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

International Coverage

Failure to Prevent AIDS Infections Spurs Renewed Hunt for Cure
Bloomberg News (Wire Service)

The U.S. government and the richest charity are offering bounties to a new wave of scientists to wipe out HIV, the virus that causes AIDS and is one of the world’s biggest killers. …“If the vaccine had worked, I don’t think any of this would be happening,” said David Margolis, a doctor at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, who has been working for years to cure HIV.

Marketing strategies for fast-moving consumer goods
Financial Times (United Kingdom)

The current recession is the most brutal economic downturn in a lifetime. One industry where the consequences of the recession are felt particularly hard is the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. …However, in recent decades, so-called private labels or store brands – brands owned by retail giants such as Wal-Mart, Tesco, Carrefour and Aldi – have made huge inroads, especially in western Europe and the US. …Authors: Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp is C. Knox Massey Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Marketing Area Chair, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill…

National Coverage

Drugmakers' push boosts 'murky' ailment
The Associated Press

Two drugmakers spent hundreds of millions of dollars last year to raise awareness of a murky illness, helping boost sales of pills recently approved as treatments and drowning out unresolved questions — including whether it's a real disease at all. …Dr. Nortin Hadler says telling people they have fibromyalgia can actually doom them to a life of suffering by reinforcing the idea that they have an incurable disease. "It's been shown that if you are diagnosed with fibromyalgia, your chances for returning to a level of well-being that satisfies you are pretty dismal," said Hadler, a professor at the University of North Carolina, who has occasionally advised health insurers on how to deal with fibromyalgia.

Chase adds fee for low-rate credit cards
USA Today

Cash-strapped consumers can't seem to get a break from high credit card fees and rates. …Peter Norman, an economics professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, says, "Moves like this are not only bad for me as a customer, but bad for the economy." Norman transferred card debt to Chase, he says, because he was promised a "fixed rate" for the life of the balance.

Which antidepressant drug is the best? Studies conflict
The Los Angeles Times

Are Zoloft and Lexapro the best antidepressants? A recent study from Europe says so. …Even significant differences may not translate into clinically meaningful differences, says Dr. Bradley Gaynes, a psychiatrist at the University of North Carolina, a coauthor of the U.S. study. "If a study says that this drug is two points better on this scale than that drug, but the scale measures 30 or 40 points, it doesn't really make much difference clinically."

The State of Black Student Freshman Enrollments at the Nation’s Highest-Ranked Colleges and Universities
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education

For the sixteenth consecutive year, JBHE publishes its survey of the percentages of black first-year students at the nation’s highest-ranked universities and liberal arts colleges. …For six of the past nine years the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has stood atop our rankings. But in 2007 Chapel Hill dropped to third place. This year Chapel Hill moves up one spot to second position. There are 417 black first-year students at the university this fall. They make up a substantial 10.8 percent of the freshman class.

Humanities Endowment Should Get Back to Basics, Scholars Say
The Chronicle of Higher Education

…And William R. Ferris, who served as chairman at the end of the Clinton administration, says that the projects have become part of the agency's identity. "It's expected that the chairman will have a vision and a project that will give a personal touch to the work of the agency during his or her tenure," says Mr. Ferris, who is now a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "It's expected by the staff and by the humanities community at large. The projects vary with each chair, but over the long haul they all blend together as one big legacy that NEH has established."

Sociologists' Use of Genetic Data (Letter to the Editor)
The Chronicle of Higher Education

About "The Nature-Nurture Debate, Redux" (The Chronicle Review, January 9): I would contest the essay's central thesis that sociologists who use genetic data are renegades or at least press up against resistance from their discipline. As one such sociologist (I was a contributor to the special issue of the American Journal of Sociology cited in the article and also quoted in the article), I have never encountered anything beyond polite inquiries from colleagues, and my experience is not unique. (Michael J. Shanahan, associate professor of sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.)

Regional Coverage

Mental illness alone does not predict violent behavior, study suggests
The Boston Globe

When crimes of violence are committed by people who have mental illness, people wonder why more can't be done to prevent such horrifying acts. But the answer isn't so simple, a large study of multiple factors associated with violence suggests. Mental illness by itself does not predict future violent behavior, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reported last week in Archives of General Psychiatry, echoing previous smaller studies.
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/unc-study-mental-illness-
by-itself-does-not-predict-future-violent-behavior.html

State and Local Coverage

The "new" chancellor at UNC-CH (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Holden Thorp plays a mighty fine rock 'n' roll guitar, and is said to be even better on the bass. Clearly, he's one of these folks who tries his best at everything he does. (He's also a respected chemist with a broad variety of interests.) You don't see many chancellors or university presidents who can sit in with a college band on no notice, but Thorp can.

Thorp: UNC discussed furloughs in Sept.
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald

Administrators at UNC Chapel Hill began discussing the prospect of employee furloughs as early as last September, UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp said Friday during a wide-ranging conversation with the editorial board of The Herald-Sun. The specter of mandatory, unpaid leaves of absence for some state employees was roused last month when Erskine Bowles, president of the university system, said that he will likely ask the N.C. General Assembly for legislation supporting furloughs.

Thorp: Carolina North to serve dual purposes
The Chapel Hill Herald

The decision to build a new law school at Carolina North signaled a fundamental change in vision for UNC's new campus, Chancellor Holden Thorp confirmed Friday. In the recent past, some citizens expressed confusion regarding the mission of the approximately 250-acre development that will occupy a quarter of the Horace Williams Tract on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard: Is it a center for public and private research or is it an overflow space for the main campus?

Don't cut community colleges (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

During Beverly Perdue's campaign for governor, one of her campaign promises was for free tuition for community college students who graduate from high school, then enter the community college system as full-time students. But one of her first actions as governor was to cut the community college system budget by 5 percent. This is a direct contradiction to one of her most important campaign promises. (Wayne Faust earned an associates degree at Durham Tech and is now a junior at UNC Chapel Hill with a double major in public policy and "peace, war and defense.")

First Carson scholarship is bestowed
The Chapel Hill Herald

The first recipient of the Eve Marie Carson Scholarship said Friday that the award affected her differently than others won in the past, describing herself as "thrilled, humbled and excited all at once." Elinor Benami, a UNC junior from Knoxville, Tenn., double-majoring in international studies and economics, beat out 137 other qualified applicants for the one-year scholarship named in honor of the late student body president. One of Carson's top goals was the establishment of a merit-based scholarship for UNC juniors.
Related Link:
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/first-eve-carson-scholarship-awarded
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/story/1396982.html
http://www.wral.com/news/local/noteworthy/story/4483604/
http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=9364
http://heraldsun.southernheadlines.com/archives/URNDetail.cfm?URN=0573033759
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/students/first-eve-marie-carson-
scholarship-awarded-to-uncs-benami.html

Julius Peppers donates $100,000 to UNC scholarship fund
The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area

Julius Peppers, a former football standout at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who now stars in the NFL, has donated $100,000 to a scholarship program at his alma mater. UNC says the scholarship, known as the Light on the Hill Society Scholarship, supports African-American students. The scholarships go to black freshmen who show potential, according to the university.
Related Link:
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/peppers-donates-100k-for-black-freshmen
UNC News Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/campus-and-community/former-unc-football-star-peppers
-donates-100000-to-scholarship-fund.html

College costs concern students and parents
The Times-News (Burlington)

“Will I be able to afford college?'' That question often doesn't have an easy answer, even in the best economic times. Throw into the mix a sluggish economy and an uncertain financial future, and it becomes even more daunting. Shirley Ort, director of scholarships and student aid at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said requests for financial aid for the current academic year went up 13 percent.

Recession-proof? Not engineering
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

First the bankers, now the engineers. The nation's prolonged recession is forcing an attitude adjustment even among the most bulletproof professions. …Career counselors are advising the students to be less snooty about taking a job, to network like mad and brace for the inevitable rejections. "There's a reality check there and it's starting to hit them," said Tim Stiles, UNC-Chapel Hill's associate director for University Career Services.

'More at 4' may follow Easley out
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)

With former Gov. Mike Easley gone less than a month, support is building in the General Assembly to end his signature preschool initiative, More at Four, as a separate program. …“I see them as both really important programs,” said Ellen Peisner-Feinberg, senior scientist at UNC Chapel Hill's FPG Child Development Institute. “The evaluation work we've done has shown they're both providing valuable services.”

Meet Joel Williamson
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM

Joel Williamson, the retired Lineberger professor in the humanities at UNC-Chapel Hill, has taught generations of Carolina students about the complexities of the American South and race relations. He is particularly well known for his work on William Faulkner and Margaret Mitchell, and for his extensive scholarship on race relations in the South. Among Joel Williamson's many insights is the harsh irony that while the Civil War freed blacks from slavery it also freed the forces of racism. Joel Williamson joins host Frank Stasio to talk about his academic career and his friendship with the eminent Southern historian C. Vann Woodward.
Note: "The State of Things" is the statewide public affairs program airing live at noon weekdays and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays.

Program at WSSU aims at HIV reduction in the black community
The Winston-Salem Journal

…In 2003, state epidemiologists identified an outbreak of HIV on N.C. college campuses. Their study received wide attention, in part because students hadn't been considered an at-risk group for AIDS because prevention education and awareness is generally high on college campuses. But the study, led by Peter Leone, a researcher at UNC Chapel Hill, found that from 2000 through 2003, 84 male students had HIV, and 73 of them were black.

A week of celebrations of art, theater, food and football
The Herald-Sun (Durham)

It was a family affair at the opening of the exhibit "Free," at the Sonya Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History at UNC. The exhibit is displayed in the Robert and Sallie Brown Gallery and Museum. This site-specific exhibit featuring new work by Maya Freelon Asante is made up of tissue paper collages, digital photographs and mixed-media collages. Throughout the exhibit, there are also a number of quotes, mostly from Asante's grandmother, Frances Pierce.

Peeling the Orange (Column)
The Chapel Hill Herald

…UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp doesn't need a chemistry lab to figure out the formula for the fickle fate of a musical act such as the one he and Terri Houston, the university's director of recruitment and multicultural programs, put together at a UNC basketball game. "Terri and I played before the UConn game and we got killed" by the opposing team, he said. "Everybody liked the national anthem, but we might not get invited back." Bad mojo, yo.

Issues and Trends

NC university system warns of class, job cuts
The Associated Press

A 7 percent budget cut could mean the loss of almost 1,700 jobs and the cancellation of hundreds of classes across North Carolina's university system, officials said. …The UNC Board of Governors will vote next week on tuition increases, but system president Erskine Bowles wants to limit the increases because the recession makes it harder for families to pay the bills. Bowles also has asked the legislature to let the system use employee furloughs to reduce costs.
Related Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1397022.html
http://www.fayobserver.com/article_archive?id=1241760&q=unc
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/4491401/

Insurance looks to lure the healthy
The Associated Press

Correctional officer Kevin Hood said it makes no sense to pay $490 a month to put his wife, Terri, and their two young children on the state employee health insurance plan. …Hood's decision exemplifies a recurring problem facing the N.C. State Health Plan for Teachers and Employees that goes beyond annual premium increases or financial missteps that lawmakers say led to the firing of the plan's executive director last year.

Maybe Basnight's tuition idea merits debate (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Salisbury Post

Every so often, state Senate leader Marc Basnight casually throws out some idea that, at first blush, seems about as far fetched as walking on the sun. …The Democratic Duke of Dare tossed around the notion that perhaps the 16 schools in University of North Carolina system ought to charge tuition on sliding scale based on parental income. …Just like tuition, faculty pay hikes exceeded inflation during the period. At UNC-Chapel Hill, the average salary for a full professor rose 37 percent, from $100,900 to $138,500 from 2000 to 2007. That pay put the school third highest among public universities across the country, according to a study released last year.

The Rx for Greensboro (Editorial)
The News & Record (Greensboro)

UNCG's proposal to create a school of pharmacy promises to be a good mix for the university and Greensboro. Both will have to push hard for it to become a reality. …One doubter is Fred Eckel, president of the N.C. Association of Pharmacists and a professor of pharmacy at UNC-Chapel Hill. He points to a proliferation of pharmacy schools nationally in recent years and worries supply will overtake demand and quality will suffer.

Together, community can end homelessness (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill News

…Since then we've held two Project Homeless Connect events and somehow, they came together. Lots of people were willing to get involved in ending homelessness, and Project Homeless Connect offered many ways to contribute. …Community members contributed to Project Homeless Connect by raising money and/or gathering donations. Last year, UNC students slept in cardboard boxes in the Pit to raise awareness of homelessness and raised $2,000 for the event.

New indictments against Carson suspect
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald

A federal grand jury has issued a new indictment for Demario James Atwater, who is accused of killing UNC student body president Eve Carson last year, stating that the jurors found that the homicide involved torture and serious physical abuse.
Related Link:
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=6647393

Airport hot air (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

…Finally — and fortunately for all of us — last I checked as alum, occasional adjunct, scholar and supporting taxpayer, UNC-CH's mission includes quite a bit more than undergraduate education. Or perhaps the writer considers the schools of law, business, medicine, journalism, government, public health, library science, education and graduate arts and sciences mere accessories. Carolina North affords needed relief from main-campus crowding and opens unique collaborative opportunities, which are surely more valuable to the state than operating an airport largely for the use of private aviators. (Priscilla Murphy, Chapel Hill)

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