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

National Coverage

At top colleges, diversity not just black-white
The Associated Press

…In recent years, more than 100 universities have adopted institutional initiatives to increase access for low-income students, according to a summary compiled by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The North Carolina effort, known as the Carolina Covenant and begun in 2003, is among the most successful. The program guarantees its participants — who must meet the same admission standards as other applicants — a debt-free education with a combination of grants, scholarships and work-study obligations.

Bringing Partner Into Anorexia Treatment May Aid Recovery
HealthDay News

…In the meantime, the partners of people struggling with eating disorders "always want to help, but they don't know how," said (Cynthia M.) Bulik, who is director of the University of North Carolina Eating Disorders Program in Chapel Hill and a professor in the school's psychiatry department. "No matter what they say, they feel like it's taken wrong," she explained. "So finally I feel we're leveraging the power of the partnership."

Outsmart your food cravings
Prevention Magazine

…When you reach for food in response to negative feelings such as anger or sadness (like potato chips after a fight with your spouse), you inadvertently create a powerful connection in your brain. Remember Pavlov's dog? It's classic brain conditioning. "The food gets coded in your memory center as a solution to an unpleasant experience or emotion," says Cynthia Bulik, PhD, author of Runaway Eating and director of the Eating Disorders Program at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Face that same problem again, and your brain will likely tell you, "Get the Cheetos!"

New Census Finds China’s Population Growth Has Slowed
The New York Times

…The growing proportion of older people can be explained partly by China’s low fertility rate in recent decades, with fewer births to offset the aged. Cai Yong, a demographer at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, said the number of children under 15 was even lower than expected, pointing to a fertility rate of about 1.4 children per woman. That is significantly below the government’s estimated fertility rate of 1.8, and should put pressure on China’s leaders to loosen family planning policies, he said.

War on Terror Promises Era of Persistent Conflict
Miller-McCune.com

…Professor Richard H. Kohn studies the connections between the military and American society at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “The term [persistent conflict] serves to explain why General Casey is moving toward an expeditionary army,” meaning a force that can be readily inserted into a conflict, Kohn says.

State and Local Coverage

Little robots could help teach children with autism
WECT-TV (NBC/Wilmington)

"Humanoids" can walk, talk, follow directions, play Simon Says and even lead a Tai Chi lesson. The little robots can also be used to teach children with autism. …According to UNCW, the committee is composed of researchers from the education, computer science, and economics department, and TEACCH Autism Program at UNC Chapel Hill, in collaboration with the UNCW Watson School of Education's Assistive Technology Demonstration and Lending Site.

Fatigue sets in for Cooper jury
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Winter has turned to spring, college basketball has given way to the fresh bats of baseball, and with perhaps even the numerous tales of hanky-panky in Cary becoming humdrum, the jurors are getting testy as the Brad Cooper murder trial enters its seventh week. …Lawyers acknowledge that trials, particularly long ones, can also try jurors' patience. "Juries get mighty tired of people who they think are wasting their time," said Ken Broun, a UNC-Chapel Hill law professor who has taught trial advocacy for more than 40 years.

Kannapolis schools partner with Nutrition Research Institute for science fair
The Independent Tribune (Kannapolis)

Kindergartners from Kannapolis City Schools dug up vegetables, looked inside of produce and bit into ugly fruit this week at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute building at the North Carolina Research Campus. Almost 500 kindergartners attended the third annual science fair, “Food: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” at the Nutrition Research Institute (NRI), which was held on Wednesday and Thursday.

UNC proposes to run 523 E. Franklin St. as Chapel Hill arts venue (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

We reported this week how the Town Council is considering different ideas for the former Chapel Hill Museum building at 523 E. Franklin St., including turning the building into a permanent arts venue. (See previous blog post here) We will have a fuller story in this Sunday's Chapel Hill News. This morning we received a copy of professor elin o"Hara slavik's proposal, in which the UNC Arts Department offers to partner with the town in running the space, including offering slavik's services as a coordinator at no cost to the town.

Issues and Trends

Gillings couple's debt is $130M
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

New filings in Quintiles CEO Dennis Gillings' divorce reveal the couple enjoy a luxurious lifestyle, but one that's funded largely on credit and built on more than $130 million in debt. …The dispute offers an inside look at the financial health of one of this region's most powerful couples, who donated $50 million to UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Public Health in 2008.

Budget cuts could cost UNCP 100 positions
The Fayetteville Observer

The University of North Carolina
at Pembroke will likely have to eliminate about 100 positions if a state budget being considered by the House of Representatives passes, a school administrator said. R. Neil Hawk, UNCP's vice chancellor for business affairs, told school trustees about potential budget cuts during their meeting Thursday.

State House plan to cut auditors would be costly mistake (Editorial)
The Winston-Salem Journal

…The second part of the proposal, allowing UNC to conduct its own audits, is truly putting the fox in charge of the hen house. We find it incredible that a Republican House leadership so skeptical of the need for the university's army of assistant vice deputy chancellors for this-and-that would turn around and eliminate the state's best outside watchdogs over the billions that UNC spends every year. If this proposal had come out on April 1, we'd just assume that it was a joke.

Rams ready to put Quinn back on field
The Associated Press

The St. Louis Rams, stuck in the middle of the NFL draft for a change, have added pass rush help, taking North Carolina defensive end Robert Quinn with the 14th pick of the NFL draft on Thursday night. They're satisfied the mistake that kept Quinn off the field last year was out of character. …Quinn was one of three Tar Heels kicked off the team last fall for receiving improper benefits and he left after his junior year after being declared permanently ineligible.

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