Home arrow Carolina in the News arrow Carolina in the News: Friday, March 18, 2011
Carolina in the News: Friday, March 18, 2011 E-mail
Friday, March 18, 2011


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

International Coverage

In the shadow of Chernobyl: Japanese nuclear crisis stokes fears
The Gazette (Canada)
..."The workers are in a situation now where from an occupational safety and health perspective, it's really serious. It's daunting," said David Richardson, a University of North Carolina professor who has studied cancer among survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Tax Holiday for $1 Trillion May Lure Profits Without Spurring U.S. Growth
Bloomberg News
...That’s roughly the same as in several large industrialized countries in Europe and lower than the effective rate reported by Japanese companies, according to recent research by Kevin S. Markle of Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and Douglas A. Shackelford of the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

National Coverage

Japan plant crisis hits close to home for U.S. nuclear workers
USA Today
...Few U.S. nuclear workers ever exceed more than 1 rem of exposure a year, says David Richardson, a professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina who has studied the long-term health risks for nuclear plant workers. Richardson estimates that U.S. nuclear workers, over an entire career, would rarely get more than 10 rem of exposure. He says the Japanese workers are likely being moved in and out of work areas "by the minute" to avoid acute exposure. "The workers are in a situation now … that is really daunting," Richardson says.

Why the Mizzou J-School Needs to Improve Its Twitter Feed
The Huffington Post
...The University of North Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications has a similar approach. It also retweets students and other UNC accounts on a regular basis. You can read tweets about upcoming events, view students' work and even find links to internship and job opportunities.

Regional Coverage

When Others Leave, The Fukushima 50 Stay Behind
The San Francisco Chronicle (California)
...Unfortunately, no degree of protective clothing is enough to guard these diligent individuals. Speaking to the BBC, David Richardson (a professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina who has studied the long-term health risks for nuclear plant employees) said that the workers at Fukushima could receive as much radiation in one hour as United States nuclear workers will receive over an entire career.

State and Local

Burning Green
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
This week, something different is happening at the university's cogeneration facility on Cameron Avenue. Instead of only burning coal, UNC has added dried wood pellets to the mix to test the feasibility of co-firing with biomass as the university moves toward its goal to become coal-free by 2020.

Future fortune, present plans (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
...And that is where the educational component comes in. Judith Cone, special assistant to the chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship at UNC, said her task is to help create initiatives that instill an entrepreneurial mind set into students. That is being accomplished by challenging them with a set of questions: What is the status quo? Do you like the status quo? What can be done? What will you do?

The Legacy of Paul Green
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
You may recognize the name Paul Green as that of the playwright who penned the long-running outdoor drama "The Lost Colony" or gave his name to the theater that houses the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Playmakers Repertory Company. ...As part of our North Carolina Literary Lights series, host Frank Stasio explores the legacy of Paul Green with Laurence Avery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor emeritus of English and author of "A Paul Green Reader" (UNC Press/1998); Marsha Warren, executive director of the Paul Green Foundation; and actors Serena Ebhardt and Steven Roten.

New face of health care
The Winston-Salem Journal
...John Sweeney, the director of the sports-communication program at UNC Chapel Hill, said that even a subtle name change can carry weight in the short term. "It's a chance to have 'news' in your advertising," Sweeney said.

UNC finds surprising jump in tongue cancer in young white women
The Triangle Business Journal
Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill have found increasing incidents of tongue cancer in young white females. The researchers have not nailed down a precise cause for the increase but speculate that increased marijuana use or viral infections could play a role, said Dr. Bhisham Chera.

Preschool programs may be merged
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison said More at Four's value is illustrated in the results of a study by the FPG Child Development Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill last year that said economically disadvantaged children enrolled in the program had higher scores on third-grade reading and math tests than similar students who were not enrolled in the state's preschool.

Freedom Riders, Shakespeare in 2011-12
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Two Shakespeare tales in rotating repertory and a historic work about the Freedom Riders from a local playwright are part of the upcoming main stage season of PlayMakers Repertory Company, announced Thursday. Performances are held in the Paul Green Theatre in the UNC Center for Dramatic Art. Local playwright Mike Wiley will direct the first professional production of his play "The Parchman Hour," about the Freedom Riders.

Issues and Trends

UNC president pledges to be open, candid
The Salisbury Post
As head of a university system with 50,000 employees and 220,000 students, Tom Ross says he can be sure about one thing every morning when he wakes up. ...President of the University of North Carolina system for 10 weeks now, Ross spoke Thursday at the statewide Sunshine Day Conference, held at the Salisbury Station.

The jump on cuts (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Some people will say that if organizational streamlining at N.C. State University makes so much sense, why did it take a budget crisis for officials to see the light? Better, though, to give the university credit for seizing opportunity amid financial hardship that could be crippling if not well managed. As Chancellor Randy Woodson points out, the default approach to budget-cutting is to shrink operations across the board. But NCSU instead wants to be strategic in deciding where and how to slim down.

Imam calls for interfaith bridge
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said the dream is still alive for the Cordoba House and Muslim community center proposed for New York City, near the site of Ground Zero. Rauf spoke at Duke Chapel Wednesday as part of a conversation with Duke Chapel Dean Sam Wells and moderated by Duke Muslim Chaplain Abdullah Antepli and Christy Lohr Sapp, associate dean of religious life at Duke. He also spoke at UNC Tuesday night.
Related Links:
http://www.ncnn.com/edit-news/6664-controversial-imam-speaks-at-unc
http://wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=17783

Questions Abound as the College-Rankings Race Goes Global
The Chronicle of Higher Education
It is amazing that more than two decades after U.S. News & World Report first published its special issue on "America's Best Colleges," and almost a decade since Shanghai Jiao Tong University first published the Academic Ranking of World Universities, rankings continue to dominate the attention of university leaders.