Dec. 13, 2007
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
Brain overgrowth linked with autism
The Daily India
A U.S. study suggested that brain overgrowth in 1-year-old children might contribute to the onset of autistic characteristics. That finding by researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill's Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center supported concurrent research that has found brain overgrowth in autistic children as young as 2 years.
Panel Recommends Curb in Episiotomy
WebMD
A routine procedure performed on up to 1 million American women per year may be needlessly contributing to incontinence in those women, an expert panel concluded Wednesday. …The procedure runs the risk of damaging the anal muscles, which in turn may cause up to 1,000 cases of fecal incontinence per year, says Katherine Hartman, MD, PhD, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
State & Local Coverage
100 are on list to succeed Moeser
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The committee searching for a successor to UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser began to look at candidates Wednesday, starting with a list of 100 people who have applied or been nominated. The committee met for less than an hour in open session to approve a job description and hear an update on the process from Bill Funk, a search consultant.
Related Links:
http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-906864.cfm
http://news14.com/content/headlines/590622/
unc-continues-chancellor-search/Default.aspx
Aid parade (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Median household income in the United States is a little over $48,000 a year. That's about what annual tuition, room and board and other expenses total these days at the most expensive private colleges and universities. …As did UNC-Chapel Hill, the pioneer among public universities in eliminating loans for low-income students in favor of grants and work-study earnings…
Destiny's Children
The Sanford Herald
High tech met the 10th grade Tuesday as the bus bearing the University of North Carolina’s DESTINY Traveling Science Learning Program scooted into Lee County High School’s football parking lot. …Now in its seventh year, the program was created by the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at the University of North Carolina to address the lack of access to science resources in North Carolina classrooms, particularly in rural areas.
UNC News Advisory: http://www.unc.edu/news/media/2007/destinysanford120707.html
Water transfer may be part of drought solution
The Chapel Hill Herald
Cooperative approaches to water supply management including temporary water transfer between counties would be an effective way to meet water demands in times of scarcity, says Gregory Characklis, an associate environmental sciences and engineering professor at UNC. Characklis said most communities often operate their water supplies independently.
Free trade finding more resistance
The Charlotte Observer
As a worker in the retail sector, Charles Bellinger of Rock Hill has seen fewer and fewer made-in-America labels. …In the Carolinas, some of the shift comes from the decimation of the states' old-line industries, such as furniture and textiles, says Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program on Public Life at UNC Chapel Hill and co-author of a report on social and economic trends in the South.
A coming faculty retirement crisis (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Dramatic expansion of higher education in the late 1960s through the 1970s to accommodate the "boomer" population — the 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 — led to a surge in new faculty hires. …For the UNC system, this impending wave of faculty retirees constitutes a major problem. (James H. Johnson Jr. is William Rand Kenan Jr. distinguished professor of entrepreneurship at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School.)
Quick and easy holiday gifts that support good health (Column)
The Charlotte Observer
How are you doing on your holiday shopping? Need some help? The ideas I've listed here are practical, low to moderate in cost and quick and easy to get your hands on. Best of all, you can feel good about giving these, because they all support health. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill.)
UNC-Chapel Hill's Okun, 90, dies
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Daniel Alexander Okun, Kenan professor of environmental sciences and engineering at UNC-Chapel Hill, died Monday from complications with leukemia. He was 90.
Campus realities (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Apparently the writer of the Dec. 8 letter "Pigskin playoffs" has been out of touch with his alma mater for a while. The last time a UNC professor taught a freshman was, of course, last week (students are taking exams this week). (Andrew J. Perrin, Associate Professor of Sociology, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill)