Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Failed antidepressant touted as 'female Viagra'
CTV Television Network (Canada)
A drug that failed as an antidepressant is finding new life as a "Viagra for women," with study results suggesting it helps boost female libido. …"Flibanserin was a poor antidepressant," lead researcher John Thorp, of the University of North Carolina, told the meeting. "However, astute observers noted that it increased libido in laboratory animals and human subjects… So, we conducted multiple clinical trials."
National Coverage
John Grisham to speak at UNC graduation (Blog)
USA Today
Just in: John Grisham will deliver the spring Commencement address at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on May 9. Grisham, who has long been associated with the University of Virginia – where his son, Ty, went to school and where he gave a 2007 commencement address – also has personal ties to UNC. His daughter, Shea, graduated from Carolina in 2008 with a degree in elementary education and teaches in Raleigh.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3116/68/
Students may face an uphill climb
The Washington Post
Almost everyone has a grandparent who claims to have walked two miles to school every morning. Uphill. In the snow. Etc. …Noreen C. McDonald, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill who studies children's transportation habits, said that walking has declined as distances to schools have increased, the percentage of working mothers has doubled and attitudes about safety have changed.
Viagra For Women?
Ivanhoe (Newswire)
A drug originally developed as an anti-depressant may work better as a female sexual boost. Researchers say it could be a Viagra for women. …“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 is in men,” John M. Thorp Jr., McAllister distinguished professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and principle North-American investigator, was quoted as saying.
Related Link:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/11/new-drug-helps-
women-with-lack-of-sexual-desire-in-clinical-trial.html
Note: Ivanhoe has a syndicated television series and its reports are broadcast in 250 markets reaching 80 million U.S. households.
State and Local Coverage
Grisham set for UNC grads
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
John Grisham, author of 23 books, including several best-selling legal thrillers, will give UNC-Chapel Hill's spring commencement address. Chancellor Holden Thorp will preside over the ceremony at 9:30 a.m. May 9 in Kenan Stadium. "John is an engaging speaker who will have a profound message for our graduates and their families," Thorp said in a news release. "His prowess with the written and spoken word makes him an excellent choice for a commencement speaker. He has an inspirational story to share."
Related LInks:
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-John+Grisham+
to+speak+at+UNC+graduation%20&id=4520507-John+Grisham+to+
speak+at+UNC+graduation&instance=homethirdleft
http://books.blogs.starnewsonline.com/10881/grisham-to-speak-at-chapel-hill/
http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2009/11/16/daily19.html
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/author-grisham
-to-give-unc-commencement-address
http://wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=12430
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3116/68/
Memories of Muhammad
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
Omid Safi is professor of Islamic Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. He believes the Prophet Muhammad is the most misunderstood figure of the world’s major religions. His new book, “Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters,” (HarperCollins/2009) aims to make the founder of Islam more accessible to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. He joins host Frank Stasio for a conversation about Muhammad’s political and spiritual life, the origins of Islam and Western perceptions of the faith.
Note: "The State of Things" is the statewide public affairs program airing live at noon weekdays and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays.
House probe of BofA, Merrill merger may be winding down
The Charlotte Observer
After holding four hearings and sifting through thousands of documents, Democrats and Republicans in Congress still can't agree on whether Bank of America was perpetrator or victim in the saga behind its troubled Merrill Lynch deal. …"That may indicate that nothing more is going to come up," said Tom Hazen, who teaches securities law at UNC Chapel Hill. "Or it may indicate that the Bank of America and Merrill people are a lot more silent in light of the upcoming SEC trial."
Citizen-Soldier Shifts Focus To Behavioral Health
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
Bob Goodale, the new director of the Citizen-Soldier Support Program, says the new focus will be on behavioral health. The program is based in UNC’s Howard Odum Institute for Research in Social Science. Goodale previously led the program’s behavioral health initiative and on Monday succeeded Peter Leousis.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3103/68/
No funding, no new infirmary for students at UNC in Chapel Hill
The Triangle Business Journal
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has put on hold plans to develop a new health services facility. The Chapel Hill institution had been planning to spend about $46 million to replace the student infirmary. The university has outgrown the current facilities located in the James A. Taylor Building, which was constructed in 1980.
Cancer Center 'tickled pink' (Letter to the Editor)
The Chapel Hill News
On behalf of cancer patients and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, a huge thank you goes to Chapel Hill and Carrboro for the outstanding community effort to "Turn the Towns Pink". …What a thrill it was to see Chapel Hill and Carrboro community partners come out in support of programs that truly make a difference to cancer patients every day – making the first year of "Turn the Towns Pink" a resounding success. Thank you to everyone who participated. (H. Shelton Earp, MD, director, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center)
Energy conservation is now in UNC's court (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill News
UNC is the biggest producer of greenhouse gases in Orange County. …While it is great that the plant is a cogeneration plant producing both heat and electricity, which makes the fuel use far more efficient than buying electricity from Duke Energy, it is still coal, and there are better alternatives.
Young alcoholics a community concern (Letter to the Editor)
The Chapel Hill News
A newly elected mayor and Town Council will soon assume leadership in Chapel Hill. Underage drinking is a serious problem here. A few years ago, though progress has been made, high school students exceeded state and national averages in their consumption of alcohol. Most recently, with national collegiate alcohol-related deaths at an all-time high, we learn that alcohol poisonings among UNC students, likewise, is at a record level.
Incentive interests (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Katherine Thomas' Nov. 14 People's Forum letter on behalf of the N.C. Economic Developers Association challenging Jesse White's Point of View piece calling for the end to government incentives for selected big businesses should be seen for what it really is – protectionism of the worst sort. …White, director of the UNC-Chapel Hill Office of Economic and Business Development, is right in all respects.
Issues and Trends
Labor Fight Ends in Win for Students
The New York Times
The anti-sweatshop movement at dozens of American universities, from Georgetown to U.C.L.A., has had plenty of idealism and energy, but not many victories. …Most important, the coalition, United Students Against Sweatshops, persuaded the administrations of Boston College, Columbia, Harvard, New York University, Stanford, Michigan, North Carolina and 89 other colleges and universities to sever or suspend their licensing agreements with Russell.
NCCU seeks flexibility on policy
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The UNC system wants enrollment at its campuses to grow, but it also wants the schools to increase their graduation and retention rates — and wants to tie financial support to those rates. …Schools like UNC Chapel Hill, N.C. State University and UNC Wilmington have a different mission and focus on a different profile of students, NCCU leaders said as they engaged in a wide-ranging discussion of managing enrollment at the campus.
UNC, N.C. community colleges, K-12 powering e-learning site, Perdue, Dalton announce
The Triangle Business Journal
The state of North Carolina has launched a new Web site to provide access to online courses from K-12 grades, community colleges and universities. The site, elearningnc.gov, provides links to hundreds of courses provided by NC Virtual Public School, the University of North Carolina System and the North Carolina Community College System. Online courses allow residents to study regardless of their location. In 2008-09, more than 74,000 people enrolled in elearning courses through the UNC System, and more than 131,600 students enrolled in online courses provided by the state’s community colleges.
Hamm chosen for Heisman Humitarian Award
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Former North Carolina All-American Mia Hamm will be the fourth recipient of the Heisman Humanitarian Award, which will be presented on Dec. 14 at the 75th Heisman Memorial Trophy Dinner in New York City. …"Ms. Hamm represents everything that embodies the Heisman spirit," said Rob Whalen, executive director of the Heisman Trophy Trust. "She excels athletically and has continually embraced her position as a role model. "Her work with the Mia Hamm Foundation represents her ongoing commitment to serve and inspires others."
Orange County open for business
The Chapel Hill News
Orange County commissioners, facing stagnant sales and property tax revenue, are talking business. Recruiting business, retaining and growing business. Doing business a new way, including considering the controversial "i" word: incentives. The Orange County Board of Commissioners reviewed the county's finances at a Saturday retreat.