uncnews.unc.edu

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

International Coverage

Elliott's Argentina Bond Case Wins Backing From Ex-Bush Official
Bloomberg News
Elliott Management Corp., the hedge fund founded by billionaire investor Paul Singer, won support from a former official in President George W. Bush's administration as it seeks payment on bonds Argentina defaulted on in 2001. ..."Elliott is presumably trying to offset the Justice amicus brief by bringing in a former Treasury official," said Mark Weidemaier, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who conducts research on international financial contracts.

National Coverage

Bloomberg Defends Same-Sex Marriage in State That Rejected It (Blog)
The New York Times
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in a commencement address at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Sunday, delivered a spirited defense of the right of gays and lesbians to marry, just days after North Carolina passed an amendment that banned the practice. ...Mr. Bloomberg, in his remarks to about 5,700 graduating students at the university’s main campus in Chapel Hill, said, “More than any other generation that has walked the Earth, you are free to pursue your dreams – unbounded by limits placed on your race, gender, ethnicity, orientation, or lineage.”

Bloomberg blasts NC gay marriage vote at ceremony
The Associated Press
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has told University of North Carolina graduates that last week's gay marriage vote shows there is still a lot of work to be done for civil rights in this country. Bloomberg spoke Sunday to thousands of graduates at Kennan Stadium.

Michelle Obama urges North Carolina grads to seek change
The Associated Press
...North Carolina is considered a battleground state, and the first lady's visit was expected to generate goodwill within a core Democratic Party constituency as President Barack Obama seeks re-election this fall. ...The president has visited North Carolina more than a dozen times. Most recently he blasted the GOP about student loan debt in a visit two weeks ago to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Same-Sex Marriage Back In National Spotlight
"All Things Considered" National Public Radio
Gay marriage is back in the headlines: President Obama followed Vice President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan in expressing support for same-sex marriage this week. Meanwhile, voters in North Carolina passed an amendment to their constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman only. ...The day after North Carolina became the 30th state to pass a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage this week, Tyler Curtain, a professor at the University of North Carolina, wrote an open letter about his predicament.

Gov. Bev Perdue's Budget Could Save Nation's Top State-Funded Early Childhood Program, Children's Advocates Say
The Huffington Post
...Since the 1960s, the Research Triangle including Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University, led the way in early childhood research, contributing several studies to the growing body of research demonstrating the crucial role preschool plays in helping children move out of poverty and become productive members of society.

Russia's University Mergers Pit the Old School Against the New
The Chronicle of Higher Education
...The conflict began two years ago, when the national government began a program of university mergers, pairing local institutions with more elite universities. ...Multilingual professors visited leading European universities and also worked with visiting professors from places like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to set up programs on the Yekaterinburg campus.

Regional Coverage

Mayor Bloomberg Rips North Carolina Marriage Amendment
CBS New York
Mayor Bloomberg has been a vocal supporter of same-sex marriage and today, during a commencement speech at UNC Chapel Hill, he took the opportunity to promote his view on the issue. ...Mayor Bloomberg told the men and women at the UNC commencement that this is a moment in history that belongs to them. “I have no doubt that in your lifetime, liberty’s light will allow us to see more clearly the truth of our nation’s founding principles, and allow us to see all people, and all couples, as full and equal members of the American family,” the mayor said.

Mayor Bloomberg gives commencement address at UNC-Chapel Hill, defends gay marriage and raves about smartphones
The New York Daily News
Delivering the commencement address Sunday at the University of North Carolina, Mayor Bloomberg spoke about two subjects that go together like hand and glove — same-sex marriage and smartphones. Bloomberg defended gay marriage and blasted the Tar Heel State’s vote last week to legally define marriage as strictly being a union between a man and a woman.
Related Link:
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/rnc-head-says-gay-marriage-isnt-civil-rights.html?mid=rss

Regional planning, development mean growth (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Grand Forks Herald (North Dakota)
...Tobacco, furniture, textiles, and the poverty and segregation of the American South: That was North Carolina after World War II. The per capita income of $1,049 was a full third below the national average and trailed other Southeast states, as well. Enter Howard Odum, a University of North Carolina sociologist. “Odum suggested that the state should take advantage of the Triangle’s three research universities: UNC, North Carolina State and Duke University,” a Triangle history notes.

Proton beams vs. radiation
The Boston Globe
...Dr. Ronald Chen, a radiation oncologist from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who led the study, acknowledged that it had limitations but said the suggestion that proton therapy is not better - and might even have worse side effects - adds urgency to answering the question definitively.

State and Local Coverage

Duke, UNC grads urged to find challenge in hard times
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
...At Carolina, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg tapped into school spirit quickly with the "Tar" ... "Heel" call and response. "I wanted to start this morning by shouting something," he joked. ...The nation's top law enforcement officer, U.S. Attorney Eric Holder, told 245 law students graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to think about the legacy they will build. "You are among the most prepared to affect meaningful change no matter what path you chose," Holder said. "With all that you possess and all that you have been given, you have a special responsibility to our nation and to this world."
Related Link:
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/11096259/

Bloomberg: Speech at UNC a dream come true
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
The following is the text of New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s remarks as prepared for delivery: Tar… Tar… Tar… Forgive me. I wanted to start this morning by shouting something – but I knew what would happen if I said, ‘Rah-rah, Carolina-lina! Rah-rah, Carolina-lina! Rah-rah, Carolina-lina!’

Marriage vote was a setback for liberty and equality, Bloomberg tells UNC grads
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
New York Mayor and financial media mogul Michael Bloomberg told nearly 5,700 UNC-Chapel Hill graduates Sunday they could glean some of the most useful lessons about life from a familiar source. “Whatever plan you do have is probably going to change 100 times before you’re 30,” said Bloomberg, the main speaker at the spring commencement ceremony, held in Kenan Stadium.
Related Links:
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/18582028/article-Bloomberg-
criticizes-amendment-vote-at-UNC-commencement
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8659844

Graduation speakers take on gay marriage
WNCN-TV (NBC/Raleigh)
North Carolina's marriage amendment vote Tuesday became a big talker all week long and the talk continued this weekend in college commencement speeches as high profile speakers talked about equal rights. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg took the microphone Sunday at UNC-Chapel Hill talking equality. “If government can deny freedom to one, it can deny freedom to all,” he said.
Related Links:
http://www.chapelboro.com/More-Than-5-500-Graduate-At-Kenan-Stadium-Sunday/13111395
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8658978

Grads get the message
The Charlotte Observer
Several thousand graduates received degrees in ceremonies across North Carolina on Sunday, paying homage to their mothers and hearing from speakers who talked about the future, the past and current events. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke to a crowd of 32,000 at UNC Chapel Hill, saying the state’s Amendment One, a constitutional amendment that made marriage between a man and a woman the only civil union recognized by the state, was on the wrong side of history.
Related Links:
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2012/05/12/71365/bloomberg-to-send-off-unc-grads.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/05/12/2059632/thousands-to-receive-their-diplomas.html

Occupy UNC holds 'alternative' commencement
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
While Michael Bloomberg was speaking to tens of thousands of graduates and parents Sunday, a smaller celebration held by members of Occupy UNC-Chapel Hill sought to provide a different graduation experience – one they said was more real and less pretentious.
Related Link:
http://www.chapelboro.com/Alternative-Commencement-Draws-Small-But-Enthusias/13111381

Amendment One Battle Lost, but Young Will Win War (Column)
The Pilot (Southern Pines)
The passing of Amendment One obviously did little to dampen the spirits of N.C. citizens who support marriage equality. In fact, it has ignited their passion further. Protect N.C. Families, the UNC Coalition Against Amendment One, Equality N.C., and countless other groups and organizations have been tirelessly canvassing, phone-banking, and rallying for months to raise awareness of the amendment and educate voters about its potential harmful effects.

Reasons to be proud (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The purpose is not just to prevent Massachusetts people coming down .... It’s also to put a big letter of shame on the behavior. We don’t want them here. We don’t want them marrying. If you’re going to do it in San Francisco, it’s your own business.” So said Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James one year ago discussing the marriage amendment. (Barbara Fedders teaches at the UNC School of Law. She moved here from Massachusetts, where she legally married her same-sex partner (a North Carolinian) in 2005.)

Raleigh student among Robertson Scholarship winners
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Twenty-five high school seniors have been named Robertson Scholars by Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. The winners include one student from the Triangle – Pranav Haravu of Raleigh, a senior at the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, who will enroll at UNC-CH. The students will receive a full, four-year scholarship at one campus but will study at both. The leadership development program funds tuition, room and board, fees and up to three summers of domestic and international experiences.

Clue to a colony (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
It’s not a map of buried treasure – it’s treasure buried in a map. Scholars say a new look beneath the surface of an old but remarkably accurate map of the coastal area from Cape Lookout, N.C., to Cape Henry, Va., may show where the 115 or so members of the Lost Colony sought to relocate after abandoning a site on Roanoke Island in 1587. Not bad for the Durham-based group of scholars and researchers known as the First Colony Foundation, who were instrumental in pushing the discovery that was announced officially earlier this month at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library.

UNC’s Family Enterprise Center prepares next generation to take over
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
As a consultant to family businesses, my central goal is to bring about a smooth succession from a business, ownership and family perspective. Given that a majority of family businesses do not survive from one generation to the next, it can be complex. Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to witness perhaps the most effective method of bringing about successful succession for a family business: the Family Enterprise Center program at the Kenan-Flagler business school at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Rare access granted on True Blue Bucket List tour
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Bringing old stories to new life and giving Chapel Hill residents access to historic sites that are normally restricted to the public is the aim of a new town tour to raise money for The Preservation Society of Chapel Hill. The “True Blue Bucket List” tour is a walking and bus tour organized by The Preservation Society of Chapel Hill in partnership with the UNC Visitors’ Center. ...“It’s a glimpse into the past — and also about the present and dipping toes into the future,” UNC Visitors’ Center Director Missy Julian Fox said. “It’s not just old history. It’s current."

Going digital
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Music fans, historians and scholars will be able to see a photograph of Grammy-winning band Arcade Fire signing a recording contract and listen to rare recordings of Dolly Parton, B.B. King and other Southern music artists when the Southern Folklife Collection at UNC Libraries completes two projects announced this week.

Ill-prepared students (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Why is Holden Thorp apologizing to the students in the embattled curriculum for being shortchanged a quality Carolina education? Why is Roy Williams very publicly washing his hands by emphasizing that his basketball players went to all the classes and did all the required assignments? They miss one of the key points. The students who were registered in those sham courses, and who received grades for little or no work, are culpable as well. (Charles Houseworth, Wake Forest)

Issues and Trends

A little insight into stagnant professor pay (Blog
The Triangle Business Journal
In a story published in the May 11 print edition of Triangle Business Journal, I wrote about a report that shows compensation for college professors has not kept up with pay increases for similarly educated people in the related industries. ...That, coupled with budget cuts in nearly every state, makes for an employers’ market in which universities don’t see a huge need to give salary raises. Faculty in the University of North Carolina system, for example, have been on pay freezes since 2008, as have all state employees.