uncnews.unc.edu

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

National Coverage

Industry, GOP applaud smog rules delay
The Houston Chronicle
...Victor Flatt, a University of North Carolina professor of environmental law, said he believes the move may be illegal because the Clean Air Act requires a review of the ozone standards every five years to ensure that they adequately protect public health. The Bush-era rules failed to do so, requiring another review, he said. "Yes, there will be lawsuits, and yes, eventually, the environmental groups will win because the law is clear, but in the meantime, many more people will have their health harmed and will die," Flatt wrote in a blog for the Center for Progressive Reform.

Test-fraud detectives drawing scrutiny
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
...Testing expert Gregory Cizek said another drawback to Caveon’s secrecy is that its methods have not been subject to scrutiny by peers in professional journals or at conferences. Without such openness, no one knows the rate at which Caveon analyses miss real instances of cheating or wrongly identify innocent classrooms. “We don’t have good information on their method,” said Cizek, a professor at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, who has been urging the firm to be more open.

Regional Coverage

Carroll: The only thing we have to fear ...(Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Denver Post (Colorado)
Nearly 10 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, 25 percent of Americans are still blindly alarmed about the threat of Islamic terrorism. ...Writing in the August issue of Foreign Policy, Kurzman, a University of North Carolina professor and author of "The Missing Martyrs," says, "These organizations often claim to have waiting lists of volunteers eager to serve as martyrs, but if so they're not very long."

Barack Obama says U.S. never lost a major battle in Vietnam (Blog)
The St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
...Richard H. Kohn, a historian at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), added that the South Vietnamese Army lost battles even with the benefit of U.S. advisers and air power, such as Operation Lam Son 719, the incursion into Laos in 1971 that led to heavy casualties.

College rankings a useless exercise (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Academic hysteria begins in a few days when U.S. News, the former news magazine now a website dedicated almost solely to giving American college presidents heartburn, releases its new rankings for higher education. ...Whether that is true or not, schools sometimes inexplicably move forward or fall back in position on the list. The latter has happened to such venerated schools as the University of California Berkley, the University of North Carolina and the University of Virginia.

State and Local Coverage

Three UNC nurses reflect on experience helping 9/11 victims
News 14 Carolina
Ten years after the 9/11 attacks, three UNC nurses are reflecting on their contributions after the tragedy. A few weeks after 9/11, three UNC Burn Center nurses went to New York City as FEMA volunteers to help those injured. The trio stayed for about two weeks and nursed those burned in the attacks. The feeling of being at the World Trade Center weeks after 9/11 will never leave UNC Nurses Mary Kessler, Anita Fields or Ernest Grant.

To honor heroes, mourn victims and contemplate 9/11's lasting effects
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A decade has passed since the stunning terrorist attacks that will forever be known by the date on which they took place: Sept. 11. The 10th anniversary is a time for special reflection on the events that day and what has happened since. Here are some of the events planned in the Triangle: ...Arif Alikhan, former assistant secretary for policy development at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will speak in the FedEx Global Education Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, at the corner of Pittsboro and McCauley streets. Following will be a panel discussion, "9/11 Ten Years Later: The Impact on Muslims at Home and Abroad," with representatives of UNC, Duke and the Islamic Association of Raleigh.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4703/68/

Mexican Immigrants Adopt Poor Diets in US
WUNC-FM (Chapel Hill)
UNC Chapel Hill researchers have found that most Mexican immigrants to the United States adopt a more "American" diet despite the abundance of Hispanic food options. Carolina Batis is a P-h-D candidate in nutrition at UNC and author of the study. She says some of the changes include more healthy items like fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk, and fish.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4723/1/

'BofA shares slide 8% as Feds file suit
The Charlotte Observer
...It's hard to predict whether the government's case will hold up in court, because the government would have to establish fraud or negligence, said Tom Hazen, a law professor at UNC Chapel Hill. "Sometimes a salesperson is going to puff their goods and be optimistic," he said. "It's not enough to show they were overly optimistic."

Study faults care at Fayetteville dialysis clinics
The Fayetteville Observer
...While the center factors age and poor health into its data, experts are not always able to capture all the illnesses and problems associated with a patient's health, said Dr. Abhi Kshirsagar, a nephrologist with the UNC Kidney Center and an associate professor at the University of North Carolina Medical School. "I'll tell you, just from experience, mortality figures are difficult to disentangle," Kshirsagar said.

UNC invites its rivals (Under the Dome)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A retreat for top administrators at UNC-Chapel Hill featured leaders from the two big rival research universities down the road. Duke University President Richard Brodhead and N.C. State University Chancellor Randy Woodson were speakers on the agenda of a retreat Wednesday at the Carolina Inn hosted by UNC-CH Chancellor Holden Thorp. ...Thorp's topic was "The Case for Public Higher Education."
Related Link:
http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/university_honchos_huddle_
on_the_future_of_higher_education#storylink=misearch

Faison's Poetry And Prose Abilities Win Her Thomas Wolfe Scholarship
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
First-year UNC student Anna Faison has been awarded a Thomas Wolfe Scholarship. The honor brings with it a full, four-year merit scholarship in creative writing. Faison was selected for her excellent poetry, but also for her demonstrated “remarkable strengths as a prose writer” according to of the co-directors of the scholarship program.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4712/75/

UNC Fall Music Season Features Faculty Pianist Debut
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
UNC’s fall music season is about to get started, and it will include several highlights. On September 22, you can see the Pellegrini String Quartet of Germany perform works by Luigi Nono and Beethoven. Since 1989, the quartet has traveled worldwide to perform a combination of classical and modern music. New faculty pianist Clara Yang will present a recital on October 1, with a repertoire of pieces from musicians such as Handel and Tchaikovsky.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4722/66/

Employee sues UNC Hospitals, system
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
A woman is suing UNC Hospitals and the UNC system because a male counterpart of hers was earning some 16 percent more money for doing the same job. Natalie Demers and her lawyer, Durham attorney Caitlyn Thomson, allege that hospital administrators failed to credit Demers with having more experience than the man, even after she produced evidence that she did.

Issues and Trends

Bearing student debt burden (Editorial)
The Daily Reflector (Greenville)
A 25 percent increase in the amount of outstanding student loan debt since 2008 should have the nation concerned about the burden hoisted on recent graduates at the outset of their professional careers. ...At the same time, the two-year state budget approved by the General Assembly translated to the loss of $49 million for the Greenville university, part of the $414 million in spending cuts spread throughout the University of North Carolina system.

Football Coverage

Tar Heels hire external help to fill AD spot
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The executive search firm Carr Sports Associates, Inc., has been hired to assist a University of North Carolina committee seeking an athletic director to replace retiring Dick Baddour. ..."We are very pleased to join with Bill Carr and his associates to help the committee start fulfilling its assignment - to find the very best person with outstanding athletic administration credentials to become our next athletic director," university search committee chair Lowry Caudill said in a statement released by the school.
Related Links:
http://www.news-record.com/content/2011/09/02/article/unc_hires_firm_to_help_find_an_athletics_director
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/unc/story/10081450/

Pain, healing (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The resignation of Julius Nyang'oro as chairman of the African and Afro-American Studies department at UNC-Chapel Hill (he'll stay on as a professor) is another punctuation mark in the story of the scandal with the university's football program. It is the right move, and Chancellor Holden Thorp has it correct when he says the university must protect its academic integrity and "get to the bottom" of issues with the football team.
Related Link:
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/voices/blogpost/10079821/