Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Minors have an easy time buying alcohol online
Reuters (Wire Service)
…Rebecca Williams, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who led the study, said she was surprised that minors using their real IDs could buy alcohol online. "We would imagine that the success rates would have been even higher if they hadn't been forced to use their real ID," she told Reuters Health.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5294/71/
Student debt: Where you attend college matters
Reuters (Wire Service)
If you thought four years at Princeton would leave you saddled with more debt than the University of Michigan, think again. …The University of North Carolina, on the other hand, also had one of the lowest debt burdens, $15,472, with 65 percent of students graduating debt-free.
Stress Takes Its Toll on College Students
Bloomberg/Businessweek
…Incoming students at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, will be required to read The Shallows (Atlantic, 2011) by Nicholas Carr about the brain changes brought on by the Internet. This technology makes people feel more disconnected and anxious, says Allen O’Barr, UNC’s director of counseling and wellness services, which sees about 12 percent of the student population.
National Coverage
After Further Review
Slate Magazine
…According to an annual study by researchers at the University of North Carolina, a total of 13 catastrophic brain injuries were reported in 2011 out of 4.2 million people who competed in football nationwide. But, again, that doesn’t count all the former players whose symptoms of brain damage crop up later in life.
Moderates only look dead (Column)
The Chicago Tribune
…A lot of people who call themselves conservative should call themselves confused. Political scientists Christopher Ellis of Bucknell University and James Stimson of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have determined that only one out of every five professed conservatives actually favors conservative policies on both moral and social welfare issues.
Regional Coverage
Pay comparison: Full University of Michigan professors average $149K per academic year
Ann Arbor.com (Michigan)
…Other universities U-M considers peers offer similar, but lower, full professor rates as the Ann Arbor school. The average rate at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is $144,000 and at University of Virginia is $141,600. Michigan State University pays full professors $128,600 per year on average.
Frank McCullough: A single gene can make a big difference (Commentary)
The Daily Mail (Charleston, S.C.)
One improperly functioning gene is all it takes to create a life of hardship and heartbreak, yet thousands of people across the country who experience the neurodevelopmental disorder named Angelman Syndrome have another trait in common: their ever-present, infectious smile. …Late last year, a potential treatment for it was discovered by a team of scientists and doctors at the University of North Carolina led by Dr. Ben Philpot, Ph.D.
State and Local Coverage
More than 5,600 to graduate from UNC Sunday
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
UNC estimates that more than 5,600 students will graduate Sunday during a 9:30 a.m. commencement at Kenan Stadium. Of the graduates, 3,511 are expected to receive bachelor’s degrees, 1,247 master’s, 258 doctoral and 667 professional degrees, the latter of which are from the schools of dentistry, law, medicine, nursing and pharmacy.
Thousands Graduating This Weekend
WUNC-FM (Chapel Hill)
Thousands of graduating seniors will get their degrees this weekend. The three largest universities in the Triangle – Duke, NC State, and UNC Chapel Hill – all hold commencement ceremonies. …Last-minute preparations are ongoing for the big events, including building stages, arranging chairs, and families checking into hotel rooms. But for those graduating, like Mohammad Saad at UNC Chapel Hill, these last few days elicit conflicting emotions.
Duke, UNC lead in faculty salaries
The Triangle Business Journal
Faculty at the Triangle’s three biggest universities receive higher compensation than those at nearly every other university in the state. In order, faculty at Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University rank first, second and fourth in the state in terms of total compensation.
UNC Nutrition Research Institute in Kannapolis wins Gates Foundation grant
The Charlotte Business Journal
The UNC Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute in Kannapolis has been awarded $100,000 from Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Steve Zeisel, institute director, will conduct an innovative global health and development research project titled “Choline and Optimal Development.”
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5312/107/
Campus Organizers Galvanized For Marriage Equality Fight
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
The North Carolina State Constitution now officially bans gay marriage, but UNC campus organizers say the fight for marriage equality is nowhere near over. …One of UNC’s student resource centers is gathering information for potential legal action against the amendment. LGBTQ Center director Terri Phoenix says it’s essential that people report any loss of rights.
Not-So-Secret Garden: NC Botanical Marks Nat'l Public Gardens Day
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
The North Carolina Botanical Garden is rolling out the red carpet for visitors on Friday in celebration of National Public Gardens Day. It’s the culmination of a week of special events, designed to showcase the Botanical Garden’s most notable features—and to increase awareness of the value of public gardens in general.
Athlete-friendly (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Officials of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill doubtless wish the issues which disgraced the football program would just disappear so that everyone could become excited about new Coach Larry Fedora and the upcoming season. But that won’t be happening anytime soon.
Academic fumble (Editorial)
The News & Record (Greensboro)
When university deans express “acute dismay,” the rest of us can translate the academic-speak into plainer terms: They’re totally disgusted. An investigation by senior associate deans Jonathan Hartlyn and William L. Andrews at UNC-Chapel Hill found evidence of 54 “aberrant” or “irregular” courses taught in the Department of African and Afro-American Studies from 2007 until 2011.
UNC-Chapel Hill might take action against Julius Nyang’oro
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Last summer, UNC-Chapel Hill professor Julius Nyang’oro received $12,000 to teach AFAM 280 – Blacks in North Carolina. The 19 students enrolled in the course were to learn about the state’s legacy of slavery and racism, and how blacks fought to overcome it.
Related Link:
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/11090438/
Issues and Trends
Gov. Bev Perdue to seek more school funding, sale tax hike in budget
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Gov. Bev Perdue will ask legislators to spend an additional $562 million on K-12 schools and increase the state sales tax in the $20.9 billion budget she plans to release Thursday. But Republican lawmakers on Wednesday made it clear they weren’t interested, setting up a rematch of last year’s budget battles between the Democratic governor and the GOP-led legislature.
Related Links:
http://www.chapelboro.com/Perdue-Budget-Would-Raise-Sales-Tax–Education-Spe/13091261
http://www.reflector.com/ap/staten/highlights-perdues-budget-proposal-2012-13-1060277
U C a Better Idea?
Inside Higher Ed
…Faced with decreased state appropriations, dysfunctional state politics, potential federal funding cuts, and increasing demands on resources, several University of California administrators have proposed changes to the system’s governance model, which currently rests authority for the university’s 10 institutions in a single systemwide Board of Regents, most of whose members are appointed by state politicians.