uncnews.unc.edu

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

International Coverage

Sperm Reprogramming Process decoded by UNC Researchers
MedIndia.net
... Now, a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has illuminated a key step of demethylation, giving stem cell researchers critical information as they try to reprogram adult cells to mimic the curative and self-renewing properties of stem cells. ... The current finding, published online in the September 22, 2011, issue of Science (ScienceExpress), suggests that the disappearance of these chemical tags in the later steps of demethylation is not an active process catalyzed by an enzyme but is rather a passive process.

National Coverage

Sentencing Shift Gives New Leverage to Prosecutors
The New York Times
... “We now have an incredible concentration of power in the hands of prosecutors,” said Richard E. Myers II, a former assistant United States attorney who is now an associate professor of law at the University of North Carolina. He said that so much influence now resides with prosecutors that “in the wrong hands, the criminal justice system can be held hostage.”

Making diagnostic headway
The Boston Globe
Kevin Guskiewicz has a PhD in sports medicine and a deep knowledge of sports concussions, and last week he became $500,000 richer because he figured out in the late 1990s how a $5 stopwatch and a $45 piece of foam cushion could make it much safer for our kids to stay on the playing field. Or, in some cases, remain on the sideline while their heads clear.
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4774/71/

Regional Coverage

Wisconsin among states to consider Caylee's Law
The Herald Times Reporter (Manitowoc, Wis)
It didn't take long for public outrage over the Casey Anthony case to spur lawmakers to roll out bills targeting a problem they admit is rare: parents who fail to report dead or missing children. ... "Is it a good way to draft law?" said Frank Baumgartner, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "No, it's not. The problem with this is, it's kind of a reflection of what you can call an overreaction or a disproportionate attention to a problem that's probably always been there.

State and Local Coverage

Genius, in use (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A radio host. A jazz drummer. A cellist. A couple of poets. And among the 22 recipients, Kevin Guskiewicz, a research scientist and Kenan professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. That's not an unusual mix for the annual MacArthur Fellowships, sometimes called "genius grants," which the MacArthur Foundation awards to people of promise in a multitude of fields. As a winner, Guskiewicz will receive $500,000, no strings attached. The 45-year-old is chairman of the university's Department of Exercise and Sport Science, and he has focused for a number of years on brain injuries, both in soldiers and on where he started, in studying sports injuries, specifically concussions.

Researcher has a hit with concussion studies
The Chapel Hill News
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sports medicine researcher Kevin Guskiewicz, one of the country's leading experts on concussions, has been named a 2011 MacArthur Fellow. MacArthur fellows, nominated anonymously by leaders in their respective fields, each receive $500,000 in "no strings attached" support over the next five years. The awards are often called "genius grants" by the gtenral public, and recipients are free to use the money as they see fit for their pursuits.
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4774/71/

UNC researchers learning how to prevent ACL injuries
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
... About 70 to 80 percent of ACL injuries come without any contact to the knee and females are much more likely to injure their ACL than males, according to Darin Padua, an associate professor and director of the Sports Medicine Research Laboratory at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. An ACL injury may be associated with big hits in football, but females are about eight times more likely to have an ACL tear. The injury is most common in girls soccer, girls volleyball and girls basketball.

New York City mayor to speak at UNC spring commencement
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will deliver the spring commencement address at the University of North Carolina in May. Chancellor Holden Thorp, who will preside over the May 13 ceremony at Kenan Stadium, chose Bloomberg in consultation with the university's commencement speaker selection committee, a group made up of students and faculty.
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4787/107/

UNC expects $20M shortfall in 2012
The Chapel Hill Herald
State budget cuts totaling $100 million have had a profound impact on the UNC Chapel Hill campus this year, and a $20 million expected shortfall in the 2012-13 budget has university officials feeling anxious. This week, UNC officials described the impact of budget cuts for the trustees who oversee the flagship campus.
This article is not available online

Student debt load will get heavier
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
... State grant funding was cut 20 percent this year, Shirley Ort, associate provost and director of scholarships and student aid, told the UNC-CH board of trustees this week. In the future, more students will need to borrow money, and they will need to borrow more than they have in previous years, she said. UNC-CH prevented the cuts from affecting most students by using about $4 million from a reserve fund to offset them, according to Ort.
Related Link: http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110923/ARTICLES/110929825/-1/news06?Title=Editorial-Services-cut-tuition-up-in-a-system-that-8217-s-supposed-to-be-mostly-free

UNC leader asks lawmakers not to sell Rex Healthcare
NCNN
The head of the University of North Carolina Health Care System told a legislative panel that selling Rex Healthcare to WakeMed Health & Hospitals isn’t in the state’s best interest. State lawmakers heard testimony from UNC Health Care’s top administrator, who explained why board members rejected WakeMed’s unsolicited $750 million offer to buy Rex. The Raleigh-based hospital is one of several properties under review by the House Select Committee on State-Owned Assets, which held its first meeting Thursday.

Healthy competition at hospitals
The Charlotte Observer
Charlotte-area hospitals compete for your business in many ways, as you can see from interstate highway billboards that advertise both high-tech and high-touch services. ... And UNC Chapel Hill School of Medical recently opened a branch campus at CMC, where 22 students now spend their third and fourth years of med school. That's in addition to CMC's residency program, which has been training doctors for decades.

Why the Triangle needs a plan (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Compared with other metro areas, the Research Triangle is relatively young. This provides us the opportunity to avoid many development-related problems experienced elsewhere. The big question is: Will we grab this opportunity while it is still available, or will we allow the Triangle to develop the way of Atlanta (or pick any other highly car-dependent, sprawling, polluted, congested metro area)?
William M. Rohe is the Cary C. Boshamer professor of city and regional planning and director of the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is the author of a new book called "The Research Triangle: From Tobacco Road to Global Prominence."

UNC refuses donation for lecture
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC has rejected an offer by the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy to donate $2,000 to help p ay for a popular lecture series that focus on Western thinkers. The university announced plans to trim back the series titled "Elements of Politics" from two lectures per semester to one due to several rounds of deep state budget cuts.
This article is not available online

Something's missing here (Opinion-Editorial)
The Salisbury Post
North Carolinians may be divided over the issue of gay marriage, but they would agree on one thing: When voters go to the polls next May to consider a constitutional amendment that would prohibit such marriages, they should know exactly what they’re voting on. ... Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law expert at UNC-Chapel Hill, says that failing to put the second part on the ballot could jeopardize that provision if the amendment becomes law. That would open up yet another arena of uncertainty, along with questions that already exist about the legislation’s impact on municipalities and other government entities that offer domestic partner benefits.

UNC took right steps to move forward
The Shelby Star
Administrators for the University of North Carolina — most especially Chancellor Holden Thorp — have been pilloried over the past several months over how NCAA allegations of academic misconduct and other malfeasance in UNC’s football program were handled. The catcalls have been loud and from all directions. Pundits, academicians and political leaders wailed that too little was being done quickly enough to clean up the mess in Chapel Hill. Supporters of athletics and fans of the football team yelled with equal vigor when coach Butch Davis was finally and justifiably fired just as practice was about to start for the season now under way.

Rigor, with vigor (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The phrase "academic rigor" is meant to convey that in the academic world, i's get dotted and t's get crossed. There is attention to thoroughness, accuracy and detail, with careful adherence to codes of honesty. And that should apply not only to the work done by students and scholars, but also to the oversight of departments and courses. It should all fit together. Administrators at UNC-Chapel Hill, where academic rigor is not supposed to be regarded as a joke, must feel chastened at disclosures involving football players and the Department of African and Afro-American Studies.

Issues and Trends

Forum focuses on the economy and environment
The Chapel Hill News
... How the town might sustain businesses and bring new ones in was another focus. Tapping into new student innovation at UNC is a key to spurring new business and nonprofit growth, said Lee Storrow, a council candidate.

Budget cuts affect Western Carolina University
NCNN
State budget cuts are having a negative impact on colleges and universities across North Carolina. At Western Carolina University, chancellor David Belcher says it has forced his school to increase class sizes and reduce choices for students. Belcher says that's tough on a student population with a high percentage of kids who are first in their families to ever attend college. He says those students require a little more help to adjust to college life.