uncnews.unc.edu

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

National Coverage

Too Many A's? U. of Minnesota Professor's Plan Would Give Grades More Context
The Chronicle of Higher Education
...She also noted that her former institution, Indiana University at Bloomington, had made similar efforts to place a student's grade in the context of the class but ran into technical barriers. Other institutions, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Cornell University, have attempted, with varying levels of success, to include contextual information about grades on their students' transcripts.

State and Local Coverage

Next Phase Begins At Carolina North
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
The next phase of construction for UNC's Carolina North is underway. Crews are working on the second phase of construction on a utility ductbank that will eventually supply power for UNC buildings along Airport Road. A greenway is planned on top of the ductbank once construction is complete.

Robeson County teen court seeks to prevent youth violence
The Fayetteville Observer
Robeson County middle school students don't feel safe in their daily activities outside of school, according to a survey conducted by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ...In 2010, a group of researchers, led by Paul Smokowski, a professor of social work at UNC-Chapel Hill, was awarded a $6.5 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create the nation's first rurally focused youth violence prevention center in Lumberton.

Redistricting reform unlikely this year
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
Despite a bipartisan push by advocates and House lawmakers, a proposal to reform the state's redistricting process looks unlikely to move forward. At a press conference this morning, former NCGOP chairman Bill Cobey joined liberal UNC Law professor Gene Nichol to call on Senate leaders to consider the measure, House Bill 824.

Proposed psychiatric hospital in Wake years away
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...Relief may be on the way. UNC Health Care’s proposal, announced last week, to build a 28-bed psychiatric hospital in Wake County is designed to address the problem of mentally ill patients who are crowding emergency rooms and hospital wards throughout Wake County and the region. “They will stay in the emergency department for hours and days,” said Jack Naftel, vice-chair of clinical affairs in the psychiatry department at UNC-Chapel Hill. “Just imagine someone with a heart attack waiting days to get upstairs for a bed.”

It’s hard to overeat in Europe (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Once again, I’m leaving Europe lighter than when I came. After eating out every meal for more than two weeks, the clothes still fit. One possible explanation hasn’t escaped my notice. Despite its reputation for bad cuisine, English food has at least one thing going for it: There’s less of it. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical associate professor in the department of health policy and administration in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.)