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

National Coverage

Freshmen Retention Rate- National Universities
U.S. News & World Report

As many as one in three first-year students doesn't make it back for sophomore year. The reasons run the gamut, of course, from family problems to loneliness to academic struggles to a lack of money. If schools you're considering have a low freshman retention rate, you'll want to ask the admissions office why. Some colleges do a great job of taking care of their freshmen; some don't. The retention rates shown below, from lowest to highest, are the average proportion of freshmen entering starting in fall 2005 through fall 2008 who returned to school the following fall. (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is listed as achieving a 96% retention rate.)

Regional Coverage

Arizona high schools put more focus on concussions
The Arizona Republic (Tucson)

…The long-term effects of concussions have become a hot topic throughout sports. A 2007 study by the University of North Carolina's Center for the Study of Retired Athletes revealed that of 595 retired NFL athletes who recalled having three or more concussions, 20 percent said they suffered from depression. That's three times higher than the rate of players who had not had a concussion.

State and Local Coverage

UNC School of Nursing’s Debra Barksdale selected for fellowship
The Chapel Hill Herald

Debra Barksdale, an associate professor at UNC’s School of Nursing, has been named one of just 21 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Executive Nurse Fellows for 2011. Barksdale joins a select group of nurse leaders from across the country chosen to participate in this world-class, three-year leadership development program designed to enhance nurse leaders’ effectiveness in improving the United States health care system.

Carey named to distinguished professorship
The Chapel Hill Herald

Lisa A. Carey, MD, professor of medicine, medical director of the UNC Breast Center and associate director for clinical research at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been appointed as the Richardson and Marilyn Jacobs Preyer Distinguished Professor in Breast Cancer Research.

Retention rate at 3 NC colleges strong
WCNC-TV (NBC/Charlotte)

As many as one in three first-year college students don't make it back for sophomore year. The reasons vary, from academics, to money or other personal issues. But a study recently released by U.S. News and World Report shows some North Carolina schools are doing a great job at getting those students back. …UNC-Chapel Hill has a 96 percent rating, and at Wake Forest 94 percent of freshman come back.

Roses and Raspberries (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill News

Roses to Brian Burnham and the group of local Boy Scouts who spent a month hiking more than 500 miles across Spain to raise money for the UNC Lineberger Cancer Center. …Burnham has led groups of young people on several cross-country bicycle trips to raise money and awareness for cancer research; last summer and he and 13 Scouts pedaled 3,700 miles across the U.S. and raised $25,000 for the cancer center. "These exceptional young men, led by the intrepid Brian Burnham, are truly amazing," said Lineberger spokeswoman Dianne Shaw.

Kure Beach chips in $15,000 for inlet dredging
The Star News (Wilmington)

…But Kure Beach officials took longer than others to decide on ponying up funds. The town's attorney said last week the town couldn't contribute property tax revenues to a project outside its jurisdiction, but town officials then consulted the UNC School of Government and were told they could use funds from the town's revenues on cell tower rentals.

The Literary Legacy of Doris Betts
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM

Novelist and short story author Doris Betts' enduring characters have won her favorable comparisons to Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner throughout her long career. …As part of our continuing series, North Carolina Literary Lights, host Frank Stasio talks about the play with director Eric Woodall and about Betts' literary legacy with Marianne Gingher, professor of English and comparative literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Joe Flora, professor emeritus of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Lynn Veach Sadler, a Betts scholar and former vice president of Methodist University in Fayetteville.

Book raises issues about eating meat (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

How often do you think deeply about what you are eating? …Students at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University are wrestling with some of those challenging questions. As participants in the two schools' joint summer reading program this year, incoming freshmen and transfer students are reading "Eating Animals," by Jonathan Safran Foer. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical associate professor in the department of health policy and administration in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

ECU dental school dean resigns
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Dr. James Hupp, dean of the new dental school at East Carolina University, has resigned following a state audit about improper travel expenses and an internal investigation that uncovered outside compensation that he had not reported to ECU. …Hupp had taught at UNC-Chapel Hill and did not receive dual employment approval, as required by rules for the UNC system.
Related Link:
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/state&id=8310406

Thief sought after stolen plane crashes near Graham
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)

The search continued Wednesday for a man authorities believe stole a single-engine plane from H
orace Williams Airport in Chapel Hill before crashing into a grove of trees about 25 miles away in Alamance County Tuesday. …Randy Young, a public safety spokesman for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which runs Horace Williams Airport, said this is the first time a plane has ever been stolen there.
Related Links:
http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/plane-46898-emergency-road.html
http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2011/aug/16/10/plane-crashes-alamance-county-ar-1305145/

Pilot of stolen, crashed plane missing
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

Authorities searched Tuesday for whoever stole a plane from UNC-Chapel Hill's airport and crashed it in the woods of Alamance County. Sheriff's deputies found blood in the cockpit but no bodies at the site, about 20 miles from the university's Horace Williams Airport in Chapel Hill.
Related Links:
http://www.wxii12.com/news/28882356/detail.html?source=htv
http://www.chapelboro.com/Plane-Stolen-From-Chapel-Hill-Crashes-In-Graham/10647063

Possible transit delays during UNC student move-in
The Chapel Hill Herald

Chapel Hill Transit (CHT) routes traveling on or near campus may experience schedule delays Saturday and Sunday as UNC students return for the fall semester. The most affected routes will likely be the FG, NU and U.

Football Coverage

Davis’ abrupt firing at North Carolina leaves behind tension, new distraction for Tar Heels
The Associated Press

North Carolina’s firing of Butch Davis just before preseason camp has divided football fans, faculty members and alumni here. For some, Davis’ dismissal amid an NCAA investigation into improper benefits and academic misconduct should’ve happened long ago. Others say Davis should’ve stayed because he wasn’t tied to a violation and worry the move could set the program back years.

Students in the game (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)

…Reformers years ago began trying to prevent universities from letting student-athletes skate by without meeting standards that applied to other students. Prominent in that effort was the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, co-chaired by William Friday, president emeritus of the University of North Carolina system. Now a major Knight Commission recommendation has borne fruit. The NCAA, which sets the rules for intercollegiate athletics, last week agreed that unless at least half the players on a team are on track to graduate, the team won't be eligible for post-season play.

Suit Against UNC Should Be Benched (Editorial)
The Southern Pines Pilot

The timing of the firing of UNC-Chapel Hill football coach Butch Davis was unfortunate. But even more regrettable is the filing of a spurious lawsuit by athletic boosters. The whole episode only serves to reinforce the arguments of those who complain that in all too many instances these days, academic concerns take a back seat to an out-of-control obsession with athletics.

UNC fans, supporters question coaching change, seek answers
WRAL-TV (ABC/Raleigh)

In the weeks since University of North Carolina Chancellor Holden Thorp unexpectedly fired head football coach Butch Davis a week before the start of fall practice, many fans and supporters of the university are still asking ‘why?’ On Tuesday, alumnus E. Vernon F. Glenn became the latest to file a public records request seeking communications between Thorp and the UNC Board of Trustees, President Tom Ross, Director of Athletics Dick Baddour and anyone not employed by the university.

UNC officer resigns following student crash
WTVD-TV (ABC/Raleigh)

The ABC11 I-Team is examining information about an on-campus vehicle crash that involved football players and a UNC police officer, who served as the game day officer for former head football coach Butch Davis.

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