Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
NCAA Play in March Proving Just Madness Without College Windfall
Bloomberg News
…In succeeding seasons, it’s hard for schools to increase revenue further. Basketball income mostly stagnated in seasons following championships for Connecticut and Florida, as well as for the University of Kansas, the 2008 winner, and the University of North Carolina, which won in 2009, according to the school’s financial reports. The year after North Carolina beat Michigan State University for the 2009 title, revenue from basketball rose 3 percent, then in 2011 dropped 5 percent. according to the school’s financial report. “The problem is that you have to have additional inventory to sell in order to substantially increase your revenue,” said Martina Ballen, the chief financial officer for the North Carolina Tar Heels, in Chapel Hill. “We do pretty well most years, and the seats are sold.”
National Coverage
Notre Dame's Mendoza Takes No. 1 Ranking, Again
Bloomberg Businessweek
…To rank the programs, Bloomberg Businessweek uses nine data points, including a survey of senior business majors that measures their satisfaction in such areas as teaching, academic services, and career support; a survey of employers to gauge which schools produce the highest quality of graduates; and a calculation of academic quality, which combines SAT scores, student-faculty ratios, class size in core business courses, the percentage of students with internships, and the time devoted to class work. (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School was ranked 20 on this year's ranking of undergraduate business schools.)
Related Link:
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings/undergraduate_mba_profiles/unc.html
To Ease the Skills Shortage, Bring Back the Vocational High School
Bloomberg Businessweek
…Seeking to become a manufacturing magnet, North Carolina recently took an important step to reverse this course. Several weeks ago, in mid-February, state lawmakers approved legislation that will give a big boost to vocational education, putting it, as Travis Fain, of the Greensboro News & Record, explained, “on more equal footing” with college prep courses. …This is not a slap at higher ed. As the Daily Tar Heel, the student-run newspaper at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, commented: The bill, in effect, “provides greater opportunity for those who may be better off not going to college.”
Fox News’s Roger Ailes backtracks on error rate (Blog)
The Washington Post
Last April, Fox News chief Roger Ailes stood before an audience at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and declared, “[In] 15 years we have never taken a story down because it was wrong. You can’t say that about CNN, CBS or the New York Times.” The Erik Wemple Blog, among other outlets, went all archival on the guy, citing instances when Fox News had to correct itself for various falsehoods and distortions, such as vest-wearing deer, Geraldo at war and the tilting Washington Monument.
State and Local Coverage
Exploring The History Of The Steel Guitar
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
…The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Southern Folklife Collection is sponsoring a Steel Guitar Concert and Symposium this Saturday at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro. Speakers Tim Miller and Allyn Love join host Frank Stasio on the program to preview the event and play some live steel guitar. Tim Miller is a PhD student in Musicology at UNC-Chapel Hill. Allyn Love is a pedal steel guitarist, and the director of operations at the North Carolina Symphony.
Chapel Hill, Wake Forest business programs ranked among the best in the nation
The Winston-Salem Journal
The undergraduate business schools at UNC Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University are listed among the top 20 programs for the fourth consecutive year, as ranked by Bloomberg BusinessWeek. The survey of 145 business schools was released Wednesday. UNC Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler was ranked 10th, unchanged from the 2012 survey.
New Athletic Tutoring Director Says She's Ready For UNC
WCHL-FM (Chapel Hill)
Dr. Michelle Brown is UNC’s new director for the Academic Support Program for Student Athletes. The tutoring program has seen many troubles recently, but with new leadership, the university hopes to leave past issues behind. “I’m very excited to be working with a great program that’s got a great academic reputation. That is first and foremost for me. Even as student athlete, academics have played a very important role in my life,” said Brown, who played volleyball at West Virginia University.
UNC Campus Update:
http://www.unc.edu/campus-updates/brown-to-lead-academic
-support-program-for-student-athletes/
RTP Foundation's #RTP180 showcases Triangle's best
WRAL.com
…QuantAire was another young company chosen to present at this talent showcase. William Vizuete admitted he was a hesitant entrepreneur but he saw a solution to a problem. His new portable machine measures air quality, including hard-to-detect nanoparticles. The machine can also measure drug efficacy, Vizuete said. Vizuete is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at UNC Chapel Hill. He has been able to connect to the entrepreneur resources at the university but is looking to plug into regional resources for entrepreneurship and nanotechnology.
UNC: N.C.'s prescription drug abuse reporting system working (Blog)
The Triangle Business Journal
Research from UNC-Chapel Hill found that a statewide system to curb prescription drug abuse is effective, even if it is underused. Called the N.C. Controlled Substances Reporting System (CSRS), the system collects data on prescription drugs as they are dispensed. Pharmacists and physicians are encouraged to use this tool to identify patients who abuse prescription drugs and increase their referral to treatment. But the system is voluntary, and only about one-third of the 34,000 physicians who are registered with the Drug Enforcement Agency to prescribe controlled substances actually use it, according to the UNC-CH research.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5937/71/
Welcome spring – and Happy New Year from your Persian friends (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Yesterday, the first day of spring or the vernal equinox, was also the first day of the Persian New Year. Iranians are celebrating year 5774. The Persian people and the Persian civilization were there before Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament. The Persians also were there before the Code of Hammurabi, the Babylonian law code, was written in 1772 BC. (Assad Meymandi is adjunct professor of psychiatry, University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill.)
Alcohol, high speed cited in crash that killed 2 late Tuesday
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
…Alcohol was a factor in nearly one-third of fatal vehicle crashes in North Carolina in 2011, the most recent year for which data are available, according to the UNC Chapel Hill Highway Safety Research Center. Drunken driving most often occurs during nighttime hours, when an estimated 2 percent of all drivers on the road in the state have a blood alcohol content above the legal limit, according to the research center.
On being governed by brigands in NC (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
For the first time in modern history, North Carolina is ruled entirely by Republicans. The vast tide of 2010, a seemingly unpopular incumbent governor, weak Democratic candidates, potently gerrymandered legislative districts, boatloads of ideological money, a still-lousy economy, energized evangelicals and, of course, an anti-Obama racial animus combined to decisively deliver both state houses, the governor’s mansion and the state Supreme Court to the Grand Old Party. (Gene Nichol is Boyd Tinsley Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina’s School of Law.)
Deadline hits in UNC assault investigation
WTVD-TV (ABC/Raleigh)
North Carolina's flagship university is facing a deadline to answer questions about how it handles reports of sexual assault. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has until Thursday to respond to questions as part of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education. Five women filed a complaint in January with the DOE's Office for Civil Rights, and the OCR said this month that it would investigate.
Related Link:
http://www.wncn.com/story/21754326/deadline-arrives-for-unc-in
-federal-sexual-assaults-investigation
Issues and Trends
McCrory stresses reserves in 1st NC budget plan
The Associated Press
…The University of North Carolina system would have to find $136 million in spending reductions and efficiencies across its 17 campuses and at headquarters in the coming year. McCrory recommends increasing out-of-state tuition by 12.3 percent at places like UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University and four other campuses, and by 6 percent elsewhere.
Related Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/20/2766800/mccrory-budget-
would-add-pre-kindergarten.html
http://www.heraldsun.com/news/x145780847/UNC-system-to-take-hit
-under-McCrory-s-budget-proposal
McCrory Budget Targets UNC System For Cuts
WUNC-FM (Chapel Hill)
…Even bigger cuts in McCrory’s budget came in higher education. The UNC system would see a $135 million reduction next year, on top of about $400 million in permanent cuts the last several years. …“I am very concerned by the magnitude of the new cuts proposed for our campuses, particularly in light of the more than $400 million in permanent budget reductions we absorbed two years ago,” UNC president Tom Ross said in a release. “ I worry about the impact additional reductions will have on our ability to provide high-quality educational opportunities to our residents and to assist in North Carolina's economic recovery.”
Related Links:
http://www.wral.com/educators-others-skeptical-of-proposed-budget/12248191/
http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/2013/03/north-carolinians-react-to-mccrorys.html
Legislators elect next class to serve on UNC board
The Associated Press
The General Assembly on Wednesday elected its next class of 16 people to serve on the University of North Carolina system's governing panel, including a former state lawmaker, several business executives and a Down East radio personality. The Republican-led House and Senate held their separate, biennial elections to pick eight people apiece to serve four-year terms on the prestigious 32-member UNC Board of Governors starting July 1.
Related Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/20/2766949/democrats-rail-
at-republicans.html#storylink=misearch
http://www.heraldsun.com/news/localnews/x145780863/State-Senate
-makes-UNC-Board-of-Governor-appointments