Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Powerful lessons
Financial Times (United Kingdom)
At a time when most companies are trimming travel budgets, Duke Energy is increasing its investment in management education. Duke Energy, one of the largest electric power companies in the US with over 18,250 employees, is in the midst of its fourth round of a customised executive training course through the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and is slated for more. …Another goal of the programme was to enhance the company’s talent pool by ensuring that the next cohort of leaders had basic general management skills, according to Susan Palmer, adjunct professor of strategy and entrepreneurship and programme director for UNC executive development.
'Female Viagra' boosts sexual desire in women with flagging libido
The Guardian (United Kingdom)
Ever since Viagra arrived a decade ago and became a global blockbuster worth billions, an equivalent that works wonders for women has been the Holy Grail for drug companies. …"It's essentially a Viagra-like drug for women in that diminished desire or libido is the most common feminine sexual problem, like erectile dysfunction in men," said John Thorp, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina Medical School. The results were announced today at a meeting of the European Society for Sexual Medicine in Lyon.
Related Link:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gH_sLfl1PzfPmD8rCEeGcMncu9uQ
National Coverage
Universities Turn to Consultants to Trim Budgets
The New York Times
When Holden Thorp, the chancellor of the University of North Carolina, was looking for ways to cut the university’s budget, he did what many executives in private industry do — hired a management consultant. The consultant, Bain & Company, came up with recommendations that it said could save the university more than $150 million a year. … “Like any other large organization,” Mr. Thorp said, “we hire people, we buy stuff, we connect to the Internet, we build buildings and take care of our property, and we wanted Bain to look at how we could carry out those functions as efficiently as possible." "I thought someone from outside the university world would provide a new perspective,” he added.
A Basketball Hoop Changed UNC Coach's Life
"Weekend Edition" National Public Radio
The next time you see Roy Williams prowling the sidelines in a dapper Alexander Julian suit at University of North Carolina games, you might remember what a dime his mother left on their kitchen table once meant to him. Williams, the winningest active college basketball coach, has written the story of his life with Tim Crothers. Host Scott Simon talks to Williams about his book, Hard Work: A Life On and Off The Court.
Related Link:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/2009/11/book-em-hard-work-a-life-and-
off-the-court.html?loc=interstitialskip
Quad Q&A: Tim Crothers (Blog)
The New York Times
Tim Crothers is a former senior writer for Sports Illustrated and the author of “The Man Watching,” a biography of the North Carolina women’s soccer coach, Anson Dorrance. Crothers’s latest project was collaborating with Roy Williams on Williams’s just-released autobiography, “Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court.” Crothers recently answered some questions via e-mail about the book and Williams.
Study Touts Success With 'Female Viagra' Drug
HealthDay News
New industry-funded research suggests that the antidepressant flibanserin, which has been touted as a female version of Viagra, can enhance libido in women with low sex drives. The research compiles the results of several trials, the first to test a treatment for low libido in women that works on the brain, lead investigator Dr. John M. Thorp Jr., a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, said in a university news release.
Study raises new questions about Merck pill Zetia
The Associated Press
A new study raises fresh concerns about Zetia and its cousin, Vytorin — drugs still taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol, despite questions raised last year about how well they work. …Dr. Sidney Smith, a former heart association president from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that for people with newly diagnosed cholesterol problems, "the foundation is still statins." The new study "affirms the benefits of niacin" and makes it the next drug to add if people need more help, he said.
Chinese Students' Hopes for Obama's Visit to China
"Campus Chatter" ABC.com
As President Barack Obama continues his first tour of Southeast Asia, Chinese-American college students are eager to see what will come of Obama’s trip to China. Obama arrived in Shanghai on Sunday. ABC News on Campus asked Chinese students in the U.S. about their hopes for the president's first visit. Andrew Lu, 20, from Mooresville, N.C., is a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He said he hopes the two countries will collaborate on working toward a more sustainable global society.
Regional Coverage
Test may help in prevention of ACL injuries
The Kansas City Star (Missouri)
When it comes to preventing ACL injuries, LESS may be more. The Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) has been by developed by Darin Padua, director of the Sports Medicine Research Laboratory at University of North Carolina, as a predictive tool in the prevention of ACL injuries. “The purpose of the project was to figure out what were risk factors for ACL injuries,” Padua said in a phone interview.
Niko the Greek bets on recycling (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Houston Chronicle (Texas)
As someone who signs a death warrant for several trees with every column I write, I'm devoted to recycling. I'm also a fan of Greek food, and thereby hangs a tale. …And the University of North Carolina decided against using their products after B.J. Lipton, who is in charge of waste and recycling for the university, looked into the claims. “I'm a professional, and I'm having trouble reading through it,” she told me. “So the average restaurant owner is going to have a hard time, too.”
New marriage of science and fiction (Book Review)
The Boston Globe (Massachusetts)
Terrence Holt taught writing and literature for a decade before becoming a physician, and “In the Valley of the Kings,’’ his first published collection of short fiction, daringly maps the shadowy terrain that exists – in these pages at least – between the physical and the unearthly. “My Father’s Heart,’’ for example, is a queasy tale of a son caring for a heart now beating in a jar; three other stories are futuristic refetellings of Greek myths and the title story returns an archaeologist to ancient Egypt. Holt practices and is on the faculty at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
State and Local Coverage
Western North Carolina builders seek local advantage
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)
Some area architects and contractors are trying to get residents and public officials to apply the “buy local” mantra to more than produce. …That sentiment typically rises during tough times, but the idea is still illegal and unconstitutional, said Eileen Youens, a member of the faculty at UNC Chapel Hill's School of Government. State law requires that local governments award construction or repair contracts greater than $30,000 to the lowest bidder, she said. The U.S. Constitution protects interstate commerce and the interests of a resident of one state while in another, she said.
Simplify those credit card sites (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Each decade has its own developments, defining issues and challenges. The 1970s and the '80s were characterized by the introduction of a various new financial securities and products. The Information Technology revolution of the 1990s enabled a relentless pursuit of efficiency through faster transactions and cost reductions. Today's dominant issue is the designing of an appropriate regulatory architecture for our vast, hard-to-control markets. (Arkadev Chatterjea is a visiting professor of finance at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC-Chapel Hill. )
UNC revamps soldier support program after criticism
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced Friday that a new leader will take charge of restructuring the Citizen-Soldier Support Program criticized in an internal audit. …"Behavioral health is Citizen-Soldier’s most successful component, so we’ll focus on that strength in providing assistance to soldiers coming back from active duty along with their families,” said Dr. Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and economic development.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3103/68/
Citizen-Soldier director is out
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The University of North Carolina announced Friday that it is changing the leadership of a troubled $10 million program aimed at helping deployed soldiers of the National Guard and Army Reserves. Peter Leousis is stepping down as director of the Citizen-Soldier Support Program, which UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp has criticized as seriously flawed. …The program will focus on the behavioral health needs of returning combat veterans, some of whom suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury. Bob Goodale, a retired grocery executive and former official at the N.C. Department of Commerce, will lead the program. Goodale is a Citizen-Soldier program manager.
Related Links:
http://www.lincolntribune.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=14754
http://www.carrborocitizen.com/mill/2009/11/unc-will-revamp-citizen-soldier-program/
A home away from home
The Chapel Hill Herald
North Carolina's Native American tribes all unite at UNC Chapel Hill under one roof: the American Indian Center. North Carolina is home to the largest American Indian population east of the Mississippi, and for 204 Native American students at UNC, the American Indian Center (AIC) is a home away from home. …"The center is a link between the University and North Carolina's Indian communities," said Randi Byrd, the center's program assistant.
A changing, more urbanized South
The Charlotte Observer
You know the images that say "Southern." Kudzu on a red clay bank. A sharecropper's shack abandoned in a field of cotton (or tobacco). Moonshiners vrooming down country roads. …Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC Chapel Hill's Program on Public Life, discussed how in-migration to the South is enriching education and income levels, and for blacks as well as whites. People are flowing into major metro areas: "The South has shifted from an agrarian to a metropolitan society."
Local bank failure started long before Cooperative, Cape Fear
The Star-News (Wilmington)
Wilmington’s experience with bank failure started long before Cooperative and Cape Fear banks went belly up this year. …A banking expert at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill saw the roots of the lending problems in Wilmington as a byproduct of the area’s vibrancy and success. “We expect failure when we have a lot of new businesses to start and the lending activity to support those business,” said Mustafa Gutekin, associate professor of finance at UNC. “And some businesses are not going to succeed. “Some banks did not do their home work,” he added.
Spruce Pine one of Western North Carolina towns reaping tourism gains from Blue Ridge Parkway
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)
…When the parkway was being built, its economic benefits may not have been initially apparent to some landowners and communities along the route. They realized that its wide right-of-way, limited access and noncommercial use would mean it would be difficult to capitalize on the parkway, according to Anne Whisnant, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill and author of “Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History.”
Lawmakers shift on Cuba
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Three North Carolina congressional Democrats changed their views on U.S. relations with Cuba in recent years, just as they began receiving thousands of dollars in donations from the country's largest Cuban-American political action committee. …"They're really savvy people," Lars Schoultz, a professor of political science at UNC-Chapel Hill and author of "That Infernal Little Cuban Republic: The United States and the Cuban Revolution," said of the political action committee.
Lubker receives retired UNC faculty leadership award
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The Retired Faculty Association of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Tuesday presented its first Leadership Award to professor Bobbie Lubker, retired clinical professor of education and Allied Health Services and former director of the Center for Educational Management of Chronically Ill Children and Adolescents. UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp presented the award at the RFA's quarterly meeting at Carolina Meadows Retirement Community.
Hearing sounds from Scandinavia
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
At first glance, two concerts this week at UNC-Chapel Hill look like divergent offerings. One is a solo piano recital, the other features six musicians and three vocalists performing a brand-new American work. But look closer at who's playing, and you'll see that Chapel Hill is bracing for a Scandinavian chamber music invasion. There are no banners, as there were in June to welcome Russia's Bolshoi Ballet, but there's no shortage of cachet.
UNC Habitat Heads To Thailand
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
UNC’s Habitat Thailand Team Trip Leader Brandon Garren says fundraisers are the cornerstone of obtaining money for the UNC Habitat Thailand team to get money for their summer trip to Thailand. Garren says the team consists of 11 UNC undergraduates from different academic concentrations. Their goal is to raise a little over $20,000 to fund this trip.
Is Reading Street the right road?
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
A campaign by Durham educators to improve results in a district where only 41 percent of students passed state reading tests in 2008 has sparked a campaign of another sort. …Teachers critical of the district's literacy program would not agree to be interviewed on the record for this story. But much of the information that reached parents and even education professors such as Leigh Hall at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Education was negative.
Issues and Trends
Bowles wants lawmakers to reconsider UNC tuition hike
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
The University of North Carolina System president wants the General Assembly to reconsider a mandated tuition hike for all students in which the additional revenue would go to help with the state's budget woes. …President Erskine Bowles wants state lawmakers, when they reconvene in May, to give tuition hikes back to the campuses. "We need it," Bowles said Friday, at a meeting of the UNC Board of Governors.
Related Link:
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-UNC+to+seek
+permission+to+hike+tuition%20&id=4473657-UNC+to+seek+
permission+to+hike+tuition&instance=main_article
http://orange.mync.com/site/orange/news|Sports|Lifestyles/story/44487/unc-system-
tuition-hike-money-may-not-go-towards-improving-campuses
Lawmakers consider college aid as state, family budgets dip
The Associated Press
Families across North Carolina and state government felt the same financial pressures this year as they cobbled together paths for children to get a college degree. …The panel meets after lawmakers this year shuffled around financial aid programs to keep the state budget balanced and University of North Carolina system campuses among the most affordable in the country.
UNC's Bowles: "Be a better salesman" (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Erskine Bowles will tell you: He's no marketing genius. But in his role as the president of the UNC system, he is a pitchman of sorts. He has a product and he has to sell it – to taxpayers, to legislators, to students and their parents. …To that end, Bowles now plans on monthly progress reports on big university initiatives to be distributed to lawmakers. He wants to demonstrate that projects funded by taxpayers are underway and doing what they're supposed to be doing.
UNC wrestles with paid leave policy
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The UNC system's governing board is not united behind reducing the paid leaves that campus chancellors get when they step down. A UNC Board of Governors committee Thursday recommended limiting research leaves – which also go to the UNC system president – from one year to six months.
Brakes on breaks (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
From the perspective of those in the university world, paid research leaves for administrators who are going back to the classroom after some years away are vital to allow the people to update their academic knowledge in their fields. But in the eyes of people who are not in careers in "the academy," the leaves as utilized by the University of North Carolina system have been inadequately supervised and structured as a pretty sweet ride, indeed.
She takes helm in HIV/STD battle (Tar Heel of the Week)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The names of the dead fill three zippered plastic bags that Jacquelyn Clymore keeps locked in her desk and will never throw away. Torn off the discarded files of clients served by the Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the collection of names has traveled with her as she left the advocacy organization last month and joined state government to lead its HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. …The disease is much different now than it was 20 years ago, when she was recruited out of graduate school at UNC-Chapel Hill as the first employee of a fledgling advocacy group.
Perdue taps Brevard councilman for top energy committee
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)
Gov. Bev Perdue today announced appointees to the North Carolina Energy Policy Council. Rodney W. Locks, who sits on the Brevard City Council, will fulfill the state requirement to appoint a person with county or city council experience. …Tim Toben of Chapel Hill, a principal in green energy and green building ventures in the state, has been named chairman of the council. He serves on the N.C. Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change and is chairman of the Board of Visitors at the UNC-Chapel Hill Institute for the Environment.
UNC should follow Duke's lead in reducing coal use (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill Herald
Carolina beat Duke at our Homecoming game last weekend, but Duke is beating us in getting their campus off of one of the dirtiest energy sources used today — coal. Duke University plans to reduce its coal consumption 70 percent by the end of the year by replacing coal with biofuels and natural gas, but here at UNC we are still burning 100 thousand tons of coal every year at our cogeneration facility on Cameron Avenue. (Stewart Boss is coordinator for the Coal-Free UNC Campaign and a member of the UNC Chapel Hill Class of 2013.)