uncnews.unc.edu

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

National Coverage

All the President's Profs
Inside Higher Ed
...Virginia has faced budget cuts, like most institutions, but the fact that the university is less dependent upon the state than many other public colleges has proven something of an advantage. Only about 10 percent of the university's $1.4 billion budget -- excluding the medical center -- comes from taxpayer dollars, so the university's fate is not so intimately tied to the state's own financial struggles. ...Virginia has enough liquid assets to sustain operations for about 213 days, more than all but two of eight selected institutions. By contrast, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had about 85 days of cash on hand, according to the slide.

State and Local Coverage

1.5 million more call North Carolina home
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
North Carolina was one of the fastest-growing states over the last decade, but it wasn't enough to earn the state another seat in Congress. U.S. Census numbers released Tuesday showed that the state fell 15,700 people short of getting a 14th seat in the 435-seat U.S. House of Representatives. ..."It clearly puts North Carolina among the megastates of America," said Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program on Public Life at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Dismissed ROTC member says she's happy, changed
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
When President Obama signs legislation this morning repealing the military's ban on openly gay service members, Sara Isaacson will get her old life back. Thing is, she doesn't want it. Instead, the once-and-future UNC-Chapel Hill student has a new calling - her longtime desire to be an Army doctor has been trumped by a new thirst for activism.
Related Link:
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/with-dont-ask-repealed-a-
second-chance-for-one-unc-student

Roses & raspberries (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill News
Roses to Patti Thorp and everyone else who helped make the 23rd Annual Holiday Auction to benefit the Orange County Rape Crisis Center a success. The event, presented by Sports Endeavors, was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Chapel Hill on Dec. 5 and featured live entertainment by the jazz and blues band Equinox. Thorp, whose husband Holden is the keyboard player for Equinox - and, oh yes, the chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - volunteered to host the auction.

Morehead offers extended holiday hours, special deal (Blog)
WRAL.com
If you're looking for something to do over winter break, Morehead Planetarium and Science Center will be open for extended holiday overs over the next couple of weeks. The planetarium at UNC-Chapel Hill, which is presenting its popular "Star of Bethlehem" show, will be operating under its Saturday daytime schedule through Thursday and Dec. 27 to Dec. 31. Morehead is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

O, last little star of Bethlehem
The Chapel Hill News
...The Zeiss projector that sits in the middle of the Star Theater will be retired this summer. "It's provided many years of service to Morehead," said director Todd Boyette. "It's a 41-year-old piece of equipment that was designed to work for only 25 years." Gone will be the mechanized silhouette that slowly rotates on its elevated platform during each presentation. In its place, the planetarium is adopting the new gold standard - fulldome video.

154 at UNC inducted into Phi Beta Kappa
The Chapel Hill Herald
Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most honored of all college honorary societies, recently inducted 154 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students as new members. Ninety-one are from North Carolina and 52 from outside the state. New members received certificates and Phi Beta Kappa keys, the organization's symbol.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4156/1/

Study: Community colleges educate far more than public universities (Blog)
The Triangle Business Journal
...Four-year public research institutions, like UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University, educated just 10.8 percent of all undergraduates nationally. Non-research public colleges, like UNC-Wilmington or UNC-Asheville, educated 18.1 percent of undergraduates. The disparity is notable locally because North Carolina provides nearly twice as much money to its four-year colleges than to its community colleges.

200 years of pottery
The Chapel Hill News
Along with distinctions such as the Wright Brothers and college basketball, North Carolina is known far and wide for its pottery. The Ackland Art Museum on the UNC campus showcases the state's long tradition of superb pottery in "Tradition in Clay: Two Centuries of Classic North Carolina Pots," opening Sunday.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4154/107/

When it comes to diet, Paris becomes the city of lighter (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Go to Paris to lose weight? C'est vrai. I visited the City of Lights - and good food - last week to teach with colleagues in the French national school of public health. I knew I would come home at least one pound lighter. That may come as a surprise if you love the fine cheeses, wine and desserts found everywhere in France, where days start with coffee and the chocolate pastry "pain au chocolat." (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the department of health policy and administration in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

Abducted By Drug Dealers? No, Just Drunk
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
A bizarre story on the Carrboro police blotter this month: a UNC student inadvertently got police involved when she sent her father a text message saying she’d been kidnapped. According to Carrboro police, the 21-year-old woman had ended up at UNC Hospitals early Wednesday morning after a night out drinking.

Issues and Trends

New UNC president makes 1st big hire
The Chapel Hill News
Thomas Ross doesn't officially become president of the UNC System until Jan. 1, but he's already made a big appointment to his administrative staff. On Tuesday, Ross named N.C. State Budget Director Charles E. Perusse as vice president for finance of the 17-campus University of North Carolina. The appointment is effective no later than March 1.
Related Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/12/22/875704/in-tough-times-perdue-loses-budget.html
http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2010/dec/21/2/perusse-leave-budget-job
-unc-administration-ar-635440/

Perdue orders deeper budget cuts
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Gov. Bev Perdue ordered further economies in state government Tuesday, telling state agencies to trim 2.5 percent from their budgets through a hiring freeze and a clamp down on raises, purchases and travel. The move is designed to save money during the next six months to soften the blow as the state faces a projected $3.7 billion shortfall for its fiscal year that begins July 1.
Related Link:
http://www.ncnn.com/content/view/6752/26/

SAS will add 100 jobs for government effort
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...About 30 percent of the lab's staff is made up of N.C. State University and UNC-Chapel Hill graduates, including 22 with master's degrees from the Institute of Advanced Analytics at N.C. State, which was co-founded by SAS. Roughly the same percentage of the new hires is expected to come from those universities.
Related Link:
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/business/sas-adding-100-workers-for-government-effort