Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
Holden Thorp: Hiring Faculty in Tough Times (Audio Interview)
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Holden Thorp, chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, describes how public research universities can recruit and retain faculty members during an economic downswing—and how those institutions can prosper even as their state support drops.
Cheapest colleges: 13 standup schools that cost less than $5,000 a year
The Economizer.com
…University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC …The oldest state university in the nation, it offers more than 50 majors and a nationally acclaimed curriculum. The Princeton Review has called its tuition for in-state residents "sinfully cheap." …Cooler yet, UNC's revolutionary "Carolina Covenant" program promises to eliminate all loans from student financial aid packages.
Admissions Q&A: North Carolina
Businessweek
Sherry Wallace has a pretty good idea of what it takes to succeed at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School (Kenan-Flagler Full-Time MBA Profile). That's because Wallace, director of MBA admissions at the school, earned an MBA from Kenan-Flager in 1987. Wallace says she had to "work my tail off" once she entered the rigorous business program.
United States of Islamophobia?
CNN.com
Almost everybody has heard about the protests against the mosque and Islamic center planned to be built about two blocks from ground zero in Manhattan. But most people are still unaware that these anti-Muslim political campaigns are spreading throughout our beloved country as a new wave of Islamophobia hits. …For those who argue that mosques are somehow inherently breeding grounds for extremism, a two-year joint study by Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy and the University of North Carolina concluded that American "mosques are actually a deterrent to the spread of militant Islam and terrorism."
New NC Law: students get 2 holy days
The Associated Press
A new North Carolina law requires public schools and colleges to give students at least two days off to observe their religion's holy days. …A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill official says that might be a problem, especially during final exams. Associate provost Ron Strauss says the calendar is filled with holy days for the various faiths.
Related Link:
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/its-the-law-two-days-off-of-school-for-holy-days
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/13/626868/for-holy-days-nc-bends-a-bit.html
Regional Coverage
Meteor shower putting on a show to remember
The Dispatch (Lexington, Ky.)
One of the year's most spectacular light shows is taking place in the skies overhead. It's all free and everyone is invited. …The event is the Perseid meteor shower and — clouds and weather permitting, of course — the best time for viewing should continue through Saturday's early hours. “You just kind of want to lay back and look 'cause you never know where they're going to be,” said Karen Kornegay of the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
State and Local Coverage
Campuses flooded with aid requests
The Triangle Business Journal
…UNC-Chapel Hill has been fortunate this year to have all the dollars it needs to fund financial aid programs. The university’s financial aid department received an additional $1.4 million from the sale of national championship gear and 38 percent of the new tuition income has gone to financial aid. “That’s just huge,” says Shirley Ort, associate provost and director of scholarships and financial aid.
E-books, rentals yet to dent stores
The Triangle Business Journal
…The 2009 national basketball championship win for UNC-Chapel Hill was both a sporting victory and a business bonanza for the sale of apparel and paraphernalia at UNC Bookstores. Sales this year are coming down from that high. In fiscal 2010, which ended June 30, store sales declined about 7 percent, to $26 million, from the $28 million recorded in the previous year. “Most of that was anticipated due to the NCAA championship win,” says Jim Powell, business officer of the UNC Student Stores in Chapel Hill.
UNC scientist receives $223K grant to study chemo
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC scientists have received a one-year $223,000 grant from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to study the effect of chemotherapy on aging in older women with breast cancer. Hyman Muss, professor of medicine and director of the UNC Geriatric Oncology Program, is principal investigator, and Ned Sharpless, associate professor of medicine and UNC Lineberger associate director for translational research, is co-principal investigator.
UNC Release:
http://www.med.unc.edu/www/news/2010/august/unc-lineberger-clinicians-receive-grant-
to-evaluate-effect-of-chemotherapy-on-aging
UNC-AICPA study: Pessimism grows among CFOs
The Triangle Business Journal
U.S. CPAs in executive jobs are optimistic about their companies’ futures but not about the overall economy, according to a new survey from the Durham-based American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. …Mark Lang, a UNC accounting professor, says the result confirms that the recovery has slowed and that uncertainty over the economy’s future is limiting investment and hiring.
Local governments holding key on permit expirations
The Triangle Business Journal
…Richard Ducker, a professor with UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Government, says he has not heard of any North Carolina local government that’s decided to opt out of the 2010 legislation, but they have until the end of December to decide. “You can find local governments (that) are interested in doing everything they can to enable the development community to get back on its feet,” says Ducker. “Others view this (extension) as one big nuisance. The progress everybody hoped for in most places still hasn’t occurred.”
Meeting planned on University Square
The Chapel Hill Herald
Cousins Properties Inc., which is leading the redevelopment of University Square for Chapel Hill Foundation Real Estate Holdings Inc., will host a public meeting Wednesday to discuss the long-term vision for the site and the proposed initial phase of the project. …In July 2009, the 12-acre tract, now the site of the University Square shopping center and the Granville Towers student housing complex, was purchased by Chapel Hill Foundation Real Estate Holdings Inc., a not-for-profit corporation founded by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Foundation to assist with real estate projects for the university and its affiliated organizations.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3812/68/
Hydration critical for athletes in August heat
The Gaston Gazette
…According to the National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research at the University of North Carolina, heat stroke is the third leading cause of death among athletes in the United States. Data compiled by the Center shows that 42 football players alone — 31 in high schools — have died from heat stroke across the country since 1995.
Baddour: 'Disturbing time' at UNC
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Before North Carolina coach Butch Davis stepped to the podium Thursday for the Tar Heels' football media day, athletic director Dick Baddour took center stage. For 10 minutes, Baddour addressed the ongoing NCAA investigation into members of the football team, again reiterating that the school will not discuss details of the case per the NCAA's request.
Related Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/13/626881/questions-still-loom-for-heels.html
Issues and Trends
UNC cap on tuition is shaky
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC system officials hope to decide by the end of the year whether a 6.5 percent cap on annual tuition increases still makes sense. A group of tuition and financial aid experts from across the UNC system is recommending that the four-year-old cap be loosened so tuition can go higher if state money lags. The group suggests that the cap could rise if the state provides less money to the university in a given year than the 6 percent increase it has averaged over time.
Related Link:
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/9113704/article-Option-for-higher-tuition-hikes-mulled?instance=main_article
UNC Will Let Students Reject Abortion Coverage
Inside Higher Ed
The University of North Carolina System will allow all students to opt out of abortion coverage in their health insurance plan, The News & Observer reported. The move follows criticism from anti-abortion groups that students were being forced to have abortion coverage and to pay for others' abortions. University officials said that because of the way the plan's budget is set up, the premiums don't actually pay for specific procedures, and that declining abortion coverage will not affect fees.
Related Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/13/626832/students-can-reject-abortion-coverage.html
http://chronicle.com/blogPost/U-of-North-Carolina-Will-L/26199/
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/unc-and-abortion-insurance
Consultant: State Health Plan needs overhaul
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
An outside consultant hired to review the operations of the health insurance plan for state employees and retirees told state lawmakers Thursday that the plan should be restructured and should rework its contracts to limit expenses. Rising medical costs have led to significant losses at the State Health Plan, and officials haven't been able to stop the bleeding. Last year, the state spent $300 million in taxpayer money propping up the plan, and its executive director told lawmakers in June that the plan would need another infusion of $400 million to $500 million late next year or early in 2012.
Company goes missing, Biotech Center wants its money
The Triangle Business Journal
When the North Carolina Biotechnology Center awarded drug discovery and development company Thrombotargets a loan to further its research on ways to stop bleeding, the company was riding high on promising news from regulators and touting its lead candidate as a potential blockbuster. …Dr. Cam Patterson, chief of the Division of Cardiology and director of the Carolina Cardiovascular Biology Center at UNC, was named to Thrombotargets’ scientific advisory board in 2007. Patterson also has no information on the company. “I severed my ties with the company a long time ago,” Patterson says. “I’m not sure if they still exist.”