Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
Ask the experts: Financial Training 2012
Financial Times
Welcome to the Financial Times Ask the Experts Financial Training 2012. With the ongoing financial crisis, financial training is still at the top of the agenda for many. Our panel of experts will be available to answer your questions on Wednesday, 20 June 2012, between 14.00 and 15.00 BST….Scott Rostan: adjunct professor of finance at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School and founder of Training The Street.
National Coverage
NFL, Military Partner to Reduce Concussions
ABC News
…Six out of 10 NFL athletes have suffered concussions and nearly one-third reported having three or more, according to a 2000 study conducted by the American Academy of Neurology. In a more recent study, conducted in 2007 by the University of North Carolina's Center for the Study of Retired Athletes, 20 percent of the retired athletes who recalled having three or more concussions suffered from depression.
NYC proposal gets people talking about soda
The Los Angeles Times
…“Portion sizing has kind of gotten out of control in America in general,” said Barry Popkin, a nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina and author of the book “The World Is Fat.” “We need to get a dialogue going in the public sector. That’s very important.”
North Carolina to Sea Level Rise: Go Away
Discovery News
…The problem with all of this, of course, is that predictions of future sea-level rise are neither linear nor consistent with historic trends, as John Bruno of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill points out in a post on his blog, Sea Monster. Bruno notes that "sea level fluctuates naturally by 10s to 100s of meters but has been relatively stable for the last few thousand years," that "greenhouse gas emissions are causing sea level to rise via 'thermal expansion' (warming a liquid increases its volume) and by melting mountain glaciers," and that "the rate of sea level rise appears to be accelerating, i.e., non-linear".
Nothing Grand in Rio
The Wall Street Jounal
Thousands of officials from government, business and other groups are converging on Rio this week to advance the cause of sustainable development. Their timing couldn't be worse. …"There are more inherent limits to what these kinds of multilateral agreements can accomplish," says Richard Andrews, a professor of environmental policy at the University of North Carolina.
Baby Soap Linked To Infants Testing Positive For Marijuana
The Huffington Post
A new study out of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill reveals some baby soaps may cause infants to test positive for marijuana, reports My Health News Daily. … "It's not marijuana in any way, shape or form," said study researcher Catherine Hammett-Stabler, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of North Carolina.
Breast milk may block HIV transmission
Fox News
… New research indicates that breastfeeding may in fact destroy HIV and prevent its oral transmission from mother to infant, according to scientists from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. The findings give rise to the possibility that certain compounds in breast milk could be isolated and utilized to combat the virus responsible for AIDS.
UNC Release: http://news.unchealthcare.org/news/2012/june/breast-milk-kills-hiv-and-blocks-its-oral-transmission-in-humanized-mouse
African-Americans increasingly turn to home-schooling
Fox News
…George Noblit, an education sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said African-American parents increasingly turn to home-schooling to protect their children from drugs and bullying, as well as to ensure the kids get more individualized instruction.
*Note: this interview was recorded in the Carolina News Studio
State and Local Coverage
UNC and Duke share $3.3M grant to fight obesity
Triangle Business Journal
They will remain bitter rivals on the basketball court, but researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University will partner to help fight obesity rates. Funded from the National Institutes of Health, the five-year, $3.3 million program will work with licensed child-care providers, who look after youngsters in their homes.
UNC Release: http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5383/107/
Trimming Eastern N.C.’s electric bills (Opinion)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Residents of 32 Eastern North Carolina cities, members of the N.C. Eastern Municipal Power Agency (NCEMPA), pay staggering electric bills because of several factors, including $2.1 billion in outstanding debt and concentrated investment in nuclear energy. (Peter H. Gilbert is community inclusion attorney and fellow at the UNC Center for Civil Rights.)
Sea-level rise warning nothing to lowball
The Daily Advance (Elizabeth City)
Better to err on the side of caution. To opponents of a sea-level rise report, that means erring against science in favor of big money interests. … The CRC collaborated with East Carolina, North Carolina State and Appalachian State universities, and referenced an important climate report by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Secret too big a weight to bear
The Chapel Hill News/The News & Observer (Raleigh)
…Hill is one of eight HIV-positive patients in an ongoing study at UNC, where researchers are using a drug used to treat lymphoma to lure the virus out of hiding. Researchers will examine the immune system’s response to the virus and the drug’s affect on the body.
What students are reading at Carolinas colleges
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Summer is usually the designated season for light, beachy reading. But if you’d rather crack open a book with a little heft during the warm months, check out this list. … UNC-Chapel Hill: “The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains,” by Nicholas Carr. This Pulitzer Prize finalist describes how technology, particularly the Internet, has shaped the way we think.
UNC journalists launch new mobile politics site
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Political junkies have a new fix with the UNC School of Journalism's launching earlier this month of a mobile-specific website, WhichWayNC.com. Touted as an exploration of “the emerging trend of two-way communication” and new technology in journalism, the site aims to take an in-depth look at the state’s politics.
Native of Cairo is back for Egypt’s ‘long weekend’
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
To promote peace, Ahmad Saad, once of Cairo and now of Cary, recently dribbled a soccer ball across North Carolina. Now Saad, 20, hopes to experience a peaceful, democratic revolution that will be felt across the world. … Saad, who will be a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill, is a devout Muslim who prays five times a day.
Questions linger in academic fraud case
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The UNC-Chapel Hill academic fraud case started with a suspicious Swahili paper made public nearly a year ago. Since then it’s been one surprising development after another, usually with each new release of information. This week, the UNC Board of Governors, which oversees the 16 public universities, tasked a four-member panel to review the UNC-CH internal investigation.
Academic scandal deserves greater scrutiny (Editorial)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Last week, the University of North Carolina system president appointed a panel to examine the university’s internal investigation into an embarrassing academic fraud scandal. The four-member panel named by Tom Ross is tasked with taking a close look at the investigation’s findings, and is not a new investigation.
Related Link: http://www.news-record.com/node/146064
Hugh Fish: Sporting crowd (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
If you are a really good football or basketball player, getting an athletic scholarship to UNC-Chapel Hill would be a really sweet deal. Special easy courses designed for you and your fellow athletes are created that you don’t have to attend because there aren’t any classes. You can probably get someone else to write your papers. You get a really good grade for little or no effort whatsoever.
Issues and Trends
UNC Board of Governors elects new chairman
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The UNC system’s Board of Governors will soon be led by three Triangle Republicans. Peter D. Hans of Raleigh will become the new chairman of the board July 1, taking over from current Chairwoman Hannah Gage after serving two 2-year terms as vice chairman.
Will UNC Health Care get shut out from state funding?
Triangle Business Journal
The University of North Carolina Health Care system might not get any help from the taxpayers this year. As part of the public university system, the hospital affiliated with UNC-Chapel Hill has long received money from the state’s annual budget. The amount has declined from $47 million in 2007-08 to $18 million last year, and the House version of the next proposed budget would completely eliminate that funding.
U. of North Carolina Press Names New Director
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The University of North Carolina Press announced today that its new director is John Sherer, currently the vice president and publisher of Basic Books. Sherer will succeed Kate Torrey, who is retiring on June 30 after 23 years at the press.
UNC Release: http://uncpressblog.com/2012/06/15/john-sherer-named-director-of-unc-press/
N.C. Central academic restructuring approved
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
An academic restructuring at N. C. Central University has been approved that includes the merging or restructuring of departments, the elimination of degree programs, and the merging of two colleges into one. The restructuring was approved by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, according to a news release from the university sent Friday.
Related Link: http://www.ncnn.com/edit-news/7992-fourteen-degrees-eliminated-two-added-at-nc-central