Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
Kiplinger: D.C. region awash in collegiate values (Blog)
The Washington Post
Many colleges in Maryland and (especially) Virginia have made this year's Kiplinger 100 list of top public collegiate values, delivering high quality at a reasonable price. Flagships in Virginia and Maryland capture three of the top five spots. (The University of North Carolina and University of Florida rank 1 and 2 in the nation.)
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4177/68/
The Best-Value Public Colleges: Kiplinger List
The Huffington Post
The New Year is off to a great start for the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, which has been named Kiplinger's best value public college for the tenth year in a row.
Law Students, Particularly Women, Have Limited Contact With Faculty, Survey Finds
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Although nearly half of American law students are women, they are less likely than their male classmates to ask questions in class or to discuss assignments with their professors, according to the findings of a national survey released today. …Judith Welch Wegner, a professor of law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a former senior scholar with the Carnegie Foundation, said the findings should help schools explain "why students should enroll in law-school programs during an era of increasing debt and uncertainty regarding job prospects."
What's in store for business schools in 2011?
Fortune
…University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler School of Business' decision to start an online MBA program this year will bring more prestige and stature to online business degrees. It is the first time that a B-school as highly ranked in the U.S. as UNC has entered the market. …Many educators at top-ranked schools, however, are watching UNC program closely. Expect more prestige schools to get into this market which, by and large, is the province of unaccredited, for-profit schools.
State and Local Coverage
UNC: Still affordable
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
And in other news, the sun came up this morning. For the 10th straight year, Kiplinger's Personal Finance has named UNC-Chapel Hill the best value among public colleges. The top ranking can be found in the magazine's February 2011 issue, which is now available on newsstands and at www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges.
Related Links:
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/unc-still-affordable
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/10867294/article-UNC-named-best-value
?instance=main_article
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4177/68/
Kiplinger's: UNC Chapel Hill is best value
WTVD-TV (ABC/Raleigh)
If you're looking for good value for your higher education dollar, look no further than UNC Chapel Hill. That according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine which has ranked the school the best value in American public higher education for the tenth time in a row.
Related Links:
http://www.wect.com/Global/story.asp?S=13786093
http://www.wral.com/5onyourside/smartshopper/blogpost/8878083/
NFL turns to UNC for concussion research
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Kevin Guskiewicz has proof, $200,000 worth of it, that the NFL and NFL Players Association can agree to something. Guskiewicz, the research director of the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes at the University of North Carolina, has received matching $100,000 grants from the NFL and NFLPA for concussion research. "Both sides agree, our research is important," said Guskiewicz, a Kenan Distinguished Professor at UNC.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4184/107/
Weight-loss ideas that work
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
…Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill reported this past fall that obese teens not only stay obese, but also pack on an average 80 more pounds to become severely obese adults, foretelling an onslaught of diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, cancer and other ailments in younger adults instead of seniors. Barry Popkin, an author of that study and a national leader of a push to tax sugared drinks, said the issue goes beyond personal responsibility and must be tackled with major public policy changes.
Robeson County is one of most violent in state
The Fayetteville Observer
…Lead researcher Paul Smokowski, a professor in the School of Social Work at UNC-Chapel Hill, said he chose Robeson County for the grant application after comparing its crime rate with cities across the state and region. He was floored by the results, he said. "What I found was, Robeson County is having a lot of big-city problems in a rural setting," Smokowski said. "Nationally, there aren't a lot of places like this."
Douglass Hunt, UNC Official, Passes Away
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
Longtime UNC administrator Douglass Hunt passed away on Saturday, January 1. He was 86. …Hunt returned to his alma mater for good in 1973, when then-Chancellor Ferebee Taylor appointed him to the vice chancellorship for administration. In 1980 he became Special Assistant to the Chancellor and served in that role until his retirement in 1996. In 1995, the Carolina Seminars program began organizing the Douglass Hunt Lecture Series in his honor; that series continues to this day, with world-renowned speakers like Nobel winner Elie Wiesel.
UNC Statement:
http://uncnews.un
c.edu/content/view/4176/68/
Diet plan needs to be sensible (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Pull out your gym shoes and put away those holiday cookies. It's time for the annual diet-fest. It's a good thing we're so motivated to lose weight this time of year. The big push to shape up helps compensate for holiday indiscretions and can give you the boost you need to enter the new year with dietary momentum. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the department of health policy and administration in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.)
Time to topple Silent Sam? (Letter to the Editor)
The Chapel Hill News
…As the nation gears up to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, it is well past time for U.S. patriots in the first place to give a fitting rebuke to traitors and demagogues: the Town Council should immediately engage in urgent consultations with the UNC Board of Trustees to remove the eyesore and obscene insult that is Silent Sam from the prominent place it now occupies on the UNC campus. (Gerald Horne, Chapel Hill)
Issues and Trends
Ailing, in love, upbeat, Basnight quits Senate
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
With Republicans taking control of the state legislature, the Democratic political boss many considered the capital's most powerful politician says it is time for him to fade from public life. ..Though he never got a college education himself, Basnight will likely be remembered for boosting the UNC system and securing billions in funding for new facilities. He was also outspoken on environmental issues, saying Tuesday that global warming and rising sea levels present a clear threat to North Carolina's coastal communities.
Related Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/01/05/900137/he-wielded-power-loved-the-process.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/01/05/899737/basnights-long-trail.html
Foxx will lead higher ed subcommittee (Under the Dome)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx will take over the chairmanship of a subcommittee focused on higher education. The subcommittee oversees federal policy on U.S. colleges and universities and is part of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. Foxx, a Banner Elk Republican, holds a doctorate in higher education and curriculum and is a former president of Mayland Community College.
Rigors for Ross (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Tom Ross is like a guy who took a call at his wedding reception from his boss and was told to report to work immediately after the cake-cutting. Sure, he'll have the usual number of get-acquainted tea parties, but with state lawmakers looking to find savings to plug a $3.7 billion budget hole, Ross knows the University of North Carolina system's $7 billion-plus budget has some eyes on it.