uncnews.unc.edu

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

National Coverage

Air pollution may lower birth weight
Fox News
...Still, the fact that the researchers found a small but consistent shift in birth weight across so many pregnancies shows there is something significant going on at the population level, according to Virginia Guidry, Ph.D., who studies the impact of air pollution on children’s respiratory health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Guidry was not involved in the study. "This study indicates that birth weight should be considered when air pollution policies are made," she said.

N.C. governor attacks higher ed, proposes funding colleges by graduates’ jobs (Blog)
The Washington Post
There’s a new voice in the continued and rather tired trashing of higher education and the liberal arts by conservatives: North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory. ... After Bennett mentioned the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s gender studies program — a subject that is a common target for conservatives — McGrory said that students who take those classes should “go to a private school and take it, but I don’t want to subsidize that if it’s not going to get someone a job.”

State and Local Coverage

UNC-Chapel Hill to conduct siren test
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will sound its emergency siren on Tuesday as part of Alert Carolina, a campus-wide safety awareness campaign. The siren will be activated between noon and 1 p.m., administrators said.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5849/68/

Forum introduces UNC-CH sexual assault consultant
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The outside consultant who will examine how UNC-Chapel Hill handles sexual assault officially introduced herself to students at a forum Wednesday afternoon. In January, several students, a former student and a former administrator filed a federal complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. They asked for an investigation into how UNC-CH responds to sexual assaults and said the university deliberately under-reported such incidents in 2010. UNC-CH leaders strongly deny the allegation, with Leslie Strohm, vice chancellor and general counsel, calling it “just plain wrong.”
Related Link:
http://www.heraldsun.com/news/localnews/x1733190654/
UNC-students-discuss-sexual-assaults

UNC system: Further investigations into fraud at UNC-Chapel Hill 'not productive'
News 14 Carolina
The UNC Board of Governors academic review committee investigating fraud at UNC-Chapel Hill said thorough investigations have been completed. Louis Bissette, chairman of the UNC Board of Governors' academic review committee, said the committee believes that "some additional information may emerge, but ... further forensic review would not be productive."
Related Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/02/07/2661108/unc-board-of-governers-panel-examining.html
http://www.wral.com/unc-system-panel-supports-findings-in-academic-scandal/12077447/
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8983752

Issues and Trends

As UNC system debates its future, some faculty uneasy
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
In the midst of a shifting higher education landscape and a heated political argument about liberal arts versus job training for college students, UNC system leaders will chart the future course of the state’s public universities this week. The UNC Board of Governors will get its final look Thursday at a blueprint, months in the making, that will guide the strategy for the 17 public campuses through 2018. The board is scheduled to vote on the plan Friday.
Related Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/02/05/2657638/kathryn-burns-faculty-role.html

N&O sports columnist Caulton Tudor to retire
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Caulton Tudor, whose sports columns for The News & Observer and Raleigh Times have informed and entertained readers for more than 40 years, is retiring. ...“Caulton is an ACC and North Carolina sports writing institution,” UNC basketball coach Roy Williams said.

Expanding Pathways to MOOC Credit
Inside Higher Ed
From the moment the American Council on Education announced in November that its College Credit Recommendation Service would assess the creditworthiness of a set of massive open online courses, there seemed to be little doubt that such approval would be forthcoming. And indeed, Coursera's announcement today that five of its courses have earned credit recommendations from ACE felt just a little bit anticlimactic.
Related Link:
http://chronicle.com/article/American-Council-on-Education/137155/