uncnews.unc.edu

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

National Coverage

A Helpful Health Guide For Every Parent
USA Today
...About 20% of all children are obese, and to-go food is fueling that epidemic, says a new study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Researchers from the University of North Carolina surveyed nearly 30,000 children ages 2 through 18 over the course of almost 30 years and found that nearly one-third of food eaten is cooked outside the home — in supermarkets, convenience stores and fast-food restaurants.

Top Producers of U.S. Fulbright Students by Type of Institution, 2011-12
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is listed on the following graph as having 18 Fullbright scholars. This figure makes the university tied for 10th in the nation and 3rd among public universities, and top producer in the southeast.

Free Trade Can Lift Labor Standards Abroad (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The New York Times
The passage this month of free trade agreements may be a victory not only for President Obama, but also for workers in Colombia, Panama and South Korea. Although the anticipated economic consequences of these agreements are small, these pacts also offer a mechanism for improving workers’ rights in partner countries. (Layna Mosley is a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.)

Woodruff: Being Thankful for a Free Press (Blog)
PBS Newshour
...We realized how fortunate we were, to work in a place where press freedom is written into our nation's founding document. We believed we could offer our experience as counsel to women in far-flung places of the globe. And my friend, then ABC News correspondent Susan King, now a Vice President at the Carnegie Corporation of New York and about to become Dean of the Journalism School at the University of North Carolina, came up with the idea of presenting awards each year for courage to women journalists putting life and limb on the line in order to report the news.

Regional Coverage

Expert says Americans need to recognize poverty as crisis
The Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, N.Y.)
Here's a thought from a national expert on poverty in America that should make everyone shudder: "Walmart began to sell smaller packs of toilet paper because consumers couldn't afford to buy in bulk," said Gene R. Nichol, director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina and former president of the College of William and Mary.

State and Local Coverage

Med schools remain magnet for students
The Triangle Business Journal
Despite the high cost, hard work and a seemingly endless trail of training, medical schools across the U.S., including at UNC, are attracting applications in record numbers. In fact, applications nationally have increased nearly every year since 2002, including at UNC.

Up to 21 Possible E.Coli Cases Investigated
WNCT-TV (CBS/Greenville)
..."E.Coli is a bacteria that normally inhabits the gut of humans and animals,” said Dr. David Weber, an epidemiologist from UNC Chapel Hill. He says the disease can be spread through contaminated food, contact with animals, or from person to person.

PPD honors cancer survivors, triathletes
The Star News (Wilmington)
...Claudio Battaglini, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, coached professional athletes in Brazil. "My dream was always to be the best coach in the world," he said. He eventually trained cancer patients. Battaglini directs his own exercise oncology research programs at UNC and conducted clinical trials that examined the effects of exercise in physiological systems in breast cancer survivors and leukemia patients undergoing high-dose chemotherapy.

NCAA to hear UNC's defense today
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Dick Baddour, the departing UNC Chapel Hill athletics director, acknowledged that he is anxious as he prepares to appear in front of the NCAA Committee on Infractions today. The nine alleged major violations in UNC's football program identified by the NCAA enforcement staff mark the first time in 50 years that the university has been charged with a major NCAA violation, in any sport.

Baddour: North Carolina imposed 'responsible' penalties
The Associated Press
When North Carolina officials appear before an NCAA infractions committee Friday, the school will move closer to resolving the uncertainty hovering over its football program for more than a year.

Issues and Trends

'U.S. News' Seeks Medical Deans' Input on Rankings, and Gets an Earful
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Medical school deans swung hard at U.S. News & World Report's annual medical school rankings in a panel discussion here on Thursday, painting the magazine's methodology as a one-size-fits-all measure that is flawed by its use of inadequate metrics, low response rates, conflict-of-interest issues, and a "reputational" survey that may be based on decades-old perceptions.

N.C.A.A. Changes Scholarship Rules
The Associated Press
The scandal-plagued NCAA is moving swiftly to clean up its image. On Thursday, the Division I Board of Directors approved a package of sweeping reforms that gives conferences the option of adding more money to scholarship offers, schools the opportunity to award scholarships for multiple years, imposes tougher academic standards on recruits and changes the summer basketball recruiting model.