Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Pioneering green building hits old-style financial snags
Reuters (Wire Service)
…If such a building can't succeed in progressive Chapel Hill, home to the University of North Carolina and part of a regional economy driven by high-tech research, can large-scale green designs succeed anywhere? "I would be afraid that the broader market, regional or national, would think this project is in foreclosure because it's green. That would be a mistake," said Chris Wedding, who teaches about green building at the university's Kenan-Flagler Business School.
LSE investigates lecturer's blog over race row
BBC (United Kingdom)
…The Add Health survey he cited is carried out by the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina. The centre's website says that Add Health has followed a sample of adolescent students over more than a decade, questioning them on social, economic, psychological and physical well-being.
National Coverage
Gifford's Brain Surgery Safe, but Not Risk-Free, Surgeons Say
"World News with Diane Sawyer" ABC News
…"Usually a CT scan is done, and a computer uses the normal opposite side to create an exact model as the missing side — a mirror image," said Dr. Matthew Ewend, chairman of neurosurgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "The computer then builds a plate out of resins that fits the defect perfectly. "These are pretty good, and I doubt there are great advances to be made."
Another Month, Another Home (Blog)
The New York Times
…Moves can generate enormous stress, particularly when they’re prompted by medical emergencies, which typically require quick action. “The faster the decision needs to be made, the more you will need help,” said Dr. Philip Sloane, associate chairman of the family medicine department at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
When It Comes to Helping Others: Just Do It (Blog)
The New York Times
It’s graduation season, and for the past two months I’ve been traveling to campuses in the United States on a book tour to talk about service in the Marines and social entrepreneurship in Africa. (Rye Barcott is the author of “It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine’s Path to Peace.” The book was released this spring in conjunction with the 10th anniversary for Carolina For Kibera, the NGO that he co-founded while an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2001. He is a TED Fellow and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.)
‘Western Civ’ Courses Have Declined Since 1964, Report Says
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Almost no prominent colleges or universities in the United States require students to take a survey course in Western civilization, according to a report released on Wednesday by the National Association of Scholars. …The report singles out for praise courses at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Pennsylvania State University.
Decline of 'Western Civ'?
Inside Higher Ed
…Brandon Hunziker, a history lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill whose Western Civilization syllabus is cited in the report as an exemplary model, expressed similar sentiments to Grafton's. "I teach my course in a more traditional way because that's a story I can tell well," he said. Hunziker said he and his department teach western civilization from a variety of perspectives and that he doesn't necessarily think his is the best approach for every teacher and student.
Forgeries in the Bible's New Testament?
Discovery News.com
…Written by Bart Ehrman, a former evangelical Christian and now agnostic professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, the book claims to unveil "one of the most unsettling ironies of the early Christian tradition:" the use of deception to promote the truth. "The Bible not only contains untruths of accidental mistakes. It also contains what almost anyone today would call lies," Ehrman writes in "Forged: Writing in the Name of God — Why the Bible’s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are."
State and Local Coverage
N.C. marks sesquicentennial of secession
The Star News (Wilmington)
…Why did North Carolina wait so long to secede? In part, the May 20 date was symbolic, said Harry Watson, a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Pro-Confederates were eager to compare secession to the American colonies rebelling against British tyranny, Watson said in a phone interview. The May 20 date was potent, since the so-called "Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence" – allegedly the first call for the colonies to become an independent nation – was supposedly signed at Charlotte on May 20, 1775.
After deadly crashes, NCDOT says cable barriers are safe
WNCN-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
…Bill Hunter, senior research scientist with UNC’s Highway Safety Research Center, said the cable barriers have, for the most part, been effective on North Carolina’s highways. He said researchers nationwide are looking into the advantages of adding a fourth cable to the barriers, which currently have three.
Hospital rivals go to the mat
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Already fierce rivals, the top bosses at WakeMed Health & Hospitals and the UNC Health Care System have intensified their animosity after WakeMed's unexpected, and hostile, bid to buy its Raleigh rival Rex Healthcare for $750 million. Selling Rex Healthcare would cause "a disabling blow" for UNC Health, crippling its ability to negotiate with insurers and fulfill its mission of providing medical care for all residents of the state, UNC Health CEO Bill Roper said.
Alleged UNC 'foot toucher' arrested
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
UNC Campus Police have arrested Christopher Deas, 35, on three charges of assault on a female by unwanted touching of feet.
Issues and Trends
State Health Plan deal advances
The News &
Observer (Raleigh)
The Senate approved changes to the state employee health plan Wednesday, pushing forward a compromise between Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Bev Perdue that shifts more costs to workers, but maintains a no-premium insurance option. Perdue vetoed a state health insurance overhaul last month that would have required workers to pay premiums for the first time. She said bill writers should have consulted with groups representing teachers and retirees.