Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
Jerusalem tomb houses some of Jesus’s earliest followers, filmmaker says
The Washington Post
… “The point of the current claim is to prove that the first tomb was in fact the tomb of Jesus and his family,” says Jodi Magness, a specialist in early Judaism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “There is not a shred of archaeological and literary evidence to support it.”
“Tinderbox : How the West Sparked the AIDS Epidemic and How the World Can Finally Overcome It” by Craig Timberg and Daniel Halperin
The Washington Post
Timberg, a Washington Post journalist, and Halperin, an epidemiologist and medical anthropologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, write that researchers found a strain of the SIV virus among chimpanzees in the bush of the Congo River basin.
State and Local Coverage
N.C. Science Festival to light curiosity
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The region is going full-tilt for science education this spring, with the North Carolina Science Festival being staged April 13-29. The statewide event debuted in 2010, with the goal of getting the public more engaged in STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It’s produced by UNC-Chapel Hill’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center; working with corporate and foundation sponsors, the festival will stage hundreds of activities and displays designed to tickle your curiosity. Most events are free and open to the public. While most events are aimed at kids and families, others target adults.
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5233/107/
UNC freshman applications soar 24 percent
The Chapel Hill News
UNC’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions has offered admission to 7,571 outstanding first-year students. The admitted candidates were chosen from a record 29,486 applicants – an increase of 24 percent over last year and 47 percent over five years ago. The University expects to enroll 3,960 students this fall – 3,247 from North Carolina and 713 from the around the country and the world.
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5221/75/
Angel-backed startup focuses on eating issues
Triangle Business Journal
… Besides Veritas and Carolina House, Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have eating-disorder treatment centers, each led by a prominent expert in the field. One of the most important aspects in treating an eating disorder is to incorporate the family, say Nancy Zucker of Duke and Cynthia Bulik of UNC-CH. … UNC-CH has 10 inpatient beds and 12 partial hospitalization slots. For inpatient services, patients stay at the hospital for an average of 32 days; UNC-CH has treated more than 1,000 patients and performs about 220 evaluations per year.
Demand for nurses remains high, but competition for openings increases
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
… Last year, roughly one-third of the graduating class at UNC had secured jobs by the time graduation rolled around in May, said Kathy Moore, director of the office of admissions at the nursing school. Another third had jobs within three months after graduating, with the rest landing positions within six months.
Earning A Degree, And A New Life
WUNC-FM (Chapel Hill)
… Baskin suggested that Roy enroll in a program called C-STEP. At the time, it was a fairly-new effort to identify talented community college students and groom them for admission to UNC Chapel Hill. Even after two stellar academic years at Alamance Community College, waiting for acceptance to UNC was rough.
Tiny technology growing in N.C.
The Winston-Salem Journal
… In addition, more than 40 nanobiotechnology companies can be found across the state – driving innovation in drug delivery, drug discovery and advanced medical technology. One of the companies, Liquidia, was founded in 2004 by Joseph DeSimone and his colleagues at UNC-Chapel Hill, and based on his research in material science and drug delivery, Liquidia just received a $10 million investment from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to bolster the development of safer and more effective vaccines and therapeutics.
State has work ahead in terms of ethics (Editorial)
The Times-News (Burlington)
Adam Hochberg isn’t exactly a household name, but in the world of Tar Heel journalism, he counts as a heavy hitter. A journalism instructor at the School of Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a fellow at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, Hochberg has also written and reported for National Public Radio for more than a decade and a half.
UNC Symposium To Focus On American Southern Migration
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
UNC is getting ready to host its sixth annual Global American South Symposium later this month. Bevin Tighe is a program assistant with the UNC Center for Global Initiatives, which is sponsoring the event. She says this year, the event will focus on migration and demographic changes in the American south.
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5204/107/
UNC names new housekeeping director
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC alumnus Darius Dixon has been named to lead the university’s troubled Housekeeping Services operations, which is set undergo sweeping changes on the heels of a consultant’s report that found workers unhappy with management. Dixon, the deputy assistant director of housekeeping at N.C. State University since 2009, is set to begin work at UNC on April 23.
Related Links: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/08/1988846/troubled-unc-housekeeping-services.html#storylink=misearch
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8613077
Survey: reported drug use on the rise at UNC
NBC-17
… The school says they want observers to keep in mind, UNC CH is below the national average when it comes to drug use. "Because of this important annual data, UNC has been able to respond productively and as a result remains consistently below the national aggregate of other schools as it relates to student alcohol and other drug experimentation," said Dean Blackburn, assistant dean of students.
Issues and Trends
Wake Forest examines value of college education
The Associated Press
…Many students apparently agree: between 1990 and 2009, the number of liberal arts colleges in the United States dropped from 212 to 136, according to study by Michigan State University researcher Roger Baldwin. And while more than 20 percent of bachelor's degrees today are granted in business, about 8 percent are granted in humanities majors.
Event At NCCU Highlights Decreased Funding, Increased Costs At Colleges
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
Last week, North Carolina Central University hosted a discussion about how decreased funding for universities has affected the affordability of higher education—a topic that has recently plagued the UNC system. North Carolina Justice Center Director for Communications Jeff Shaw says the presentation, which took place last Wednesday, was designed to highlight the importance of keeping education costs as low as possible, even in a challenged economy.