Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Social Media and the Arab Spring
"The World" BBC
On December 17, 2010, a young unemployed man set himself on fire in Tunisia. Mohammed Bouazizi took that desperate step in protest, after officials had blocked his attempts to make a living selling fruit on the street. His self-immolation sparked a wave of anti-government protests, first in Tunisia, then all across the Middle East. (Zeynep Tufekci, assistant professor in the School of Information and Library Science, was featured in this story.)
National Coverage
Separate Dorms for First-Generation Freshmen? (Blog)
The Chronicle of Higher Education
…The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, for example, has a series of programs for low-income Carolina Covenant scholars: faculty and staff mentoring of first-year students; peer mentoring by experienced Covenant Scholars; special development opportunities such as etiquette dinners and career workshops; and social events for Covenant Scholars, all of which–along with a strong financial aid program–have boosted student retention and graduation.
Journey to Sierra Leone
"20/20" ABC News
Part 2: Pregnant doctor Erin Carey finds neglect in Sierra Leone maternity ward. (Dr. Erin Carey, a second- year fellow in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, traveled to Sierra Leone with ABC News in November and spent two days at Princess Christian Maternity Hospital.)
Regional Coverage
Touch and Go
The Daily News (Memphis, Tenn.)
…John Kasarda is the University of North Carolina business professor who coined the term “aerotropolis,” which depicts a city whose economy is driven by its airport. Kasarda, who called Memphis a model for the American aerotropolis, said airline travel has “moved from elite travel to mass transit.”
Housing troubles mount, especially for Joplin’s poor
The Kansas City Star (Missouri)
…Added Philip Berke, an urban development and reconstruction expert at the University of North Carolina, “There’s not a lot of motivation for change unless someone says, ‘No, these people count and they are part of our community.’ There’s a window (after a disaster) when people have this kumbaya feeling and then indifference sets in.”
State and Local Coverage
Midyear UNC grads urged to 'be open'
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The “Carolina family,” already with more than a quarter -million living members, got a little bit bigger Sunday afternoon. The midyear commencement ceremony at the Dean E. Smith Center saw 2,279 new alumni earn several types of degrees.
Related Links:
http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/16348067/unc-ch-graduates-to-get-positive-at-commencement
http://triangle.news14.com/content/651270/college-grads-stay-optimistic-about-job-prospects
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2011/12/18/68805/it-took-him-20-years-but-now-hes.html
UNC Campus Update:
http://www.unc.edu/campus-updates/December-2011-commencement
With Pomp And Circumstance, UNC Graduates More Than 2,000
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
With parents, spouses, friends and family looking on, more than 2,000 students received their diplomas Sunday at UNC’s winter commencement. "We welcome 2,279 graduates," said Chancellor Holden Thorp. "This is your day, and all of us join you in this celebration of your academic achievement."
Related Link:
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2011/12/18/68807/psychology-professor-speaks-at.html
Civil rights icon to speak at UNC for MLK Week
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Civil rights icon Andrew Young will give the 31st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture at UNC on Jan. 17 at Memorial Hall. Young, 79, was an aid to King, a U.S. congressman and ambassador to the United Nations.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4986/73/
UNC study to boost genetic medicine
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill have won a $6.4 million grant to help transform the long-promising technology for studying human genes into practical methods for helping patients.The four-year grant is from the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the federal government's National Institutes of Health. It will allow the UNC team to determine the sequence of key parts of the DNA of 750 patients and use the results to try to identify genetic causes for their illnesses.
Youth hockey aims to curb concussion risk
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Even top-of-the-line gear is no promise of total safety, said Jason Mihalik, an assistant professor at the Matthew Gfeller Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center at UNC-Chapel Hill." People need to understand that helmets and their standards … are in place to prevent catastrophic injury" such as skull fracture or bleeding of the brain, Mihalik said. "Concussions only are catastrophic when they are mismanaged. A helmet won't necessarily prevent a concussion." The most promising solutions are changes to training and teaching practices, he said.
UNC dental school expansion nearing completion
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
When people sit down fo
r a dental exam in North Carolina, odds are the dentist was trained at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry. It was established in 1954. With the school set to complete a $118 million expansion project in March, UNC will have the ability to serve more students and, in turn, more people in North Carolina.
Health care machine must pay more heed to patients (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Your series "Hearts and Minds" did a great job spotlighting the business of health care. I spent 25 years in that business as a medical group administrator, physician practice management consultant and executive recruiter for health care professionals. (Mark Freifeld, Raleigh)
Related Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/12/18/1715229/community-health-centers-
advantages.html#storylink=misearch
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/12/18/1715224/unc-tie-benefits-heart-practice
s.html#storylink=misearch
Judges' decision in Peterson case puts SBI in tough spot over former agent Deaver
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
…Joseph Kennedy, an expert on criminal law at UNC law school, found Deaver's misconduct "mind-boggling" and was especially troubled because Deaver was an expert witness in a circumstantial case with no confession and no eyewitnesses. Peterson's guilt or innocence turned on forensic expert testimony, Kennedy said.
Call for cellphone ban may boost Chapel Hill plan
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
A recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board for a nationwide ban on motorists using cellphones and other personal electronic devices while driving could help the cause of those who want to see a similar ban put in place in Chapel Hill. A researcher with the Highway Safety Research Center at UNC said that the safety board’s recommendation could lead state lawmakers to reconsider bills banning the use of cellphones by motorists that failed to make it out of committee the past three years.
Condo site sold to UNC
The Chapel Hill News
A developer has sold 5 acres off N.C. 54 to the UNC-Chapel Hill Foundation after failing to build a condominium project there. Developer Carol Ann Zinn bought the Aydan Court project site for $1.14 million in 2007, and sold it for $410,000 to the Foundation in late October, according to Durham County land records.
Mystery photo helps reveal pioneer N.C. aviator
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
From a stack of old photos, the snapshot of two uniformed men by an airplane seemed to fall into her hands. …While sifting through the materials at the Lincoln County Museum where she's a volunteer, Anthony screamed when she came across things like a 1931 newspaper article that stated her father was the first student pilot at UNC Chapel Hill.
How big? (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Consider two recent quotes regarding big-time college sports. The first is from UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Holden Thorp: "We need every tool we can get. Getting people attached to the university through intercollegiate athletics is something that every public university has to do and do it well."
UNC student says he was racially profiled by police
WTVD-TV (ABC/Raleigh)
A student at UNC Chapel Hill says he learned a real-life lesson that he didn't sign up for after he was pulled over by police for something he definitely did not do.
“Rules and Secrets” at Christmastime (Column)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Ruth Moose, who will be the guest on UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Bookwatch” this afternoon at 5:30, has a warning for anyone planning a Christmas party that might violate a set of crazy rules from some bureaucracy on high. Moose, a recently retired UNC Chapel Hill writing teacher, is a widely admired author, storyteller, poet, teacher and supportive reviewer of the works of other writers.
Issues and Trends
For Law Schools, a Price to Play the A.B.A.’s Way
The New York Times
The library at the Duncan School of Law may look like nothing more than 4,000 hardbacks in a medium-size room, but it is actually a high-tech experiment in cost containment. Most of its resources are online, and staples like Wright & Miller’s Federal Practice and Procedure — $3,596 for the multivolume set — are not here. “We have a core collection,” says Sydney Beckman, the school’s dean, “and if someone needs something else, we provide it.”
The Extraordinary Value of Great Universities
The Atlantic
The United States is home to more than a third of the world's top 400 research universities. But how exactly do universities factor into the wealth, innovation, and economic competitiveness of their host nations?
UNCW trustees approve 10.7% tuition increase
The Star News (Wilmington)
With emphatic endorsements from multiple board members and the student body president, University of North Carolina Wilmington trustees voted unanimously Friday to raise tuition and fees for in-state students by about $600 a year. Trustees accepted a proposal of a 10.7 percent increase for in-state students and a 4.6 percent, or about $800, increase for out-of-state students in tuition and fees for the 2012-13 school year.
At Lovette's trial, a tale of two worlds
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
They were close in age: Eve Carson and her circle of friends and the two accused in her violent death. No more than 10 miles separated them geographically. But they were worlds apart.For the past week and a half
, as Laurence Alvin Lovette, 21, has stood trial, accused of Carson's murder, he has listened as witnesses filled in pictures of his world and Carson's, and how prosecutors say those worlds collided at random in the early hours of March 5, 2008.
Related Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/12/18/1715467/into-dark-corners
-at-murder-trial.html#storylink=misearch