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(03/25/10 3:14am)
When it comes to Brazil, Tony Harrington knows his facts.The former U.S. ambassador to the South American nation gave a lecture Wednesday night about business interactions between the two countries.The lecture included discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of business in Brazil, the structure of the Brazilian government and the country’s relationship with the United States. The event was sponsored by the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise as the latest installment in their “Business Across Borders” series, which aims to bolster global studies and interest in various global markets among students and faculty.Most of the organization for the event was done by the Kenan Institute Leadership Fellows, a group of MBA students committed to educating students on various activities and opportunities.The idea for the “Business Across Borders” series is to create more interaction between students and top executives and experts in international markets.“Tony represents the type of person that we would like to bring to campus to meet those needs,” said Raymond Farrow, executive director of the Kenan Institute.“In thinking about who would be an ideal candidate for this event, it was actually a pretty easy conclusion to come to.”Harrington is a graduate of UNC, where he was a Morehead-Cain scholar. He is now the CEO and president of the Albright Stonebridge Group, where he advises companies and organizations interested in implementing global strategies and pursuing global opportunities.“Business leads the way in the U.S.-Brazil relationship,” Harrington said. “I would say that 400 of the Fortune 500 companies are in Brazil in some way.”About 150 people, mostly graduate students and faculty, were in attendance Wednesday night to listen to Harrington’s lecture.“I think he had really good delivery,” said Kehinde Olajide, a systems project manager for UNC Energy Services. “It’s obvious that he’s very experienced in the area and his insight was very helpful.”After the lecture, Harrington took questions from the audience, most of whom asked about barriers to entering Brazilian markets and government influence on Brazilian businesses.“It was good to see the perspective of someone who has been in a policy-making position,” said Russell Bither-Terry, a Ph.D student in political science.“But it’s also good to see his perspective now that he is working with global investments.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(01/28/10 5:06am)
The Study Abroad Office introduced a new student advising program Wednesday at the FedEx Global Education Center, where students enjoyed a wide variety of cookies and personal perspectives on study abroad experiences. The peer advising idea, initially conceived by former Student Body President J.J Raynor, provides an opportunity for students to get in contact with individuals who have travelled abroad.“Basically, it’s giving students a different perspective,” said junior business major and peer adviser Chris Foong. “We’re able to answer questions that students may not be comfortable asking an adviser.”The program is run through the Study Abroad Office, but the global university committee of the executive branch of student government has helped to promote the program.“One problem was that there were too few study abroad advisers and a lot of students interested in getting appointments,” said Alex Merritt, co-chairman of the global university committee. Each of the 27 peer advisers applied for the position last semester and received training in November. “I had an amazing experience abroad and I wanted to share that with other students,” said Courtney Ross, a senior peer adviser and economics and international studies major.“I had a lot of questions before I studied abroad, and I couldn’t really answer all of them.”Approximately 1,400 UNC students study abroad through University programs each year.Kathryn Goforth, the associate director of advising for the study abroad office, said the peer advisers were trained to help with the experience but direct the technical questions to her office.“I think it’s been fairly positive,” she said. “We were nervous because we didn’t know how it would work.”At the event Wednesday, the student advisers shared their experiences in Argentina, China and various other countries. “I really wanted to talk and find out more about traveling abroad,” said Heather Kagan, a sophomore economics major hoping to study abroad in London. “I kind of just wanted to hear a personal experience.”Goforth said she hopes to maintain the same number of advisers in the coming years. “We’re hoping make this into a competitive program so we can get students who really love going abroad,” she said. “We want it to be something popular that students will use.”The peer advisers and their contact information can be found on the UNC study abroad Web site.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(10/19/09 5:31am)
More than half of the new premium suites at Kenan Stadium have been sold in the last two weeks, promising initial figures that put the stadium on track to begin construction in mid-2010.UNC Director of Athletics Dick Baddour said that public sales, which began Oct. 3, have exceeded expectations.“All of our surveys, all of our contacts with donors and the level of interest in football show us this is a great time to do this,” he said.Rams Club members have options to buy four different levels of seats in the new Blue Zone — premium suites, the Upper Club seats, Loge seats or the Concourse Club seats. Sales in these sections will fund more than half of the project but account for less than half its cost.Neither Baddour nor Rams Club Director John Montgomery would provide the number of seats sold or the amount raised through private giving.Donations and gifts are expected to make up the remainder of the costs for the project, which will not receive any state money.Montgomery said the premium suites and Loge seats are selling quickly. Concourse seats, the cheapest available, have been harder to sell, he said. The University will not begin the renovations, which also include a Carolina Student-Athlete Center for Excellence, until it raises 85 percent of the $70 million to $85 million renovation, Baddour said.Because no specific schedule has been set for the stadium’s expansion, Baddour said plans are flexible. “If we aren’t successful selling the seats, we’ll wait until the times are better,” he said. “Indications are that we’re going to be fine.”Purchasing a new seat in the Blue Zone has an estimated annual obligation ranging from $8,600 for four Concourse Club seats to $58,900 for a premium suite, which will seat 16. These prices include the value of the lease, the actual ticket cost and the Rams Club membership requirements.Despite the high prices and recent economic woes, Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Matt Kupec said fans are excited.“Certainly the psyche and the confidence of the donors has been jolted,” Kupec said.“I think we’ve got some work cut out for us, but we’re encouraged by the response to the initiatives.” Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(04/23/09 4:00am)
Police arrested six people Wednesday night on charges of disorderly conduct during a speech by Virgil Goode a former U.S. representative from Virginia.Several people disturbed Goode's speech in which he spoke out against affirmative action and illegal immigration and police escorted them out of the Union Auditorium.Two hidden devices that made sirenlike noises also were found by police shortly after the event began.About 15 minutes into Goode's speech hosted by Youth for Western Civilization a small group of police officers calmly walked up to two individuals who were being loud and not allowing Goode to be heard. They were promptly escorted out of the auditorium.The officers returned 15 minutes later and removed one more individual who continued his protest despite the removal of other protestors.Two more people were taken out of the auditorium for holding up a profane sign condemning Goode's views.As of 11 p.m. Wednesday two protestors — Rachel Lane Harris and Donald George Yeo — were being held at Orange County Jail in Hillsborough. Their names do not appear in the UNC student" faculty and staff directory.""I regret that six protesters had to be arrested" but they gave us no choice Chancellor Holden Thorp said in a statement. They ignored our warnings" and their disruptive behavior was completely at odds with what we expect here at Carolina.""These arrests came the week after a protest shut down another speech hosted by YWC. Former congressman Tom Tancredo" R-Colo. canceled his speech after police used pepper spray to disperse a group of protestors" some of whom later broke a window. No arrests were made.Those who supported Goode's views were disappointed with the actions of the protestors.""They were obnoxious" ignorant closed-minded people" said Riley Matheson, president of the local chapter of YWC.Despite the disturbances, Goode continued to speak adamantly against illegal immigration and affirmative action in higher education.I thought it was a good chance for people to say what they wanted to" Goode said about the protests. He added that they weren't as bad as he has seen at other locations.A separate protest also occurred in the Pit.We're not necessarily an organization but a group of individuals concerned with racism and hate speech" said Carlyn Cowen, a senior who was in the Pit.Many members of Students for a Democratic Society attended the protest in the Pit and were unaware of the events occurring in the auditorium. SDS representatives said none of their members were involved in the protests in the auditorium.I thought the protest went really well"" said Ben Carroll, a member of SDS. A lot of people got to speak"" and I think we had a really productive counterevent to the YWC event.""Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(04/17/09 4:00am)
As Jasmin Jones begins her term as student body president, safety will be a top priority in her agenda for next year.Her platform includes plans to increase visibility of resources on campus, work with the town of Chapel Hill to improve daily security and encourage students to take better safety precautions.We need to begin to instill the idea of individual responsibility"" Jones said, adding that students often make decisions that put them in danger.Department of Public Safety spokesman Randy Young emphasized priorities similar to the goals Jones mapped out in her platform.One of the things we try to address every year is the issue of seeing a new population of freshmen and transfer students"" Young said. We need to reinvigorate our efforts to educate people on safety issues.""Jones also plans to increase resources on campus that students will be willing to look to for guidance.""One of the main obstacles is really getting students to take in the information that is provided" Jones said. We have great information" but we don't know that students on campus will actually read it.""Both Jones and Young said UNC needs to have more collaboration with the town of Chapel Hill to improve security in locations popularly frequented by students" such as student neighborhoods.Tom Koester who was a town and external relations committee co-chairman under J.J. Raynor's presidency" said safety has been a top priority in working with the town.""We need to focus on the big events such as Halloween and the Duke game"" he said.In terms of on-campus safety, Jones said she wants to create another P2P bus that runs opposite the current route, improve lighting on campus and create a male allies program"" that would accompany people who feel unsafe walking alone.Jones also said she wants to work with DPS to publicize high-crime areas" highlight safe routes for students walking to South Campus" and create a ""Safe Buddy"" brochure to provide safety tips.Young said students rarely assume that they could be victims of crime on campus.""One of the challenges is to address the sense of immunity students have on campus that these things cannot happen"" he said.Jones agreed that students have significant influence in decreasing the prevalence of theft, one of the most common crimes on campus. This has a direct effect on students"" Jones said. They need to acknowledge the power they hold within themselves to help create more safety in the community.""Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(04/07/09 4:00am)
The UNC Department of Public Safety is asking help to identify a man suspected of stealing a wallet in the Undergraduate Library at about 7 p.m. Wednesday.DPS has released photographs and a flier to warn the public about the individual who is being targeted after suspicious behavior was captured on camera around the time the crime was committed.A student reported that he left his wallet at the circulation desk for about five minutes and it was gone when he returned.The stolen wallet and its contents have an estimated value of $21" according to the police report.""We just want folks to be aware of it" DPS spokesman Randy Young said. Just because we have fairly decent photographic evidence of this nature" we felt like it was a good opportunity to put it out there.""Young said that any information received will be part of an internal investigation and not released to the public.Leah Dunn" director of the Undergraduate Library and branch services said a supervisor is on duty at the front desk at all times" but she did not have any information about the larceny.""In general" we just keep a watchful eye out on what's going on in the building" Dunn said.Young said that putting the flier out will not only help solve the current case, but also remind students not to be careless with their possessions and that theft can occur at any time.About 400 total larcenies occur on campus in a calendar year, he said.We hope that students are aware of suspicious persons on campus"" Young said. That would go a long way to decreasing the number of larcenies.""Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(03/30/09 4:00am)
Nobel Laureate Oliver Smithies spoke to students faculty and staff Wednesday but his success in the laboratory was hardly the featured topic of conversation.Smithies83 who is also a professor in the department of pathology and laboratory medicine at UNC instead explained that current methods of information storage — like CDs or floppy disks — are quickly becoming outdated unlike written records.The professor won the Nobel Prize in 2007 for his work with gene targeting which involves eliminating a particular gene and recording the results to see how the gene functions.But on Wednesday he brought a collection of his old notebooks to the event along with a floppy disk" CD and other storing devices.""They're all going to be out of date"" Smithies said regarding the CD and the floppy disk.We have to get that information down somewhere. That's the problem with information science that you have to think about.""He then quickly referenced his scientific notebooks"" which date back to the late 1940s.""Here's a record; it still exists"" he said.Smithies emphasized the importance of written records in today's academic climate and expressed concern that current ideas would be lost to the ever-changing technology of today's society.He also explained to his audience just how research has developed from the early days"" when he began his studies to what researching has become with the new technology we see today.""You can learn a lot more a lot faster than it used to be possible"" Smithies said, referencing the availability of original documents online. It is an opportunity for all of us to read all of the literature"" not just (literature from) the last two years.""More than 150 people attended the event"" most of whom are pursuing medical or scientific careers. The talk was sponsored by the Health Sciences Library.""I thought he was very personable and funny"" said Sarah Norris, a research coordinator at the School of Medicine at UNC.People who are very modest and willing to share are the best teachers.""After a brief discussion with those in attendance" Smithies opened up the floor for questions from the audience. When asked what advice he had for students" he responded without hesitation.""Look around for something that you enjoy doing"" he said. That's the primary thing.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(03/26/09 4:00am)
Former Nike Adidas and Reebok marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro spoke Wednesday night about his grievances with the two institutions that made him famous the NBA and the NCAA.Vaccaro responsible for signing such stars as Michael Jordan Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady to their first shoe deals" began by telling his rags-to-riches story. But he finished his lecture with a passionate expression of concern about the treatment of college athletes.His presentation centered on a push to allow young athletes to make their own decisions about their futures once they leave high school.""We should care about who wins or loses" but we should also care about how the kids got there Vaccaro said.He expressed his extreme displeasure with the 2005 NBA rule change that required athletes to be one year removed from high school in order to sign with an NBA team.Somehow along the way these kids should get an honest education" Vaccaro said, saying that one year in college doesn't constitute a full education. I'm sick and tired of seeing kids who are no longer in these schools.""Now retired and far removed from the top of the sports marketing world" Vaccaro already has visited a handful of colleges to inspire students and convince them that the future of the NCAA lies in the hands of today's youth.Members of the Carolina Sports Business Club who invited Vaccaro" said they were thrilled to host a stop on his tour.""I think it's a great time of the year to talk about it because it has a lot to do with the tournament"" said Nick Lennon, director of internships for the club.Lennon also said that Vaccaro spoke at no cost to the club, a true reflection of his passion and insistence on being heard by rooms filled with students.I'm glad I came"" junior Robyn Sauls said. It was definitely a little different. I wasn't expecting it to be so inspirational."" Like Sauls"" many students were in attendance to get credit for various exercise and sport science classes.""Coming out to see it" I thought he was going to talk a lot about money" said senior Craig Carter.I was really impressed and it really made me think.""Vaccaro kept his audience entertained with dialogue littered with references to current news"" leaving no room for a dull moment.""We wanted that point of view to be brought out to students who were interested"" said Laura Barry, co-president of the club.I think it's good to hear a critic's point of view to open your eyes to the other side.""Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.