uncnews.unc.edu

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

National Coverage

Sufis hoping for divine intervention in Sudan
CNN.com
Islamic hardliners frown at their offbeat, spontaneous ways, but in Sudan, Sufism runs deep. While they shun politics, the Sufis are well aware this country has reached a historic crossroads. ...Omid Safi, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, described Sufism as the most prominent mystical tradition in Islam.

Why Some Elite Colleges Give Away Courses Online
The Chronicle of Higher Education
...There are some signs of change, particularly coming out of highly selective public universities: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill [moving] their introductory Spanish course to online only, and then the project out of California to pilot a set of online courses that could be used to teach undergraduates throughout the UC system. Should experiments like those go well, that could really constitute a major vote of confidence in the medium of online teaching.

State and Local Coverage

Two NC flu deaths surprise experts
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
The flu is widespread in North Carolina and has caused two deaths this season, experts say. ..."Type A and B can cause serious disease. It's said in most years that B is milder, but this year, it doesn't appear to be so," said Dr. David Weber, an infectious disease expert with the University of North Carolina School of Public Health.

UNC Profs To Discuss The Ethics Of WikiLeaks
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
It’s a fascinating issue of global importance, and next week, two UNC journalism professors will engage in dialogue on the law and the ethics of WikiLeaks. Cathy Packer and Lois Boynton will be discussing WikiLeaks as part of the monthly “Lunch and Learn” program presented by the Parr Center for Ethics.

Harmed in the hospital (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
In 1999, the Institute of Medicine reported that medical errors in American hospitals cause up to 98,000 deaths and more than 1 million injuries each year. In response to the institute's report, hospitals in North Carolina and around the country announced initiatives to improve patient safety. (James Bryan, M.D., has taught and practiced internal medicine at UNC Medical School since 1964. Burton Craige is an attorney in Raleigh.)

UNC Health, Aetna can't agree on new contract
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
About 10,000 Triangle-area residents could be forced to seek new doctors of pay more for medical care next month because of a dispute between UNC Health Care and Aetna. ..."We take our responsibility to the people of North Carolina very seriously and very much regret that we have not been able to reach mutually acceptable terms with Aetna," the statement said. "We stand ready to help our patients however we can and will make every effort to enable care continuity with Aetna's patients."

Issues and Trends

NCSU's pre-op (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Randy Woodson, a veteran professor and administrator and now chancellor at N.C. State University, knows better than most that changing "the academy" makes turning a battleship look like taking a Ferrari around a hairpin curve. Universities with more than 34,000 students, like NCSU, are organizational behemoths divided into a multitude of departments, divisions and schools, all of them supervised by layers of officialdom.

Salary cuts could save jobs (Editorial)
The Winston-Salem Journal
When it gets down to the bottom line, closing the state's projected $3.7 billion shortfall for fiscal year 2011-12 will involve cuts to state spending on salaries. Politicians and pundits can talk about increasing class sizes, privatizing information-technology services or eliminating administration, but that just means firing people.

Viamet taps former FDA official
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Viamet Pharmaceuticals, a small Morrisville drug development company, has tapped Andrew von Eschenbach, a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner for its board of directors. ...Viamet was co-founded in 2005 by UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp, who was at the time a biochemist at the university. Thorp is no longer involved in the company's operations.