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Carolina in the News

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

International Coverage

Childhood obesity a growing problem
The Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka)
A new study has revealed one in eight school children has a cluster of risk factors that means they may develop heart disease and possibly diabetes at an age far younger than their parents or grandparents. ...In brief, it means the presence of a combination of risk factors that predispose people to developing Type-2 diabetes or coronary artery disease, said Joanne Harrell, PhD, professor of nursing and director of the Center for Research on Chronic Illness at the University of North Carolina.

National Coverage

How Harvard Foils Its Own Good Intentions
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Last week Harvard University announced what it described as a "sweeping middle-income initiative" involving a new series of financial-aid policies for undergraduates enrolling in Harvard College. ...Harvard's earlier initiatives were not the first of their type in the nation; that distinction probably goes to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which introduced its Carolina Covenant program, which allows low-income students to graduate debt-free, in 2003.

The Stay-at-Home Woman Travels Well
The New York Times
At a recent shrimp dinner here for Republican women, Ann Romney seemed less like a campaign spouse trawling for votes than like visiting nobility. ...“It’s like constant marriage counseling,” said Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp, a religion professor at the University of North Carolina.

In election, spirited debate
The Chicago Tribune
A presidential campaign focused on war, immigration and health care took a theological turn last week, raising questions more often debated in seminaries. ..."For Mormons there is no language to describe the experience they have in a temple,"said Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp, associate professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Regional Coverage

UNC students plan to transform former landfill
The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.)
Six students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill want to see a former dump turned into a tidy place of playing fields, nature trails and community garden plots - with room left over for a housing development that is both friendly to the environment and the wallet of the local worker.

The day-care debate: In spite of concerns, research on day care reassuring
The Battle Creek Enquirer (Mich.)
Worry has been an ongoing theme since baby-boom women surged into the labor market. ..."These are not the bullies teachers dread," said study co-author Margaret Burchinal of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Think about your drink
The News-Sun (Waukegan, Ill.)
Drinking fluids is an essential part of life, but have you taken into account the calories you are consuming from those beverages? Research conducted at the University of North Carolina showed that liquid calories account for about 20 percent of the caloric intake of people over 2 years old.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov07/popkinbev111907.html

State & Local Coverage

Less pomp in this circumstance
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The blue-robed graduates at the Smith Center on Sunday drew a smaller crowd than a typical basketball game. ...Students at UNC-CH said there are some benefits to graduating at a time when most people are thinking about cookies and Christmas shopping.
Related Links:
http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-907964.cfm
http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=5367
http://news14.com/content/headlines/590774/graduation-
day-for-many-nc-schools/Default.aspx

Looking for the next chancellor (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
The six-page "invitation for applications and nominations for the position of chancellor" of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a fascinating document. It tells us not just what the university wants in an administrator to replace the retiring James Moeser, but what it thinks of itself and what it thinks it wants to be.

He aims to make culture as big as sports at UNC
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Lots of tiny red and green words are circled on a drawing board and connected by arrows. It looks like the diagram of a basketball play or a frenetic road map to faraway treasures. Both interpretations are apt, because the board in Emil Kang's office illustrates how the executive director for the arts at UNC-Chapel Hill is in nonstop pursuit of the day when culture is as big as sports on campus.

Wachovia donates $400K to UNC pharmacy program
The Triangle Business Journal
The Wachovia Foundation has donated $400,000 to support the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill/Elizabeth City State University doctor of pharmacy partnership program. The money will cover training, recruitment and retention costs for prospective pharmacy applicants from northeastern North Carolina.

UNC technology officer named
The Chapel Hill Herald
Larry Conrad, associate vice president for technology integration and chief information officer at Florida State University, has been named the new vice chancellor for information technology and chief information officer at UNC. ..."Mr. Conrad's experience at the university, state and national levels is impressive," said Bernadette Gray-Little, executive vice chancellor and provost.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec07/conrad121407.html

Carolina Center presents grants
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
In projects ranging from representing victims of domestic violence to providing income tax filing assistance, UNC students this year continued a tradition of public service in North Carolina with the help of Seagraves Service Grants. The Carolina Center for Public Service recently presented the grants to eight student organizations to support public service projects addressing identifiable needs statewide.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec07/seagraves121207.html

Is it cancer? Faster, more precise tests ease stress
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Last fall, for one agonizing hour, Suzan Maddox was certain her breast cancer had spread to her lungs. ..."The vast majority of women who are called back with abnormal mammograms do not have cancer, but we are obligated to work them up and find out," said Dr. Etta Pisano, a UNC-Chapel Hill radiologist who has dedicated her career to improving breast imaging.

Construction rolls on in foreclosure zones
The Charlotte Observer
Builders continue hammering together new houses in Charlotte's high-foreclosure areas. ..."You'd think that building more of the same in an area experiencing a lot of problems is probably not wise," said Roberto Quercia, a UNC Chapel Hill professor of city and regional planning.

UNC commits $200M-plus to pursue 'must-have' grant
The Triangle Business Journal
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is pouring more than $200 million worth of resources into snagging what school officials are referring to as the "ultimate must-have grant." ...NIH will route future federal funds through the clinical and translational research centers, says Dr. William Roper, dean of the UNC School of Medicine and CEO of UNC Health Care. To capture future money, Roper says, UNC needs to land a CTSA.

UNC age-bias case ruling may be in Feb.
The Chapel Hill Herald
The case involving an age discrimination lawsuit filed by two dental technicians against UNC's School of Dentistry could be decided by late February. Judge Joe Webster of the Office of Administrative Hearings has given attorneys on both sides 30 days to present additional briefs, after which the judge has 45 days to make a decision.

The reality: State does what's right, explores duty to educate young immigrants
The Fayettville Observer
Fayetteville Technical Community College took a big step two years ago when it opened its doors to undocumented immigrants who meet academic requirements. ...They pay higher out-of-state tuition — $21,000 at UNC Chapel Hill, for example, compared with $5,340 for in-state students.

Disagrees with Moeser on illegals in colleges (Letter to the Editor)
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)
It has been said that some ideas are so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them. And it seems that Chancellor James Moeser is an example. (Jack Bahm, Flat Rock)

Issues & Trends

Easing the burden
The Star-News (Wilmington)
ACC rivalries notwithstanding, Duke University deserves credit for making it easier for students of modest means to attend the prestigious private school without taking on significant debt. ...The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C. State and UNCW have programs to help low-income students graduate debt free.

A devil of a deal
The News-Record (Greensboro)
Add Duke University to the list of institutions making higher education more affordable to qualified students. In the spirit of similar initiatives at Davidson, UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State, among others, Duke has announced a program that will allow students from households with annual incomes of $40,000 or less to graduate debt-free by replacing their loans with grants.

Higher ed tuition help is on the way
The Reporter News (Abilene, Texas)
...A large portion of enthusiasm results from the fact that Indiana University is among a group of major institutions taking steps to make higher education more affordable to lower and middle class families. ...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.

OWASA helping reclaim water
The Chapel Hill Herald
The OWASA Board of Directors has awarded nearly $7 million in contracts for construction of a reclaimed water system. ...The reclaimed water system will initially enable the use of water from OWASA's Mason Farm Wastewater Treatment Plant instead of drinking water at several chilled water plants on the south side of the UNC campus.

All win if UT grows into top research school
The Tennessean (Knoxville)
In Tennessee, we're faced with a tremendous growth opportunity that, if we seize it, could pay great dividends for our entire state. ...While UT-Knoxville is the leading public research university in Tennessee, it has the potential to become one of the top public research universities in the entire nation and take its place alongside such institutions as the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill and the University of Wisconsin–Madison.