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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

Scientists study coral reef changes
The Daily Times (Pakistan)
A nine-day mission that began in the world’s only permanent working undersea laboratory is like living in a fishbowl in more ways than one: Anyone with an Internet connection can watch the researchers work and hang out 60 feet below the surface. ... This is the first time that live classes will be conducted from Aquarius Reef Base. A school in Florida and another in Michigan are getting direct interactive feeds, as are the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and UNC’s Institute of Marine Science in Morehead City.
UNC Media Advisory: http://www.unc.edu/news/media/2007/aquarius091207.html

Presenting the A To Z of MBA budgeting basics
The Economic Times (India)
... If you’ve done your homework, you’ve calculated the big ticket items such as tuition. But you should also sweat the small stuff, which can add up. Jerel Harvey, a second-year student at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, was taken aback when he discovered that campus parking fees would cost him about $400 annually. Add that to the student activities fees and costs for travelling to conferences and job interviews, and Harvey says students can easily break the bank.

National Coverage

A Jet Who Led With His Head, and His Heart
The New York Times
Yesterday was a good day for Wayne Chrebet. In fact, it was a great day. ... According to a study by the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes at the University of North Carolina, players sustaining three or more on-field concussions were three times more likely to experience depression in retirement than other retired N.F.L. players. Chrebet sustained at least six. Yesterday, he talked about the limitations imposed by the concussions: he cannot engage in any activity that forces blood to rush to his head, and cannot do certain workouts or work out in a certain way.

Bottled elixirs vs. tap . Enhanced water is making the beverage industry healthier, but the prognosis is murky for the rest of us
The Chicago Tribune
... "There's not a single drink out there -- from Enviga to SmartWater -- that has any proof of impact," said nutrition professor Barry Popkin, who directs the Interdisciplinary Center for Obesity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "Just because [a nutrient] is in the product doesn't necessarily mean it will impact you or get in your body. There are all sorts of false labels promising health benefits.

A Standard Handshake for the Use of Electronic Materials
The Chronicle of Higher Education
... Many librarians see the process of negotiating contracts for online journals and other electronic resources as far too cumbersome and time-consuming. "Part of the problem is that libraries often negotiate different license agreements with each entity that provides them electronic content," says Deborah R. Gerhardt, copyright and scholarly-communications director of libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Regional Coverage

Human toll from hockey concussions immeasurable
The Orange County Register (California)
... A 2005 University of North Carolina study indicated that 17.6 percent of retired NFL players who had at least one concussion during their careers suffered from permanent memory or thinking impairment. Those players with three or more concussions were five times as likely to suffer permanent cognitive impairment. The study also found that the former players had a higher rate of Alzheimer's than U.S. males of the same age. A study of NHL players would probably show similar results, said the doctor who conducted the NFL study. "I would expect those numbers for NHL players to be much the same," Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz said.
Related Link: http://www.ocregister.com/sports/nhl-players-concussions-1850188-league-head

Obesity goes global -- blame prosperity, bad habits, fast food
The Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
... "It's a very different world than it was a while back," said Dr. Barry Popkin, director of the University of North Carolina's Interdisciplinary Obesity Center. "The bulk of the world is fat." Even the Mediterranean diet isn't stopping Europeans' expanding waistlines. In Italy, 42 percent of adults are overweight and 9 percent are obese, according to the World Health Organization. In France, 41 percent of adults are overweight; 11 percent obese.

Group eases the road to citizenship
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette (Little Rock)
... Researchers at the Urban Institute in Washington and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill evaluated the economic impact of aliens in Arkansas and explored family, education and demographic issues in the community. The study’s findings, revealed in April, showed the state spent $ 237 million on such things as health care, education and corrections for immigrants, regardless of their legal status. Immigrants paid $ 25

While more seniors work in U.S., fewer past 65 punch clocks in Mich.
The Lansing State Journal (Michigan)
... "Some people keep working because they want to," said Victor Marshall, director of the University of North Carolina's Institute on Aging. "A large percentage of those working are because they have to. You have had more of a unionized work force in Michigan than nationwide. There are more people who have actually been financially able to retire."

State & Local Coverage

Helping college dreams come true (Commentary)
The Chapel Hill Herald
Access to college access has become a major issue for our nation's students. The National Center for Educational Statistics found that the average ratio of students to guidance counselors nationally is 488 to 1. Research shows that low-income and first-generation students are particularly underserved during the college application process. ... This fall, more low-income, high-achieving students than ever before are overcoming these access issues and making college possible, with the help of two UNC programs -- the Carolina Covenant and the Carolina College Advising Corps. ...James Moeser is chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

UNC Chancellor gets firsthand look at IMS
The Carteret County News-Times (Morehead City)
UNC Chancellor James Moeser visited the school’s Institute of Marine Sciences Wednesday to see firsthand what students experience by joining in a class field trip in the Newport River. “They’re learning at a level they’d never get just from books,” the UNC chancellor said about the students. “It (the hands-on projects at IMS) is an incredible learning opportunity.” Chancellor Moeser said UNC is proud of the institute.
Note: This story is not available online.

UNC Chancellor Tells of Outreach
The Pilot (Southern Pines)
Chancellor James Moeser of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill hopes to change what he calls UNC's "ivory tower" image. As part of an outreach program called Carolina Connects, Moeser came to Moore County recently to visit the Dental Care Center that FirstHealth of the Carolinas operates in Southern Pines. UNC has worked closely with FirstHealth on the clinic since 1999, supplying a number of pediatric dental residents and 20 dental students for rotations.
Related Link: http://www.unc.edu/news/media/2007/firsthealthadvisory082907.html

Innovation Center crucial first step for Carolina North (Commentary)
The Chapel Hill News
When UNC planners first envisioned the mixed-use academic and research campus known as Carolina North, they saw an opportunity to plan for academic innovation in a sustainable way. Staff and consultants have worked diligently to create plans for a 250-acre campus that encourage the use of public transportation, make the most sustainable energy choices, and support the university's needs for the next 50 years. ...Jack Evans is a professor at and former dean of Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Carolina North meeting on Oct. 4
The Chapel Hill News
UNC invites local residents, faculty, staff and students to participate in a community meeting about Carolina North on Thursday, Oct. 4.This meeting will follow the presentation of a revised Carolina North plan to the university's Board of Trustees for action on Sept. 26.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep07/cnorth092007.html

Airport service could continue
The Chapel Hill Hearld
The closing of Horace Williams Airport may not mean the end of air travel emanating from Orange County. Referring to the planned move of the Area Health Education Centers Medical Air Operations flights to Raleigh-Durham International Airport as "an intermediate solution," UNC Chancellor James Moeser said during a meeting with the editorial board of The Herald-Sun that "we're beginning to have conversations about an Orange County General Aviation Authority."

They'll do solid research on liquids
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A group of researchers is making waves at UNC-Chapel Hill. At least, they will be soon. A giant, 136-foot-long wave tank is coming to the cavernous basement of Chapman Hall, which was dedicated in November. The wave tank, expected to be ready in December, will be the centerpiece of a greatly expanded fluid dynamics lab at UNC-CH.

Tip of the week
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
... For 24 hours, from sunup Saturday to sunup Sunday, local families are invited to join scientists and natural historians to inventory animal and plant life at Mason Farm Biological Reserve, part of the N.C. Botanical Garden at UNC-Chapel Hill. BioBlitz, as the event is called, will allow researchers to assess the biodiversity of the reserve. It's a joint project of the Botanical Garden and UNC's Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, and it's free.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep07/bioblitz091307.html

UNC given $4 million for real-estate program
Triangle Business Journal
A $4 million grant will help expand the real-estate program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's business school. Leonard Wood, former principal at Trammell Crow Residential, has committed the money for the project, which will be put toward the university's MBA program in real estate and its Center for Real Estate Development.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep07/woodgift092107.html

Officials at Duke, UNC vow abroad programs are clean
Triangle Business Journal
... Bob Miles, director of study abroad at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says his office also thoroughly reviews programs and providers before students are allowed to get university credit. And, like at Duke, faculty and administrators have final say over approval, not the study abroad office. After a program is approved, Miles says, study abroad officers will make site visits that are sometimes partially paid for by providers, but that does not influence decisions made by UNC.

Center stage: What can the Triad learn from other 'aerotropolis' markets?
The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area
... John Kasarda, the management professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School who coined the "aerotropolis," or airport city, moniker, defines it as an area extending as much as 20 miles from an airport. In that area, aviation-intensive businesses create a transportation and logistics hotspot as businesses seek to compete in a global marketplace.

N.C. suffering shortage of pharmacists
The News-Record (Greensboro)
North Carolina has one of the nation's worst shortages of pharmacists, a professional trade group says. ... "North Carolina has consistently been in the top five in the last four years since I've been here," said Robert A. Blouin, dean of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy. And it doesn't matter whether you're looking at independent community pharmacies, chain-store pharmacies, teaching jobs or research jobs, Blouin said: "I think it has been pretty much across the board."

Healing brains with energy
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
... "It buys that portion of the brain that's not getting blood enough time for the body to break down the clot," said Dr. David Huang, a UNC Hospitals neurologist who is helping test the treatment. "It may buy the brain time to heal itself." ... The device, called NeuroThera, is now being tested at UNC-CH, Duke University Medical Center and three other North Carolina hospitals as part of a national study paid for by its maker, a San Diego company called PhotoThera.
Related Link: http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-883591.cfm?

Did you drink your vitamins?
The Fayetteville Observer
... Dr. John Anderson, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says there has been some question over the years aout how worthwhile supplements are in general. How much of a certain vitamin your body needs, he says, depends on a number of factors, including genetics. “It’s a very complicated issue,” he says. “No one has a good handle on the supplements.”

Myths, facts about N.C. Hispanics
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
... Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill, who released a study in 2006 on the economic impact of Hispanics, estimated that at least 55 percent to 60 percent of illegal immigrants pay income taxes. ... According to the UNC-CH study, Hispanics, about half of whom were in the country illegally, paid about $756 million in state and local taxes in 2004.

Center improves driver safety
The Chapel Hill Herald
For teenagers, getting their driver's license is one of the most exciting events of their young lives. For parents, it's one of the scariest. But researchers at UNC's Highway Safety Research Center in Chapel Hill are trying to make that experience safer and easier for all parties involved. The Center for the Study of Young Drivers was established in the HSRC in 2005 to study and improve safety for teenagers getting behind the wheel. Results so far have been revealing and have affected policy outcomes across the country.

'Romeo and Juliet' moves along quickly
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
PlayMakers Repertory Company's "Romeo and Juliet," opening next week, will be a rush of star-crossed love. New scenes will begin as old scenes are ending. The heart of William Shakespeare's Elizabethan play will beat fast.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep07/romeoandjuliet090607.html

Corralling workers for big shindigs
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
... Many businesses don't infuse gatherings with lasting benefits to the organization, said Arvind Malhotra, a provessor at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School who studies virtual teams. When getting people together, companies should focus on ways to spread knowledge that improves products and operations, he said. "You're spending a lot of money to get together face to face," he said. "It has to go beyond the social trust." And it's often better to focus on building relationships among small teams -- "the real DNA of organizations," he said -- rather than hosting company-wide events. Kingsdown used its time with employees for more than fun and partying. Those who work in international offices, for instance, spent a week at the company's headquarters for training.

Issues & Trends

Downtown art scene said not filled enough
The Chapel Hill Herald
A map and participant roster from the most recent 2nd Friday ArtWalk illustrates a striking void in the Orange County visual arts landscape. Out of 16 stops on or near a length of Franklin and Main streets stretching from University Mall through downtown Carrboro, only one -- UNC's Ackland Art Museum -- is in downtown Chapel Hill. That's not enough, says UNC art history professor and former Chapel Hill Town Councilwoman Dorothy Verkerk, who has made a suggestion to town leaders that would bolster the town art scene and faculty at the same time.

Double standard in UNC pay raises (Commentary)
The Chapel Hill News
The justification that UNC system President Erskine Bowles gives for the exorbitant and inequitable increases he routinely grants to his chancellors ("Do things for all the right reasons," Sept. 16) is to make them "competitive." But it is an open secret that faculty members in the arts and sciences world at least -- even highly regarded academic superstars -- must find open positions at other universities, formally apply for these positions (which involves campus visits, a round of interviews, and "job talks"), and bring back competitive written offers that demonstrate their market value in order to secure faintly comparable increases.