uncnews.unc.edu

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

National Coverage

Best Values in Public Colleges 2011
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine
Despite shrinking budgets, these 100 schools -- led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill -- deliver a stellar education at an affordable price. … The takeaway for soon-to-matriculate students: Look for schools that deliver an outstanding, affordable education in good times and bad. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, ranked Kiplinger's number-one best value for public colleges and universities for a remarkable ten times running, is a prime example. Carolina's admission rate remains among the lowest on our annual list; its students are among the most competitive; and its in-state cost, at $17,000, is not much higher than the average price ($16,140) for all public universities. For students who qualify for need-based aid, the total price for this top-tier university drops to an average of $7,020.”
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4177/68/

PBS' 'Robert E. Lee' documentary draws a portrait of a complex man
The Los Angeles Times
PBS' 'Robert E. Lee' sidesteps the myths of the Confederate general created by his hero-worshipers, instead finding an ambitious, tormented man reluctant to go to war who went on to cause and sustain major casualties. Joseph Glatthaar, a history professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of "General Lee's Army: From Victory to Defeat," says military historians today, regardless of their politics, regard Lee very highly.
UNC Brief: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4174/73/
Related Link: http://hubpages.com/hub/Robert-E-Lee-American-Experience

Pop Star's Use of Salvia Puts Hallucinogen in the Spotlight
Newsday
After a video surfaced on the Internet last month of pop star Miley Cyrus -- giggling and semi-coherent, holding a bong -- many wondered what the 18-year-old singer had inhaled. ... Dr. Bryan Roth, a psychiatrist and a professor of pharmacology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, agreed that salvia might be a one-hit wonder for most who try it. "The experience is likely to be very intense and most people who are taking it are not psychologically prepared for this type of experience," he explained. "The typical college or high school student who's experimenting with this stuff will likely find it bewildering, disorienting and frightening."

State and Local Coverage

UNC again No. 1 on Kiplinger’s best value list; N.C. State 15th
Triangle Business Journal
UNC-Chapel Hill has once again been named the best value in public higher education by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. It is the 10th year in a row that the institution has held the title. “We’re so fortunate at Carolina because our students are terrific, and they come from almost every imaginable background,” says Chancellor Holden Thorp. “The top Kiplinger’s ranking resonates for us because it recognizes our passion for providing the highest-quality education possible to these students at an affordable price.”
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4177/68/
Related Links: http://www.wral.com/business/briefs/story/8876107/
http://www.techjournalsouth.com/2011/01/unc-chapel-hill-ranked-best-value-by-kiplingers-for-10th-straight-time/

Early detection could prevent diabetes
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...Pauline Lund and colleagues at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health have found that a diet of fatty foods works like fertilizer for certain populations of gut bacteria. Studies have shown that obese people have a different array of gut bacteria from lean people. To begin to understand what that might mean, Lund's lab has studied mice. The team found that high-fat meals cause mice to grow fat while some strains of bacteria flourish. At the same time, their immune systems launch low-grade attacks that can be detected even before they develop insulin resistance. That's when the body still produces insulin, but does not use it properly, making one more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

One sure thing: Cut weight, cut risk
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
As scientists explore the intricacies of type 2 diabetes, those who are diagnosed with the disease or its precursor are faced with new challenges about what they should eat. ... "Energy balance and weight management," said Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, a professor of nutrition and diabetes researcher at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. "I know it's boring, but it's true."

UNC Professor Featured in Civil War Documentary
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
A PBS documentary on Robert E. Lee features a UNC professor. Stephenson Distinguished Professor of History Joe Glatthaar appeared in Monday night's national broadcast of “American Experience: Robert E. Lee.”
UNC Brief: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4174/73/

‘Humbling’: O’Foghludha ascends to bench
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
To have grown up here, and now to command one of the most powerful voices in this city, a guy might be tempted to stick out his chest and boast at least a little bit. ... Last year, O'Foghludha was working as managing partner of the Pulley, Watson, King & Lischer law firm and into his 29th year practicing law when enough Durham voters gave him the nod in the November election. It was O'Foghludha's first time running for any elected office. He campaigned on having a broad range of legal experience -- something he'll need in his new line of work, according to James Drennan, who directs the judicial college at the UNC School of Government in Chapel Hill.

Siblings and disabilities (Editorial)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Scott Pion is a 26-year-old graduate student -- and the brother of two men with autism spectrum disorder. In interviews with Sonya Chudgar for The Chapel Hill Herald, Pion talked about the intense needs of his older brother, Matt, and the intense closeness and protectiveness he feels for his younger brother, Kevin, whose disability lands on the high-functioning end of autism spectrum disorder, and who is a freshman at UNC Chapel Hill.

Issues and Trends

State cuts, layoffs foretold
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The state's financial problems will require deep, rapid cuts in agencies and programs and will almost certainly mean lost jobs, top lawmakers told hundreds of business leaders at a forum in Durham on Monday. The Economic Forecast Forum, sponsored by the N.C. Chamber and N.C. Bankers Association, is an annual lunch focused on the state's economy in a new year. This year's version included a morning panel to discuss the grim state budget situation and projected deficit of $3.7 billion.

'It's going to be tough'
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Economist Mark Vitner and former UNC System President Erskine Bowles had some sobering news on Monday for those who were hoping the new year -- and new decade -- would lead to a way out of the economic doldrums. The days of the kind of economic expansion the state saw in previous decades are gone, Vitner said at the 9th Annual Economic Forecast Forum hosted by the N.C. Bankers Association and N.C. Chamber of Commerce.

Chatham cuts positions, bus route
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The newly configured Chatham County Board of Commissioners cut four county jobs and a Pittsboro-to-Chapel Hill bus line Monday, saving the county roughly $450,000 a year. ... The bus route between downtown Pittsboro and the UNC-Chapel Hill campus serves 35 to 40 riders each month and will end in June to give residents time to make other travel arrangements.

140 West Breaks Ground Wednesday Morning
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
The 140 West Franklin project is ready to break ground this week. On Wednesday, Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and other members of the Town of Chapel Hill will join 140 West partners and homeowners in an official ceremony to mark the beginning of construction the $55 million mixed-use community.