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

International Coverage

Building on MBA know-how
Financial Times (United Kingdom)

The foundation sector in the US is a vast industry of more than 75,000 organisations, with billions of dollars in assets and grant-making abilities, which in 2008 reached almost $46bn. As these foundations look to become more accountable and effective in allocating their grants, some are increasing their hiring of business school graduates and sending staff on MBA or executive programmes. …Meanwhile, the research and educational programmes of centres such as the Kenan Institute  at Kenan-Flagler Business School focus on how private sector resources can serve the public interest.

The Hole in the EPA’s Ozone Claim
Canada Free Press (Wire Service)

To the EPA, “safe” is a constantly moving target—and that’s the way it likes it. Always something new to regulate, always a new hobgoblin from which to save us. Take the agency’s proposal to yet again lower allowable ozone levels. …“I don’t think their methodology is valid,” says University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, statistician Richard L. Smith, lead author of the Inhalation Toxicology article, says. “Why was there no ozone effect in the overwhelming majority of cities?”

Rethinking 529s (Commentary)
Forbes Magazine

…What if you're a new grandparent who wants to help pay for Junior's education by contributing to a 529 naming him as the beneficiary? Then, the answer is trickier. Most colleges don't ask about any 529s grandparents hold. But some of the priciest private colleges (and even "public Ivies" like University of North Carolina and University of Michigan) are nosier and demand to know whether grandparents hold these accounts, notes Onink. If Junior goes to these schools, then his grandparents' use of 529 accounts (as opposed to regular taxable accounts) could "substantially reduce" a student's aid eligibility, Onink adds.

National Coverage

Peter Marks's theater picks for the spring
The Washington Post

…"Hamlet" Yes, him again. The Melancholy One is once more on the boards, this time on Capitol Hill in a Folger Theatre production directed by Joseph Haj, producing artistic director of PlayMakers Repertory Company at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Graham Hamilton, who played the ardent young hero of Folger's 2005 staging of "Romeo and Juliet," makes the dramatic leap from Verona to Elsinore. The acting squad also features Deborah Hazlett as Gertrude, David Whalen as Claudius, Lindsey Wochley as Ophelia and Stephen Patrick Martin as Polonius.

State and Local Coverage

Jonathan Howes embodies town-gown relationship (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill News

We gave a reception earlier this month for Jonathan Howes, who is retiring from the university after nearly 40 years of service. Jonathan's most recent role at Carolina was as special assistant to the chancellor for community affairs, and I can't think of a better example of the title matching the man. As a former mayor of Chapel Hill and longtime director of the UNC Center for Urban and Regional Studies, Jonathan embodied the very spirit of town-gown relations. (Holden Thorp is chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.)

Fun today, gridlock later
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

…In Chapel Hill, snow plow operators and coffee shop baristas and bartenders seemed to be the hardest-working people in town. City buses ran on a reduced schedule. But all was not quiet on the western front. At 2 p.m., hundreds of UNC-Chapel Hill students gathered at the Old Well for a snowball fight.

Facebookers organize mass snowball fight at UNC (Blog)
The Star News (Wilmington)

Ah, memories. Well we’re not getting any snow here in Wilmington – so far – but there’s plenty on the campus of my alma mater, and, according to a Facebook event invitation I came across, there was a big snowball fight there at 2 p.m. today. More than 1,000 people RSVP’d as attending the snowball fight, which was planned to occur in the main quad on campus. I’m betting thousands more showed up. There’s nothing like a snow day at UNC-Chapel Hill!

Most schools close as advisories issued for icy roads
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)

Most school systems across central North Carolina are closed Monday due to the lingering snow and slick road conditions. …North Carolina State University canceled classes until noon Monday, while the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill won't start classes until 10 a.m. Duke University will hold all classes as scheduled.
Related Link:
http://wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=13343
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3299/1/

Weather or not: Hospitals plan to get employees to work
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)

Many employees of area hospitals will call the facilities home this weekend. Because hospitals cannot shut down in bad weather and employees must find a way to get to work, many have decided to bunk down at work rather than risk commuting through the ice and snow. …UNC Hospitals is setting up at least 90 cots for workers, said Tom Smith, director of police and transportation. About 600 employees are scheduled to work each day.

H1N1 could be making a comeback
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)

UNC Hospitals epidemiologist Dr. David Weber said there are signs that another wave of the H1N1 virus might be starting. There have been two waves of the virus so far, one last spring and another in the late summer and early fall. In the past two weeks, five patents were admitted to UNC Hospital with H1N1, Weber said. Of those patients, three required intensive care.
Related Link:
http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/healthteam/video/6917548/

Play Would've Featured Late UNC Student
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)

Among the cancellations on Saturday was the play “A New Dress for Mona”, which was to have featured the late Lillian Chason, who died from complications related to the H1N1 virus. Chason died December 17 at UNC Hospitals.  She had been hospitalized since November 20th and was under the care of Professor of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Charles van der Horst.

Center of hope (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

It is rather like a life preserver, something we don't really think about until we need it. But now a catastrophe of epic proportions serves to put the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center in our consciousness again. The center is treating some of the victims of Haiti's earthquake, and will likely treat others, perhaps many others. …Because the center, which is part of UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, and other burn centers typically go about their work quietly, it's easy to lose sight of the scope of their work.

Professors hope research helps communities
The Daily Reflector (Greenville)

Professors Sharon Paynter and Maureen Berner wanted to do something useful with their research. One day while having lunch together, Paynter, now an assistant professor at ECU’s Department of Political Science, and Berner, from the University of North Carolina’s School of Government, shared a common desire to use their skills and knowledge in a way that would benefit their communities.

Money a hurdle to hiring trainers at all high schools
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

More than 18 months after the deaths of two North Carolina high school football players from head injuries, more than half the state's public high schools do not have certified athletic trainers despite recommendations from the state's high school sports safety committee and one of the top concussion experts in the nation. …"Certified athletic trainers save lives and help prevent suffering," said Kevin Guskiewicz, chairman of the UNC Department of Exercise and Sport Science and the director of the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes. "Everyone agrees with that."

Is foreclosure prevention a good idea?
The Charlotte Observer

In the year since President Barack Obama announced a $75 billion plan to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, there has been plenty of criticism about why it hasn't helped more people. …Roberto Quercia, a UNC Chapel Hill professor who authored his first foreclosure study in 1992, hears from critics when he speaks publicly or has published remarks about foreclosure prevention.

The Nazis' slaves
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Eighty years after the United States abolished slavery, the peculiar institution was undergoing a resurgence in Europe. Only this time, the masters wore swastikas and the victims bore Stars of David. In one of the lesser-known facets of the Holocaust, the Third Reich made a tidy profit from slave colonies established to exploit Jews to their last breath before the victims were exterminated. …The testimony of 292 former slaves forms the basis of "Remembering Survival: Inside a Nazi Slave-Labor Camp," a chilling account by Christopher Browning, a Holocaust historian at UNC-Chapel Hill.

New flood of uninsured feared when feds cut off subsidies for COBRA
The Triangle Business Journal

The state’s already record high number of people without health insurance is expected to surge when subsidies for the federal government’s COBRA coverage expire, putting another strain on the state’s already taxed health-care system. …Dr. Tim Carey, director of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says he’s already seeing patients coming in who are having trouble affording COBRA, even with the subsidy, and he expects the number of uninsured to rise once the subsidies expire.

UNC says it didn't hide leak
The Chapel Hill News

UNC officials who attended a Dec. 14 meeting with Bingham Township residents say they didn't mention that treated wastewater from an animal holding facility had leaked into a nearby creek because they didn't know it yet. …Both Associate Vice Chancellor Dwayne Pinkney and Mary Beth Koza, UNC's director of environment, health and safety, say UNC did not hide information from the public.
Related Link:
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/5711707/article
-Group-asks-UNC-to-fix-animal-waste-lagoons?instance=main_article

State may seek permit
The Chapel Hill News

State regulators may require UNC to get a permit for its animal holding facility's faulty wastewater treatment system after three discharges, including a slow leak that reached Collins Creek. …Mary Beth Koza, director of UNC's Department of Environment, Health & Safety, had not spoken with state regulators about their recommendation. "Whatever DENR requests of us we will do," she said. "I guess, to me, that's a no-brainer."
Related Link:
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/orangechat/state-may-require
-uncs-bingham-facility-to-get-a-permit

UNC must be more transparent in Bingham (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill News

I'm writing to thank you for your coverage of the wastewater leak at UNC's Research Resource Facility (CHN Jan. 27), and for your ongoing coverage of the planned expansion of the Bingham Facility (N&O Dec. 16). I would like to add another voice to the argument for further transparency in UNC's animal research operations. (Caroline Kilaru, UNC Class of 2007)

UNC Streamlining Process For Keeping Track Of Study Abroad Students
WNCN-TV (NBC/Raleigh)

There are countless opportunites at UNC-Chapel Hill for students to study abroad. Lashaun Anderson, UNC Senior, went to Hong Kong over the summer. "Eventually, I want to actually start an import/export business company based out of Raleigh so I thought it'd be a good opportunity to go over there and learn about the government and economy," said Anderson. Dr. Robert Miles, Associate Dean for UNC's Study Abroad and International Exchange Programs, said international studies has grown tremendously over the years.

College endowments walloped in downturn
The Winston-Salem Journal

Reflecting the difficult financial environment for higher education, university endowments lost an average of 18.7 percent in the last fiscal year, the worst returns since the Great Depression, according to a study of hundreds of public and private institutions. …At other schools, the endowment at UNC Chapel Hill and its foundation fell 19 percent, from $2.4 billion to $1.9 billion.

Tar Heel Temps closes after 17 years
The Chapel Hill News

Tar Heel Temps, UNC's job-placement service for 17 years, closed last week, a victim of the recession. Since 1992, the service had provided temporary workers across the university. But the agency supported itself on the revenue it brought in. The economic downturn and drop in demand for temporary employees proved its death knell.

Issues and Trends

N.C. Research Campus free nutrition series
The Salisbury Post

Scientists will discuss individualized nutrition, flax seed oil vs. fish oil and how global warming is changing the Inuit diet during a free lecture series at the N.C. Research Campus. Starting Tuesday night, the UNC-Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute will present weekly seminars called Frontiers in Nutrition, part of the Appetite for Life Academy.

Probation fixes are a priority, Perdue says
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Gov. Bev Perdue said Sunday that fixing the state's probation system remains high on her to-do list. "I am not happy with where probation and parole, our state's system, is today," Perdue said Sunday. "I am happier than I was at this time last year. … It was a wreck." …Problems in the probation system came to light after the March 2008 shooting of Eve Carson, the student body president at UNC-Chapel Hill.

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