Dorm leads in green contest
UNC might soon have another national title, but this one won’t be for sports — or even academics.
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UNC might soon have another national title, but this one won’t be for sports — or even academics.
Behind his catcher’s mask, Chase Jones has two scars.One is above his right eye near his hairline. The other, which dents into his head, is covered by his hair.The scars remind Jones, the bullpen catcher for the UNC baseball team, of his battle with brain cancer in 2006 that kept him from both the dugout and the classroom.“I started getting headaches, and within 24 hours I went from studying for econ to having a brain tumor,” he said.A biopsy confirming cancer was followed by six months of chemotherapy. As he recovered, he was finally able to return to his family on the field.
E-mail. Online directories. Facebook. Google. Twitter.In the 1950s, people were barely starting to imagine computers, let alone all the technologies that would come with them.But today these technologies are integral to the way people teach, learn and run the campus.
Unpretentious. Kind. Personable. Visionary. Incredibly intelligent.Professor Barry Margolin was remembered fondly in a memorial service Wednesday afternoon, more than a year after his death, at the Gillings School of Global Public Health. These words were the common thread that connected the stories people shared.After more than a decade of declining health, Margolin died on Jan. 28, 2009. He was 66.“Barry was a visionary,” said William Kalsbeek, professor of biostatistics. “He had the ability to think creatively.”As chairman of the Department of Biostatistics, Margolin was remembered for his open-door policy with students and faculty and his continual advocacy for the needs of the department.Margolin’s selflessness topped the list of reasons he was selected as chairman of the biostatistics department in 1987.“Barry did not negotiate for himself,” said Michel Ibrahim, professor emeritus in the department of epidemiology. “He negotiated amenities for the department.”As chairman, Margolin worked to increase diversity within the program and to retain high-quality faculty.“He was serious about diversity in his department,” said Lloyd Edwards, associate professor of biostatistics, a black professor who Margolin recruited.Margolin’s wife, Connie, said he had an initiative to nurture prospective minority students over the summer.Margolin created diversity of gender, religion, ethnicity and nationality in the faculty he recruited to the department.In working to retain faculty in the department, Margolin often played the part of middle-man in negotiations with the University.Pranab Sen, the Cary Boshamer distinguished professor of biostatistics, recalled Margolin’s efforts in keeping him from taking a job with The Ohio State University.“I would have been lost in the Midwest snow and ice if Barry would not have rescued me,” Sen said.Others recalled Margolin’s nonprofessional achievements, notably his devotion to his friends and family, which also includes a daughter, Lauren.Susan and Jonas Ellenberg, long-time friends of Margolin’s family and faculty members at the University of Pennsylvania, recalled trips in graduate school and celebrating New Year’s Eve together as families for many years.Susan Ellenberg also recalled his spirit as he dealt with Celiac Disease, the illness that ultimately led to his death.“I was always amazed by his positive outlook,” she said. “I never saw him angry or resentful. He accepted what came to him with amazing grace and a twinkle in his eye.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
sam Clayton-Luce woke up early Tuesday planning to pick out his ideal room in Alderman Residence Hall for next year.
Students living in Granville Towers returned from winter break to find their residence halls sporting a bold new look.
In 2004, Pi Kappa Phi fraternity left UNC because it didn’t have enough members.Saturday, the chapter returns to campus with 55 new brothers.The recolonized fraternity will be entering a Greek system in the middle of a serious re-evaluation of its relationship with the University.Pi Kappa Phi gave its charter back to its national organization in 2004 because of dwindling membership and an inability to meet national dues requirements.With a house near Finley Golf Course — more than two miles away from the fraternity courts adjacent to campus, where most of the University’s fraternity life is centered — the fraternity had a hard time recruiting new members.But now, the fraternity is strong and ready to re-charter.“We’ve been preparing for this week for the past year,” said Todd Stacy, president of Pi Kappa Phi at UNC. “We had to show the national organization that we could be a successful and thriving chapter on this campus.”The process of rebuilding the fraternity began one year ago, when members of Pi Kappa Phi’s national organization came to UNC to test student interest on campus. Curt Herzog, director of chapter development for Pi Kappa Phi, said students were self-recruiting after one week on campus.Today, after solidifying the founding fathers, 55 men will re-charter the fraternity. They wrote their own constitution and bylaws and determined what shape they wanted the fraternity to take.“That was the biggest selling point for me,” said Blake Zanardi, secretary of UNC’s chapter. “It gives us the opportunity to create something out of nothing and create something that’s not confined by stereotypes.”In order to receive a charter from the national organization, the brothers of UNC’s chapter had to first meet University and national standards. At the University level, this meant the men had to establish themselves as an interest group with the Interfraternity Council, acquire a faculty adviser and an alumni adviser and prove their ability to recruit students.“It’s been a challenge, but we’ve done it in a remarkable time,” Zanardi said.Before receiving the charter, the brothers had to pass a written history test and oral exams evaluating chapter strength.“You don’t get the charter just by doing the checklist,” Stacy said.After completing the tests and the initiation ceremony, Pi Kappa Phi will receive its national charter in a banquet tomorrow evening at the Carolina Inn.Jenny Levering, assistant dean of student life for fraternities and sororities, said the addition of a new fraternity on campus changes the Greek landscape by making things a bit busier in her office and by giving some students another option to consider.“With an old Greek system that’s been around since 1851, it brings a new energy to the system and that’s exciting,” she added.Although UNC’s previous chapter of Pi Kappa Phi closed, Levering said the previous failure would not necessarily determine the new chapter’s success.“If they do the fraternity right, which they have set themselves up to do, they could be a contributing factor to positive change within the Greek culture at UNC,” Levering said.The brothers of Pi Kappa Phi hope to do just that. Zanardi and Stacy hope to dispel stereotypes surrounding fraternities and to establish something positive.“We want to be known as the gentleman’s fraternity,” Zanardi said. Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
After years of toiling in the lab, UNC researchers have developed a formula that will stimulate growth and development.But it’s not a chemical mixture or a new technology.It’s a business plan.University inventors should now be able to launch startup companies based on their innovations at a faster speed thanks to the Carolina Express License Agreement created by the Office of Technology Development.Although the University could profit less from each new company formed with the agreement, UNC could also boost its reputation from the creation of more companies.Licensing allows inventors to market their creations to companies or create businesses around their research, said Cathy Innes, director of the Office of Technology Development.Normally, the process of creating licensing contracts between the researcher and UNC can take three to nine months.“Doing the license agreement takes a lot of time because you have two parties who have two different goals,” Innes said. The process pits the University against the faculty member over issues of financial compensation and property rights.“It can be a very slow and burdensome process,” Innes said. “We want to make that process faster and more efficient.”The new agreement takes away that traditional contract negotiation by establishing a non-negotiable set of financial and business terms that inventors can agree to. Because there is no negotiation, faculty members can create startup companies faster and easier — ideally reaching a licensing agreement in about a month.The University has already agreed to the new terms, which were established to be generous to the inventor, Innes said.“Our objective is not to maximize cash to the University, but to maximize the number of companies to come out of the University,” she said.“Our objective is to get companies started, foster economic development in North Carolina. We’re not chasing money.”She said that if the goal was to increase revenue to the University, the model used would be different and would focus on only the few most viable company propositions. Instead, this agreement seeks to generate many companies, some of which might be unsuccessful.Joseph DeSimone, a professor of chemistry, said the agreement will eliminate barriers that discourage the growth of companies.“The companies are being launched by the faculty and their students, and all of the sudden there have to be negotiations, and it has to be us against them, faculty against the University,” DeSimone said. “You often had inexperienced people on both sides of the table entering into negotiations that often become contentious.”In 2004, DeSimone founded Liquidia Technologies based on his innovations and research in the realm of particle-based vaccines. He said the traditional process can take several months and often is too burdensome for some people starting companies.“Getting a license is like .001 percent of what you need to do,” DeSimone said. “If it’s going to take three to nine months, it’s going to be a deal-killer.”Before companies can go through the licensing process, they must submit a business plan to the University for approval.“We have two or three companies who are going through the business plan review process, and we hope to have our first company signed at the end of January,” Innes said. “I have 19 companies we are working with that are in the various stages of starting. What we’re really trying to do is make the process faster and easier for everybody.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Members of the Greek community have found the long list of recommendations placed on the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity new and unusual. Some have called it excessive.And after complaints from the fraternity’s leadership, the sanctions might be revised.The Fraternity and Sorority Standards Review Board — a group of administrators, students, alumni and faculty members that oversees the Greek system — issued almost 25 recommendations and directives to Delta Kappa Epsilon in a letter dated Nov. 20. The directives require the creation of a local alumni advisory board and the presence of alumni or faculty advisers at recruitment events. The fraternity must also create and fill six to eight new leadership positions — three of which are vice presidents with specific duties — within the organization’s leadership.These directives are intended to improve the fraternity’s academics, accountability and community involvement in light of “a multitude of incidents, reports, and violations over a two-year period,” according to a letter sent to the fraternity.Senior Patrick Fleming, president of Delta Kappa Epsilon and a member of the DTH Editorial Board, said University administrators are going back through the list with the standards review board to come up with something more achievable.“The document right now is unfeasible and very burdensome,” he said. “We want to work with the University to create a sustainable framework. As it is right now, it is not sustainable.”The most recent violation that brought the fraternity before the board was a party in August, in which the organization violated alcohol policy.That night, fraternity president Courtland Smith was shot and killed by police outside of Greensboro.Some members of other fraternities have called the recommendations excessive in light of existing sanctions from the Greek Judicial Board — the Greek student governing body — and internal reforms already implemented by Delta Kappa Epsilon earlier in the year.While many fraternities have executive councils, most have only one president and vice president. Only some have alumni at rush events.Other universities primarily use their Interfraternity Councils to handle violations of policy, while UNC uses both a student judicial board and the standards review board.Ryan Salisbury, a sophomore member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Georgia, said his fraternity has been under recent scrutiny, but that he’s never heard of an extensive letter of recommendations being issued to any fraternity on his campus.“I think it’s a little over the top,” Salisbury said. “Going through the IFC you guys have at UNC is enough. Trying to overhaul with that many regulations is a bit excessive.”The letter of recommendations was issued after Delta Kappa Epsilon went before the standards and review board for the second time in a one-year time frame, an uncommon occurrence in the Greek system, said Charlie Winn, president of UNC’s Interfraternity Council.But repeated alcohol violations by the fraternity and a review by the judicial board caused the fraternity to come before the standards review board earlier than expected, which was taken into consideration when the board formulate the list of directives.“This is the first time someone has gone in front of the board twice within a period of a year,” Winn said. He said the standards review board’s recommendations were unusual, but that the board has only existed for less than five years and has not dealt with such a situation before. But Winn suggested that, had the board been in existence longer, similar action could have been taken against fraternities that repeatedly violate policy.Melissa Exum, dean of students and chairwoman of the standards and review board, said she did not think the recommendations were unusual given the circumstances.“I don’t think it is setting (the bar) too high,” Exum said. “It reads like a lot, but I think it’s more than reasonable.”Exum said most of the directives issued are used at other fraternities already.“This is the process the review board uses,” she said. “I can’t think of any clear recommendation that for the most part all the other fraternities aren’t already following,” Exum said. “It’s not anything new.”Tucker Piner, a sophomore member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, said he thinks the expanded council and additional vice presidents will help Delta Kappa Epsilon manage the organization, as it is one of the largest fraternities on campus.“I just think that bringing more people involved and making bigger decisions is a good idea,” Piner said. “The more people you can have, you make a more informed decision.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
After some students found this year’s Homecoming performance underwhelming, student government and other groups are looking to bring in big- name musical artists for an end-of-the-year event.But high contract fees for more popular artists and a lack of readily available funds could make the event, called SpringFest, difficult to carry out.A committee under the executive branch of student government is still figuring out how to finance the festival, which members said they hope will feature musical acts and other activities. Their plan is to make the event similar to Duke’s Last Day of Classes celebration.The committee is partnering with several organizations, including the Carolina Union Activities Board and the Carolina Athletic Association to plan the festival. An exact date has not been set.Lex Janes, music festival co-chairman, said those organizations have covered costs for production and non-music activities when student government has put on music festivals in the past.While the committee has yet to contact any specific artists, it’s beginning to get an idea of who it wants to call. Janes said Maroon 5 and Kid Cudi are among the acts on the list of musicians the committee wants to bring to campus.“We have a short list,” Janes said. “But it’s not exactly really short.”The committee sent out surveys this semester to gather opinions about artists students would like to see, receiving about 500 responses. Results were used to compile a list.CUAB President Amanda Kao said getting very popular acts to come is difficult. She experienced the troubles firsthand while planning the Homecoming concerts this fall. Some students expressed disappointment with the selected musical acts, Fabolous and Anoop Desai, after the group tried to bring in bigger artists.“A lot of the challenges we faced were really high contract fees from artists,” Kao said. “They have definitely increased a great deal from last year.”Before the semester ends, the music festival committee plans to go before Student Congress to request money to pay performers. Janes said he expects the budget for musicians to be similar to that of Homecoming, which cost $65,000.Zach Dexter, chairman of the finance committee of Student Congress, said money for large events is usually requested in the annual budget compiled in the spring. No request was made this year.Event organizers would have to request money from a separate, smaller fund used to make appropriations after the budget process.“We have a fund of $75,000, the Subsequent Appropriations Fund for the spring 2010 semester, to allocate,” Dexter said.He added that typically, Congress’ finance committee receives a total of about $50,000 in requests in the spring from all student groups, and large appropriations are unlikely to get approval from Congress. That money is allocated on a first come, first served basis.“We would have to take a look at projected attendance and cost factors, like how much it would cost to bring performers in,” Dexter said. He added that attendance is a major factor in weighing requests.Megan Maher, festival co-chairwoman, said she hopes the festival will draw a large crowd.“We want to expand on the Fall Fest mentality and make it more of an end-of-the-year celebration,” she said.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
The University is trying to help make it easier for philanthropic students to raise money for nonprofit ventures.More student organizations might soon be able to qualify for tax exemptions with the help of a new group devoted to moving them toward nonprofit status.The group’s primary function would be to help groups receive 501(c)(3) tax-exemption status, allowing financial supporters to make tax-deductible donations.“Having 501(c)(3) status will increase their donations and ability to raise money,” wrote Jennings Carpenter, student body treasurer, in an e-mail.The organization would provide groups a tax ID number they can use to file for exemptions, he said.Students with short-term nonprofit ideas would apply to the umbrella organization and, if accepted, be able to use the organization to help them fundraise.Long-term ideas or groups would be able to use the proposed organization for guidance and leadership until they are established enough to stand on their own.“Three, four, five years down the line when they are strong enough to be on their own, they can apply to the Internal Revenue Service,” Carpenter said.The umbrella organization would handle many of the technicalities nonprofit organizations face and allow student groups to focus on their charitable goals.“It would take away a lot of the hoops that student organizations have to scrounge around and figure out how to jump through,” said Dorothy Bernholz, director of Carolina Student Legal Services, Inc.“It would incubate their non-profit philanthropy.”Student organizations would be able to creatively raise funds under a 501(c)(3) tax-exemption status. Entities classified as 501(c)(3) non-profits are organizations that solely work for charitable purposes.Currently, student organizations have to go through either the Office of University Development or the Campus Y to receive tax exemption status, Bernholz said.Carpenter and Bernholz proposed the idea to the Student Activities Fund Office, the Student Union, the Office of University Development and the Campus Y. Each group will be involved in different aspects of the program.The new organization would be a fiscal backer for organizations who are unaffiliated with the Campus Y or other existing charitable organizations.Another part of the proposed organization is a support and learning facility. Student leaders will have the resources to learn how to run a nonprofit organization, apply for grants and report earnings, as well as other tasks.Jimmy Waters, the co-president of Campus Y, said the group’s tax-exempt status has made fundraising efforts easier.“It’s easier for us to solicit donations from sponsors and local businesses if their donations are tax deductible,” he said. Senior Kelly Leonhardt, director of student nonprofit Connected for Cause, said the idea is similar to what her organization is already doing, and thinks the idea is a good one.“I think if student government was offering a service like this then people would use it and it would be a great educational tool for students,” Leonhardt said.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Jonathan Oberlander is enjoying his job more than usual — and now he has more people to share it with.“There’s no better time to teach about health policy than fall 2009,” said Oberlander, associate professor of social medicine and health policy and management. “There never has been as exciting a time.”That excitement has translated into increased enrollment for the Department of Health Policy and Management. Students said they’re eager and prepared to work in whatever system emerges from reforms.The national debate over health care reform in U.S. Congress and the White House is a frequent topic of conversation in Gillings School of Global Public Health classrooms.A major health care reform bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday evening. The U.S. Senate is now discussing its own version under immense pressure from the White House.“Every class session, we discuss some aspect of policy and almost always relate the discussion to what’s going on in D.C.,” said Ned Brooks, a clinical associate professor of health policy and management.Peggy Leatt, associate dean for academic affairs at the school, wrote in an e-mail that health policy courses have increased in popularity as a result of the health care debate and the resulting coverage.Enrollment in the health policy and management department has increased almost 18 percent in the past four years. Total enrollment in the school of public health has increased only 5 percent in the same time frame.The school is equipping students with a broad knowledge base. Courses cover an array of topics including finance and law.“What we try to do is provide our students with a skill set and a certain competency so that they will be able to perform effectively in whatever system evolves,” said clinical associate professor Dean Harris.This year, two courses were combined in an effort to give students a holistic view of policy and management.Brooks, who teaches the newly combined Research Management and Ethics in Health Policy course, said the consolidation is more effective because it broadens the scope of knowledge for students. He said the emphasis is on practical education.“It’s not really ivory tower stuff over here,” Brooks said. “Our goal is to produce graduates who will hit the ground running and make a difference in people’s health.”Jason DePlatchett, a first-year master’s student in the health care administration program, said he feels lucky to be studying health policy now.“It’s kind of fun to be on the front lines,” he said. He added that with any reform, he thinks the job market will grow.“There will be more to manage,” he said. “There will be more patients. There will be a whole lot more paperwork.”Potential future forms of health care delivery, such as the medical home approach, would increase collaboration between physicians and refocus work on their specific skill sets. The proposed insurance reform bills would increase the number of people with access to doctors.Elise Lockamy, a first-year master’s student in the master of public health program, said although the changes to the field are still unknown, she and others are excited about what is to come.“We are excited to see what things there are for us to do,” Lockamy said. “No matter what reform looks like, we know that there is something for us.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
At a University as large as UNC, it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle.But the newly created Class Commission aims to unify each class, beginning with 2012 graduates.The seven commissioners introduced themselves to about a dozen sophomores Wednesday evening at a meet-and-greet in the Student Union Gallery.“Our whole purpose is to emphasize the class and offer something a little bit different,” said Ian Lee, commission vice president. “We all feel like Carolina students but we rarely identify as a class.”The commissioners were chosen by the General Alumni Association staff and student leaders after an application process and will plan events and a forum in an attempt to draw together the sophomore class.Each commissioner will serve through the class of 2012’s graduation. The GAA is planning to continue the commissions for future classes, and a 2013 commission has already been selected.The 2012 commission is the first of its kind but not a completely original idea, said C. Hawkins, coordinator of student membership for the GAA. He said each class used to have a permanent president that represented the students for all four years at UNC.“It’s kind of an old concept that we’ve revived and made fresh and new,” Hawkins said.The commission is required by the GAA to host at least three events: a social event, a service project and a pertinent issues forum.“The main issue is to have class cohesiveness,” said Mario Benavente, service director of the commission. “The senior class president can’t do it all.”Benavente said he got involved to make a difference.“I was never part of class officers in high school,” he said. “I knew that if that idea was applied to the University where I could make a difference, that I wanted to get my hands in it.”While many of the students present didn’t know much about what the commission will do, they were optimistic about the concept.“I guess they just push for our ideas as a class,” said sophomore Matt Dibble, who attended the event. “They’re just our advocates and have our voice as a class.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
With $2.5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, doctors and researchers at UNC and five other universities hope to prevent it several different sexually transmitted infections.With the funding, staff members at the newly created Southeastern Sexually Transmitted Infections Cooperative Research Center are looking specifically at the infections gonorrhea and chancroid, their bacterial causes and possible vaccinations.Fred Sparling, a UNC professor of medicine and microbiology and immunology, will lead the new center.“It is focused now almost entirely on understanding the basic science that will hopefully lead to vaccinations for gonorrhea and chancroid,” he said. “Both of those are difficult in themselves for people who have them and are co-factors for getting HIV.”Sparling said much of the center’s work will be a continuation of ongoing research initiatives, but there are also new projects.“There’s one brand-new project, which is headed by Dr. Alex Duncan, in the department of medicine at UNC, who is trying to understand the innate immune responses to gonorrhea,” Sparling said.This research will help understand how the body reacts to infections and how it will react to the vaccine, researchers said.The new center is an interdisciplinary initiative conducted with individuals at UNC, Duke University, Emory University, Virginia Commonwealth University and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md.Sparling said UNC will have a large role in the center’s operations, housing three of the six research projects and two of the three project cores. UNC leads the microbiology core and the administrative core, while Duke leads the immunology core.“A little over half of the work is done at UNC and the leadership comes from UNC,” Sparling added. He was careful to mention the teamwork and collaborative nature of the project, and said all the partners are working on various parts of the research.UNC applied for the funding in 2008, and researchers said they are pleased with the amount.“We got all that we asked for, amazingly enough,” Sparling said.Sexually transmitted infections
Stop 10 people on the street with a question about the Galapagos Islands, journalism professor Pat Davison says, and eight will talk about giant tortoises or Charles Darwin.But Wednesday night at the FedEx Global Education Center, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication unveiled its latest Web site, “Living Galapagos,” to try to change some of those ideas.The multimedia site, created by 21 journalism students through a partnership with La Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador, focuses on the islands’ residents and the issues placing it at risk.The site features four distinct parts — stories, people, places and facts. Each uses multimedia techniques to show how people are affecting the islands and tell the residents’ stories.“This is the first of its kind in the world as far as I know,” said Davison, who served as the site’s executive producer and multimedia coach. He said that other sites have focused only on land and animals.The Web site is bilingual, offering stories in both English and Spanish through the help of La Universidad San Francisco de Quito. Each story is told directly from the source without narration by the students and includes the option of a direct English translation.Graduate student Lauren Frohne said the site is important because the stories have never been told before.“People don’t realize that there are a lot of people living there and don’t realize the impacts of people living there,” Frohne said.The project’s topics range from goat hunting and surfing to immigration and health care.Senior photojournalist Sabrina Short said the site required a lot of work but provided a clearer glimpse into daily life in the Galapagos Islands. She said she hopes the site will portray the islands as having more than just turtles and pristine surroundings.“I hope it brings awareness more than anything — awareness of the people that live there and struggles they face,” Short said.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
By the time students graduate from UNC, most will have spent countless hours cramming for exams, sneaking naps or taking snack breaks in one of the 22 libraries on campus.Now, members of the senior class are looking to improve that experience for future students.Senior class officers announced Friday at the senior class talent show that the class will endorse the UNC Libraries as the beneficiary of senior class gifts.The voluntary donations will come from seniors and will enter the larger University Libraries endowment.Senior Class President Meggie Staffiera, who helped select the recipient of the funding, said she thinks UNC Libraries are an appropriate choice for the endorsement.“It’s a sanctuary of study sessions,” she said. “But at the same time you can break away from that and there are raves and occasional streaking.”The decision to select the Libraries came after several meetings between elected senior class officials and Meg Petersen, the annual fund officer for the Office of University Development.But a variety of seniors outside of student government voiced their opinions in the decision-making process, Staffiera said.Several seniors said they thought the idea was a good one.“It’s kind of like giving a gift certificate because you don’t know what else to give,” said senior Keith Gordon.Lauren Teegarden, senior class fundraising committee chairwoman, said she hoped the gift would have a far-reaching impact on the University. “It’s probably the only place that every single student uses,” Teegarden said. “Everybody has a story to tell about the library.”Library representatives said they are thrilled about the decision.“It was a lovely surprise to us that they picked us,” said Judith Panitch, director of library communications.“This is really the kind of gift that really multiplies itself over time, and that’s really exciting.”Six previous senior classes since 1941 have designated the Libraries as their gift recipient, most recently the class of 2003, Panitch said.Past gifts helped purchase a variety of resources, from computers and furniture to research tools such as encyclopedias.“Our goal is to beat the participation rate from last year, which was 42 percent,” Teegarden said.“You’ve been at Carolina for four years. Hopefully you’ve really loved it, and this is your chance to give back to future students.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
With a gift of at least $3.5 million, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication is planning to revolutionize its approach to teaching.The focus of this change will be a 24-hour digital student newsroom that will experiment with non-traditional ways to report news and move the school’s focus toward actual publication.While no firm decisions have been made for the newsroom’s construction, the school’s faculty are actively planning how it will function.“The goal is to use it as a way of creating innovation,” said Jean Folkerts, the school’s dean. “Because it’s not the daily community morning newspaper, we can be a little more experimental, work on some new things, work with people with different areas of expertise and develop some new models for the industry.” Folkerts placed an advertisement online for the position of executive producer for the newsroom, which will be funded by a portion of the $3.5 million dollar gift by the estate of alumnus Reese Felts. The ideal candidate, according to the advertisement, would be an industry innovator with newsroom management and programming experience along with design and video knowledge. The producer will also be teaching one course a semester related to the newsroom. Folkerts said she hopes the room will be operational by fall 2010. The executive producer hired will be instrumental in equipping the room and planning the project.“We’d like to have somebody here by Jan. 1,” Folkerts said. “That way, that person could start working things out.”The school has already designated Carroll Hall room 11 in the journalism school’s basement to house the newsroom.Professor Don Wittekind, a member of the committee overseeing the newsroom’s construction, said the room was likely chosen because it has outside access.Folkerts said the newsroom’s goal will be to publish work created in classes. She said students from all tracks will contribute content to a Web site. “It’s going to bring the potential for publication for every piece of content that is produced in the school,” Folkerts said. Many students said they were cautiously optimistic about the new project.“I think it has the potential to be really cool and useful for students as far as getting real-world experience and having access to that kind of facility,” said Adrienne Wollman, a junior journalism and Spanish double major. A portion of the $3.5 million will also fund research projects in the school. Folkerts said initial projects will look at audiences and what types of media are most effective in reaching them.“Those sort of initiatives are extremely important right now given the current state of the media,” Wollman said.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Between free-style Korean hip-hop, beatboxing and a college-themed rendition of DJ Class’s “I’m the Ish,” the auditions for the senior class talent show varied both in genre and quality Sunday evening.A total of 20 acts, overwhelmingly of the musical variety, vied for an opportunity only about half would receive — the chance to perform at Memorial Hall in the Oct. 9 show, “Seniors Got Talent.” Meggie Staffiera, senior class president, spearheaded this year’s show and said she set out to make it different from previous years’ events. Proceeds from the show will fund local service projects.Calling the event a “throwback to a high school talent show,” Staffiera said this year’s event will focus on bringing the class of 2010 together. Tickets, which go on sale Sept. 28, will cost $10 for seniors and $12 for the rest of the student body.“This is a great opportunity for seniors to connect with other seniors on a really real level,” she said.Staffiera said the selection committee was looking for acts ranging from dance troupes to singers to “odd but amusing and fun-to-watch talents.”The talents they ‘got’Young Jin Chang, a senior economics major from South Korea, auditioned with Madison Barnett, a sophomore from Chapel Hill.The duo performed two original hip-hop songs, with Chang rapping in Korean and Barnett in English. Meredith McCoy, a senior music and anthropology major, auditioned the song, “A Case of You” by Joni Mitchell. She said she had planned to audition with accompaniment, but her pianist came down with H1N1.“I have always loved performing,” McCoy said. “And I’m involved with too many other things on campus to get involved with groups like the Loreleis. It’s a great way to show people what’s going on.”Yorick de Visser, a senior dramatic art major from the Netherlands, said he wanted people to become aware of a talent he has been honing for the past three years.He performed an improvised beatboxing routine that left the room stunned.“My thing is a little bit unique,” de Visser said, who decided to audition to provide variety from the singing acts.Others tried to make their acts stand out by showcasing their personality in addition to talent.Senior Heather Minchew auditioned wearing what she described as an ‘80s outfit.“That part is optional,” she said, jokingly. But she didn’t joke about her reason to audition. “I thought it would be really cool to perform in Memorial Hall and to get to do a big performance in front of a lot of people,” Minchew said.At the end of the auditions, the selection committee had to make decisions. The people who auditioned will learn via e-mail today whether they will be part of the show.Staffiera said the decisions would be difficult.“We’re honored to be part of such a diverse and talented class,” Staffiera said.“And we can’t wait to have everyone see what we saw tonight.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Commuters to the University have to sacrifice some of their flexibility this year.The Department of Public Safety has reduced parking and transportation options for commuting staff and students in response to a misuse of the benefits provided under the old Commuter Alternative Program.The new program retains the same options but requires commuters to choose between primary transportation options.The main change to the policy deals with commuters’ ability to use up to three incentives to help make commuting easier:
On Sept. 9, 1909, English professor Edward Kidder Graham kicked off a rich tradition of journalism at UNC with English 16, a news writing course taught in Playmakers Theater. One hundred years later, students and faculty members gathered Wednesday in front of Carroll Hall to mark the anniversary.In that century, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication has undergone significant changes, attempting to broaden the skill sets of its graduates and adapt to new media technology.The school’s story is one of innovation, adapting to the emergence of radio, television and public relations as prominent communication fields.Today the curriculum seeks to reflect the emerging influence of multimedia and divides the school into two categories: journalism and advertising/public relations. The school encourages graduates to become familiar with modern media and technology.Dulcie Straughan, senior associate dean of the school, said the curriculum aims to prepare its graduates for the current job market.“What the dean really hopes is that this is a curriculum that emphasizes core principles but helps the student become more flexible with what they can do after graduation,” Straughan said.The changes came after consulting with news media across the state about what journalism students should be learning to become successful, Straughan said.The school also offers opportunities outside the classroom for students to hone their technology skills.Kyle York, assistant to the dean for communications, said students can get involved in online multimedia projects dealing with such topics as energy use and the Galapagos Islands.York said these special projects investigate how to tell stories in alternative formats.“The idea is to tell the story in whichever media tells it best,” York said.The school has also upgraded its equipment to high-definition technology to get students familiar with the technologies they will use after graduation.After 100 years of change and innovation, the school’s faculty said they are looking forward to where the industry is headed and how to best prepare their students. Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.