganga, a 2000 graduate of Queens University in Charlotte, is a member of the organization's Advisory Board.)

Genetic Medicine Building
Triangle Business Journal
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's genetic medicine research will be housed in one of the campus' largest buildings, with 330,000 square feet and a footprint covering nearly an acre. University officials say the building, which should be completed in the spring, already is serving as an important recruiting tool for top genetic research talent from around the country.

Fishermen and hunters support 29,000 N.C. jobs
The Lexington Dispatch
According to a report in "Hunting and Fishing: Bright Stars of the American Economy," by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, North Carolina's one million fishermen and hunters spend more than $1.7 billion a year on fishing and hunting. ...The 29,000 jobs supported by sportsmen is a larger quantity of jobs than is supported by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and Duke University Medical Center combined.

New year will bring progress, headaches to Kannapolis
The Independent Tribune (Concord)
Residents will see a lot of physical change in Kannapolis in 2008. ...Residents will also see new faces in downtown. With the Core Research Laboratory and the UNC and N.C. State lab buildings scheduled to open this summer, Legg said Kannapolis will see new people from all over the world.

Country Picks
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...On Monday, the Carolina Performing Arts series at UNC-Chapel Hill kicks off the new year with the season's most dynamic country/Americana show. The concert, featuring Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller, was added when Mary Chapin Carpenter canceled her 2007-2008 tour.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/arts/three-girls-and-their-buddy-to-replace-carpenter-at-unc.html

ACL Injuries = Surgery, Long Recovery
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
ACL injuries have ended seasons and careers of many athletes. When the ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is torn, it can mean surgery and a long recovery. ...“This ligament keeps the tibia, the shin bone, from coming forward and helps control rotation,” said Dr. Tim Taft, a UNC orthopaedic surgeon who is treating (Bobby) Frasor.

Fastest Man On No Legs Blazes New Trail
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
By the time you read this, a decision may be announced regarding the Olympic eligibility of South African runner Oscar Pistorius, billed as “the fastest man on no legs.” ...“If you can succeed, then how you succeed doesn’t matter, until you get caught,” said Jan Boxill, a Senior Lecturer and Associate Chair in philosophy and Director of the Parr Center for Ethics at the University of North Carolina.

Issues and Trends

Bowles pushes UNC board members to attend meeting
The Chapel Hill Herald
In the past, attendance among members of the UNC Board of Governors has been poor for joint meetings with the N.C. Community College System and state Board of Education. UNC President Erskine Bowles was blunt Thursday when he said that the annual meeting often has been "a waste of your time."

NC panel recommends gun permit changes for mentally ill
The Associated Press
Barring handgun sales to people who have been involuntarily committed to mental hospitals would help increase safety at college campuses in North Carolina, according to a report released Thursday by state Attorney General Roy Cooper. ...The task force, created two days after the Virginia Tech shootings, included law enforcement representatives, members of the public and leaders from the University of North Carolina System, which includes 16 campuses statewide, along with officials from private universities and community colleges.

Carefully Sorting Legal Chaos Out, With Duke Case as Unlikely Guide
The New York Times
After a night of heavy drinking just before Christmas break, three linemen on the North Carolina football team called 911 from an off-campus apartment.

Duke, NCSU among leaders in corporate research dollars
The Triangle Business Journal
Attracting research dollars is a big business at universities, and at least two Triangle schools are national leaders in doing so, according to the most recent National Science Foundation, or NSF, statistics. ...But the numbers can be misleading, as many schools, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, do not include money from clinical trials in their NSF reporting.