60
Minutes' Stahl gives Wynn lecture
Lesley
Stahl was among the group of women who came along in the early
1970s and broke down the sex barrier in broadcast journalism.
After CBS hired her in 1972, she was assigned to cover what her
editors thought was a little story about a burglary that was well
suited for a rookie reporter. The story was Watergate. She went
on to serve as the CBS News White House correspondent during the
Carter and Reagan presidencies. From 1983 to 1991, Stahl also
moderated the network's Sunday public affairs broadcast, Face
the Nation. And in September, she celebrated her 10th anniversary
as co-editor of 60 Minutes.
After nearly three decades, Stahl is still around, still breaking
stories and when she has to, still climbing over barriers set
in her path. Only now, the barrier in front of her has to do with
her age as well as her sex. When she first came along, executives
told her that no woman in television news could last past 40.
Forty has long been in Stahl's rear view mirror, but just how
long she did not volunteer. There are, after all, some old customs
worth keeping, and a woman keeping her age to herself is one of
them. Still, Stahl did not skirt around the subject completely
as she stood before a Memorial Hall audience on Nov. 1 to deliver
the 2001 Earl Wynn Distinguished Lecture, which was sponsored
by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
"Can
you keep a secret? Since I got there, I've gotten younger, but
you'd get younger, too, if you worked with guys that old. Does
anybody have any idea how old Mike Wallace is? He's 83 and a half.
"Andy
Rooney? Eighty-three and a half. They call me the kid. It's gotten
to the point, as Morley Safer likes to say, that it's a conflict
of interest for us to do a story about Medicare."
She and her crew may be growing older, but they are not getting
soft. They still do the same hard-nosed, tough journalism on which
60 Minutes has built its reputation, she said.
"I
can boast a little about where I work, I think I work in a place
where there is the finest collection of broadcast journalists
ever assembled under one roof, in one group, ever."
One example of that kind of hard-nosed journalism occurred during
her recent visit to Iraq to interview an official who is second-in-command
to Saddam Hussein. What she found there surprised her, not only
in her official interview, but on the streets of Baghdad as well.
"The
truth is, once I got there I was not for one second, not for one
minute, afraid," Stahl said. "The people on the street were stunningly
friendly, and they had to know we were Americans."
Stahl wore the black robe over her face, but she could not keep
her blond hair from flopping out. "Women were laughing that I
was having trouble with this thing and came over and showed me
how to hold it. It was almost an uplifting experience."
There was none of the "hate America" sentiment that she had expected.
Also missing was the poverty that she had witnessed six years
ago when she had last visited Iraq to do a story on the effects
of the U.N. sanctions that were imposed after Iraq's defeat in
the Persian Gulf War.
Stahl found even more surprises in her interview with the country's
second-in-command. When she got back, she was asked if she believed
everything the official tried to tell her. `Well, of course not;
I may be blond, but I wasn't born in a cabbage patch."
But there is one thing he told her she did believe. "He wanted
the American people to know this: The Iraqis do not like the brand
of Islamic fundamentalism that Osama bin Laden stands for and
promotes."
Hussein was a communist allied with the Soviet Union and for a
long time tried to wring religion out of Iraq. He didn't get rid
of the mosques the way the Soviets got rid of the churches, but
Iraq is a secular state that has stamped out fundamentalism, often
brutally.
"If
Osama bin Laden were in Iraq, this is what he said, `We would
imprison him and persecute him.' I think he meant `prosecute.'
He was probably being more honest than he meant to be."
Stahl said the answers he gave to other questions were less believable.
For instance, Iraqi officials only acknowledged having chemical
and biological weapons after U.N. inspectors found and destroyed
them following the Persian Gulf War.
And the Iraqi official tried to tell her none of those weapons
had been replaced.
"He
said they had destroyed all their chemical and biological weapons
in 1991, and none exist anymore."
This she didn't believe, she said. On Sept. 9, two days before
the attacks, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said the chemical
and biological weapons programs in Iraq continue, only now they
are being driven around in vans.
And those weapons being driven around the desert are among the
things Americans now have to worry about in ways we never did
before, she said.
"So
much in your life and my life has changed since the attacks on
Sept. 11," Stahl said. "Every single one of us -- our children
and our parents -- we have all been affected and changed. We know
more deeply than we ever knew that there are people out there
who just plain hate us, and in many ways that is more shocking
than anything for most of us."
At the same time, the country is engaged in a war that could easily
become another quagmire, Stahl said. "And yet, unlike the real
quagmire, which was Vietnam, I think everybody feels that this
was a war that we absolutely had to fight, that this wasn't a
question, this was it. I said to myself, `My, how quickly we had
to grow up.' That's true for you kids in the audience, the kids
your age, but it's also true for the kids my age."
There's that age question again, and Stahl left it up to the program
to answer it. It revealed that Stahl was born in Swampscott, Mass.,
on Dec. 16, 1941. And that means Stahl is only a few weeks shy
of 60, and only five years away from worrying about a conflict
of interest with a story on Medicare.
And even at 60, in 60 Minutes terms, she may only be warming up.
Earl Wynn joined the University faculty in 1938 as an assistant
professor of dramatic art, starting a career that culminated in
the development of a first-rate University Communications Center,
a statewide educational TV network, the University's first radio
station and a department in which students prepared for careers
in radio, television, motion pictures and related communication
industries.
Chilean
president to speak here
Nov. 9
Ricardo
Lagos, president of Chile and a leader in that country's return
to democracy in 1990, will be awarded an honorary degree from
Carolina on Nov. 9.
Lagos will deliver an address before receiving his degree in a
free public ceremony beginning at 4 p.m. in the banquet hall of
the Morehead Building on East Franklin Street. A reception will
follow. Those attending should enter the left side entrance (when
facing the building from Franklin Street) and walk upstairs.
Although Lagos was jailed in 1986 during his opposition to then-dictator
of Chile Gen. Augusto Pinochet, two years later, in a national
television interview, "Lagos had the gumption to point his finger
at the camera -- as if to point directly at the dictator -- and
[tell] him that the country had had enough of his repression,
torture and executions," The New York Times reported. His 1986
imprisonment without charge had ended after public and international
outcries for his release.
Lagos has worked since to improve his country and the lives of
its people, said Evelyne Huber, director of the Institute for
Latin American Studies and a Carolina political science professor:
"He is a very forceful leader in Latin America for strengthening
democracy and addressing the dire social problems that Latin American
societies face."
Lagos was a visiting professor of Latin American studies at Carolina
in 1973-75 and spearheaded a 1979 conference of prominent social
scientists and Chilean political leaders here. Scholars here say
the meeting ignited a decade-long, peaceful movement to banish
Pinochet and restore democracy. "President Lagos' strong ties
to this University, both personal and philosophical, bring great
distinction to Carolina through this honorary degree," said Chancellor
James Moeser. "His courageous leadership against a repressive
regime and subsequent efforts on behalf of the disadvantaged strike
harmony with this institution's long tradition of advocacy of
social justice."
Now, in another link to Carolina, Chile is home to the $28 million,
advanced SOAR telescope under construction high in the Andes,
where "the center of our Milky Way galaxy passes right overhead,"
said Wayne Christiansen, professor of physics and astronomy. Carolina
is part of an international coalition building the telescope,
the Southern Observatory for Astrophysical Research (SOAR), that
is expected to enable landmark discoveries after its scheduled
completion late next year.
By tradition, Carolina awards honorary degrees, the highest honors
it bestows, only at commencements, said Joseph Ferrell, secretary
of the faculty, "but our trustees made an exception in this case
to accommodate President Lagos' schedule."
Raymond Farrow, Carolina's development director for international
studies, said Lagos' visit is important because "our society is
increasingly global." Carolina graduates must be able to interact
and succeed in a global world, he said.
Lagos' books include one summarizing proceedings of the 1979 conference,
Chile at the Turning Point, edited with Carolina professors Henry
Landsberger, a retired sociologist, and the late Federico Gil.
Lagos was a close friend of Gil, who founded the Institute for
Latin American Studies here and directed it for 25 years.
The institute encourages research and study on Latin America at
Carolina and promotes exchanges of students and scholars among
Carolina and Latin American universities. The institute also joins
with nearby Duke University in a Consortium in Latin American
Studies, which enables the two institutions to offer a broader
range of courses than either could offer alone. Other consortium
activities include work groups of students and faculty from both
campuses and an annual film festival on six campuses statewide,
taking place this year from Nov. 4-19.
Before becoming Chile's leading dissident figure in the 1980s,
Lagos, now 63, worked in higher education. He earned a law degree
at the University of Chile in 1960 and a doctorate in economics
at Duke in 1966. He returned home to become an economics professor
in Chile from 1957-72. He directed major university units and
was secretary general (chancellor) from 1969-71.
Lagos was former Chilean President Salvador Allende's choice for
ambassador to Moscow just before Pinochet led the violent coup
that overthrew that government in 1973. Lagos, whom The New York
Times calls a longtime Western European-style social democrat,
chose exile in the United States and the visiting professorship
at Carolina.
"Lagos
has a very sincere and heartfelt emotion for the University,"
Farrow said. "It will be wonderful to have him back on campus."
Lagos was senior economist at the United Nations Regional Employment
Program for Latin America and the Caribbean from 1978-84. He led
groups opposing Pinochet's government in the 1980s and became
Chile's education minister after the country restored democracy
in 1990.
"He
did a great deal to improve the quality of and access to education,"
Huber said. "The dictatorship had cut spending for that." Lagos
initiated programs to improve poor schools, update technical education
and provide school materials, food and scholarships to students.
Then, as Chile's Minister of Public Works (1994-98), he implemented
$3 billion in road construction, improved rural water systems
and placed artworks in public facilities.
Since becoming president, Lagos has promoted a dialogue between
the armed forces and civilians, Huber said, and has worked toward
finding information about the hundreds of Chileans who were killed
or disappeared during the military dictatorship. "He is providing
forceful leadership in trying to deal with the human rights problems
of the past," she said.
Lagos' efforts to boost the Chilean economy, which depends on
exports, have included moves to strengthen trade with Portugal,
China, Europe and the United States.
Supporting nominations for Lagos as a Carolina honorary degree
recipient, Bruce Carney, physics and astronomy professor and chair,
wrote last year that Chile's support of telescopes within its
borders, including the SOAR, has been invaluable.
"The
government declares large regions to be scientific preserves to
prevent mining and other activities that bring light pollution
to the best observing sites," he wrote. "The government also makes
it easy for observatories to import sophisticated equipment...
We in the physics and astronomy department fully endorse an honorary
degree for Ricardo Lagos, both as a person and as a representative
of a nation which has done so much to help science throughout
the world."
Veterans
to be honored Nov. 8
Carolina
will hold its annual ceremony to honor veterans on Nov. 8 at 2
p.m. in Polk Place. Highlights will include several speakers,
special music and traditional military tributes to veterans past
and present.
The free, public event is sponsored by the University's Army Institute
of Leadership, Air Force and Navy ROTC units and the registrar's
office.
The ceremony, expected to last 50 minutes, will feature the Tar
Heel Brigade, composed of Army and Air Force cadets and Navy midshipmen,
who will present a solemn salute to veterans.
Keynote speakers are Richard Kohn, a history professor, chair
of the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense and a study group
member for the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century,
as well as Athletics Director Dick Baddour, a retired colonel.
Other speakers include Chancellor James Moeser and Julia Bryan,
an Army ROTC cadet.
A veteran from each war or conflict of the 20th century except
World War I will be recognized. A wreath to honor those who died
will be presented by the Army, Navy and Air Force commanders and
their counterparts from the local Veterans of Foreign Wars and
American Legion posts.
The Loreleis, the Carolina a cappella singing group, will lead
the singing of the national anthem and perform "Amazing Grace"
during the wreath laying. The North Carolina Army National Guard
Band will perform.
Also on hand for the ceremony will be survivors of the USS Growler,
a World War II submarine that earned two Navy Crosses and the
Congressional Medal of Honor for sinking numerous enemy ships
in the Pacific. That vessel sank Nov. 8, 1944.
The ceremony will end with the playing of taps and a marching
formation by corps of cadets.
The Veterans Academic Achievement Award also will be presented.
The award, for student veterans who attended college using the
Montgomery GI Bill and demonstrated academic excellence during
the previous year, will be given to Michael Jones.
Jones enlisted in the Air Force after graduating from James Wood
High School in Winchester, Va., in 1994. He completed weather
school at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss. He was a senior
airman stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro.
While enlisted he earned numerous awards including an Air Force
Achievement Medal and a National Defense Service Medal. Jones
enrolled in Carolina in 2000 and has maintained a cumulative 4.0
grade-point average.
Immediately following the Polk Place ceremony, attendees are invited
to a reception at the Naval ROTC Armory Building, located at the
corner of South Road and South Columbia Street.
Faculty
Council probes Qatar proposal
Discussion
has turned serious in recent weeks about the proposal to establish
an undergraduate business degree program in the Middle Eastern
country of Qatar. And the Faculty Council started weighing in
on the topic Nov. 2, devoting a large chunk of its meeting to
questions and answers about the proposal on topics including academic
freedom and safety.
The council's discussion came as a University delegation was preparing
to visit Doha, the capital city. Earlier this week, more than
50 people -- including Chancellor James Moeser, administrators,
faculty from the Kenan-Flagler Business School and the College
of Arts and Sciences, and members of the University Board of Trustees
-- returned from a three-day fact-finding trip.
The Qatar proposal involves expanding how an existing bachelor's
of science in business administration degree program is offered.
The conferring school and campus would be the Kenan-Flagler Business
School and Carolina, but it would be based in Qatar. About 25
students in Qatar would be admitted into the initial class as
freshmen under the proposal. Those students would be required
to meet admission standards for both Carolina and Kenan-Flagler.
The College of Arts and Sciences would be responsible for freshmen
and sophomores in the program, and the business school would oversee
the junior and senior years of study. Kenan-Flagler and Carolina
would retain control over the design of the program, non-discriminatory
admissions standards of students, faculty appointments and program
management, among other issues.
During the council's discussion, Faculty Chair Sue Estroff said
members of the council's Executive Committee have met with a representative
of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development,
which originally approached Kenan-Flagler about the degree program.
Those discussions have yielded verbal assurances that intellectual
freedom would be respected, she said.
"As
the council well knows, I have been trying to get your attention
on the matter of Qatar for some time," Estroff said. "The time
has come to attend to this issue."
Estroff rattled off a series of questions that she said synthesized
the concerns she has heard from faculty members in recent weeks.
Among them were:
Why this campus and this degree in Qatar as opposed to elsewhere?
Do the Qatar government's policies meet Carolina's requirements
for human rights and civil liberties, as well as political and
academic freedoms?
Most of Qatar's population comes from other countries, such as
Pakistan, Iran and India. How does the dominant minority treat
the majority?
Does the project complement the University's mission? Will it
diminish or enhance the reputation of the University?
Are enough faculty members enthusiastic about this degree program
to participate in it over time? Will faculty be safe in Doha?
Is the University selling a degree to the highest bidder?
"In
my view, we are proceeding with appropriate caution thus far,"
Estroff said.
"I
am most concerned that we have the freedom and opportunity, both
in Qatar and on this campus, to ask questions and find answers
and that the faculty's advice and consent -- or dissent -- be
heard. Based on the information we have and the views that we
hold, I have no reason to believe that the chancellor is not listening.
He is listening."
In addition to discussion of those and other questions raised
by faculty, Estroff announced plans to hold a General Faculty
meeting in mid-November to hear faculty views.
Moeser said he would conduct an electronic survey, to be administered
by the Office of Institutional Research, that will go to all faculty
in Kenan-Flagler and the College of Arts and Sciences. The survey
will ask for opinions ranging from strong support for the proposal
to strong opposition. The chancellor also offered to share the
survey results with the council before the General Faculty meeting.
Moeser also planned to seek direct feedback from faculty participating
in the Qatar trip. The delegation was expected to learn about
Qatar's educational system and tour the campus site in Doha. They
also were scheduled to meet with officials from the U.S. embassy,
the Qatar government, the Qatar Foundation, American companies
operating in the area and the Al Jazeera television network, a
major source of news in the Middle East. The trip was coordinated
and paid for by the Qatar Foundation.
Since Moeser arrived as chancellor in August of 2000, he has emphasized
the need to enhance the University's international presence and
opportunities to study abroad.
He told council members the Qatar Foundation officials were committed
to academic freedom. "That's a core principle -- not in any way
negotiable," he said. Without academic freedom, such a program
would not represent the University "and we wouldn't be there."
He said the University's total control over the program would
also ensure that the quality of the program would be commensurate
to others at Carolina.
In response to a council member's question about Qatar, the chancellor
described it as the most progressive state in the Persian Gulf
and one that had made progress toward establishing a democracy
and recognizing the rights of women.
Moeser said a pivotal consideration will be whether enough faculty
members would be willing to work in Qatar.
No timetable has yet been set for a decision, which the chancellor
will make in consultation with University trustees.
The council's meeting and the trip to Doha followed conversations
Moeser had during special meetings with faculty from Kenan-Flagler
and the college in mid-October. Both deans, Robert Sullivan and
Risa Palm, had held similar sessions. And they and faculty both
had been working with Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Robert
Shelton to develop an appropriate curriculum for the proposal.
Drafts of those curricula for the school and the college were
discussed during the council meeting.
Trustees first raised the idea publicly of having a program in
Qatar last summer following a previous trip by a Carolina delegation
that included faculty to Doha. Sullivan and Kenan-Flagler officials
had begun discussions with the Qatar Foundation earlier.
Last spring, Qatar signed an agreement with Cornell University
to provide a medical school program and has been seeking partnerships
with other elite universities to establish programs in key areas
of study.
Alumnus
donates $10
to international studies
A
$10 million gift to Carolina will dramatically increase opportunities
for students and faculty to immerse themselves in global studies
on campus and overseas. The gift will build upon strategic partnerships
with key international universities.
Alston Gardner, a 1977 Carolina alumnus from Atlanta, has pledged
the gift to the Carolina First fund-raising campaign for scholarships,
a lecture series and research funds in international studies.
"I
had the great fortune of learning about the world firsthand. Many
UNC students never have that opportunity," Gardner said. "This
gift is designed to help UNC students shorten their learning curve
on international affairs so they can compete more effectively
in a global economy. It also aims to help the entire University
community think critically about pressing global issues that we
face today."
Gardner is establishing 25 undergraduate scholarships in the College
of Arts and Sciences for an annual six-week immersion program
at the National University of Singapore. Students will travel
with a Carolina faculty member who will teach two introductory
courses with faculty in Singapore. The gift also will establish
a rotating Asian field research seminar. Undergraduates will help
a faculty member conduct field research in Asia.
In the Kenan-Flagler Business School, Gardner will fund the Global
Scholars Program. The program will bring up to 48 foreign undergraduate
students to Carolina annually to study at the business school.
To attract top undergraduate students, the school plans first
to target outstanding universities with strong undergraduate business
programs in Asia and Latin America. The international students
selected each semester to participate in the Global Scholars Program
will be housed on campus in a special living-learning program.
The gift also will establish two REACH (research and teaching)
graduate fellowships and fund a speaker series in the University
Center for International Studies. The fellowships will provide
one-year research and travel grants as well as one-year teaching
stipends for graduate students who are conducting dissertation
research on Asian topics. The speaker series will bring at least
one high-profile speaker for a public lecture on a topic of international
importance every year. Gardner is helping bring Sandy Berger,
who was President Clinton's national security adviser, to campus
Nov. 7. Berger's speech, "America's Fight Against Terrorism: Challenge
and Change," is an example of the issues to be addressed in the
speaker series. Berger's speech, free and open to the public,
will be at 4 p.m. in 111 Carroll Hall.
Chancellor James Moeser said Gardner's gift supports a top priority
of the Carolina First campaign -- increasing opportunities for
students and faculty to study around the world and better understand
global economies, politics and cultures.
"We
are indebted to Alston Gardner for the generosity of his gift
and for his leadership in helping Carolina expand and accelerate
its commitment to international studies," Moeser said. "The great
universities of the world will be judged on an international stage.
That means we must offer a truly superior international education
to every student at Chapel Hill, an education that will remain
rooted in the finest Carolina tradition. We must be a world university."
Gardner, a 1977 Carolina graduate and Durham native, is a member
of the Society of International Business Fellows and chairs the
University's Advisory Board for International and Area Studies,
comprising 32 prominent alumni volunteers who advise the University
on international efforts. He also is a member of the Carolina
First Steering Committee.
Gardner was the founder and chief executive officer of On Target
Inc., a provider of consulting services and training programs
for sales and marketing organizations, that was acquired by Siebel
Systems in late 1999. In May 2000, he formed Fulcrum Ventures,
LLC, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology
and health care companies.
The Carolina First campaign, a seven-year fund-raising initiative,
aims to establish Carolina as the nation's leading public university.
Blue
light specials flash every
Friday morning
Robert
"R.C." Bullock has been the supervisor of the University's surplus
operation for about four years now.
Like a good mechanic with a screwdriver standing over a carburetor,
Bullock has twisted and turned and tweaked, making little adjustments
here and there to make things run more smoothly.
Several months ago, he got the idea of turning the storage warehouse
into a store. Think of a used-furniture store with garage-sale
prices and a flea-market crowd, and you'll get the idea.
The store opens every Friday morning at 8 a.m. and stays open
until noon.
Most people arrive early, though, so they can get a jump on the
best stuff and still get to work on time.
To get there from campus, head north on Airport Road, make a left
at the Estes Drive Extension, then a quick left into the Facilities
Services parking lot.
Only thing though, don't go looking for anything that remotely
resembles a store. A tip: The entrance is a garage door.
Somewhere near it you're likely to find Bullock, along with the
cashier perched behind a table with the cash box. And it's exactly
that. All purchases must be made with cash. The policy on returns
is simple, too. There are no returns.
Over the past several weeks, they've averaged from $1,200 to $1,400
in sales, and Bullock expects those numbers to go higher. "It
will probably be more," Bullock said. "When more people find out
about it, more stuff will get gone."
At 64, he is white-haired but still quick-moving and a good-natured
sort. He once hauled cattle for a living, he will tell you, so
loading objects that can't bite or kick onto trucks is a pretty
tame line of work to him.
But he's having fun with the selling, he said. C'mon in, he said,
and you'll walk away with a good deal, even it is likely to be
something you never knew you needed until you saw it.
Bullock won't haggle over prices, or hassle you to buy, but he
might humor you a bit about the quality of the merchandise as
he did this Friday morning with Ellen Young.
Young, a lecturer in the biology department, stood in line holding
a shovel when she heard Bullock squawk, "That's nearly new." Nobody
knew what Bullock meant exactly, but it seemed funny just by the
way he said it.
"It
just looks like a very nice shovel," Young explained, "and we
have a garden."
And the price looked even better to her. At $3, the shovel was
a steal compared to the $20 she would pay for a new one anywhere
else.
"I've
become a regular unfortunately," Young said. "At the rate I'm
going, I could run out of room before I run out of money."
And she wasn't fooling. The week before, she said, she walked
away with a $75 piano, and at that price it was about as close
as she could get to stealing without being arrested, she figured.
It was a console piano, with a beautiful tone, and was once considered
to be a good midline piano before Estey, the company that made
it, went out of business years ago.
"It
was nearly new," Bullock said, meaning that it was "not wore out,
and you can still use it."
Well, not exactly, Young said. That piano was nowhere close to
new, not that she has any reason to complain. When she went to
have it tuned, she found out the piano was made in the 1940s,
and if it were to sell on the floor of a piano store, it would
fetch from $1,500 to $2,000.
So the deal on the shovel pales by comparison. "What's sad," Young
said in a whisper, "is that we may use the shovel more because
we know how to use it."
No matter. There is a fine art to stretching a hard-earned dollar.
And at that, Young is already becoming a master.
The
art of the deal
Lee
Edmark and Mark Bristol are two other University employees who
seem to have caught on to the art of the deal.
Edmark, a facilities planner with Academic Technology and Networks,
came this morning for the same reason he had come other mornings
-- to pounce on anything unexpectedly good that caught his eye.
"I
actually came two weeks ago and bought two of the old Kewaunee
casework tables, similar to those guys over there," Edmark said,
pointing over to what looked to be worn-out cabinets without tops.
Junk. But not to Edmark. Take a closer look, he said. No flimsy
particleboard you can punch a hole through. This is real wood,
and the drawers slide in and out as smoothly as glass.
Kewaunee Scientific Corporation manufactures and installs scientific
and technical furniture and work surfaces, but Edmark didn't need
to consult a company brochure to figure the two tables he bought
would make great workbenches for his wood shop.
The big deep drawer on the bottom was perfect for power tools.
The thin tray drawer higher up might have been used for test tubes
once. In his shop, they will work even better as a place for his
screwdrivers and pliers.
"You
can't buy something like that," Edmark said. "You can't go to
Lowe's or Home Depot or buy anything that comes close to this
for a workshop."
Edmark said he paid $15 each for them. This week, he noticed,
the price tag was $20. Maybe, he said, people are catching on.
"The hardware in it alone is probably worth $50."
Bristol, in contrast, came knowing what he was looking for and
left with them: three desk chairs, at $5 each. Can't touch that
price anywhere else, he said.
His son broke their only computer chair, and the family had been
dragging chairs in from the dining room to use the computer. The
third chair is for his son's bedroom. If he breaks it, Bristol
already knows where he can go to replace it cheaply.
Edmark and Bristol have a good eye for bargains, but no one arrived
with a more serious purpose than G.W. Lutz. Lutz drove all the
way from Fallston, a town of about 350 people between Shelby and
Hickory, to take advantage of the bargains. When he left, his
truck was loaded down with everything from grocery carts to janitorial
carts, and his wallet was only $55 lighter, he said.
Lutz would have bought more, except that he took his wife's pickup.
"I can't haul much on it," Lutz said. "When I come with my old
pickup, with my side planks, I can roll out of here looking like
the Beverly Hillbillies."
Once Lutz gets home, he'll unload everything in warehouses he
owns that are about as big as the one that serves as the surplus
store.
All his warehouses are full, or nearly full, Lutz said. "Nobody
wants it, you see, it's old."
To illustrate the point, Lutz walked over to a part of the warehouse
sectioned off with rows of old dental units and chairs. "That
chair, if I was to buy it from a dental supply house, would be
about $3,500 to $4,000."
Here, Lutz said, "they will be lucky to get $50 out of them."
What would anybody do with them? "Even in a TV room they are better
than any recliner you ever are going to find because they go up
and down, tilt, everything," Lutz said. "A lot of people get old
barbers' chairs and put them in their recreation room, but a dental
chair is a much better chair."
And he's someone who should know. He's a retired dentist.
Pleasing
the customer
The
selling of University surplus, of course, is nothing new. What
is new -- or nearly new -- is the way Bullock and his crew allow
people to buy individual items they want without requiring them
to buy a bundle of stuff they don't, said Howard Gorman, the director
of the Materials Support Department.
"One
of the greatest drawbacks to the surplus [auction] system was
that you had to buy in lots," Gorman said. "If I wanted that thing
and there were six other things combined with it in the lot, I
had to bid on the whole thing just to get the one piece."
The benefit for the University is that it moves surplus items
in and out faster, and earns a higher price for some of the better
items, Gorman said.
There is an old saying in business about keeping customers happy.
Here, though, it is important to remember that the store ends
up serving different sets of customers -- and multiple purposes.
All those desks and chairs and old file cabinets used to pile
up in storage waiting for the auctioneer to arrive and clear them
out every once in a while. And if they weren't piling up in the
warehouse, they were cluttering somebody's office.
"From
our perspective, from the campus-customer point of view, the biggest
thing is just moving stuff," Gorman said.
On the one hand, the store is helping to create a better work
environment. On the other hand, it is allowing people such as
Edmark to come in with a discerning eye and pick and choose what
they want and leave behind what they don't.
Gorman pointed to an old kitchen sink. Somebody might be able
to use that for a basement or garage, he said. Under the old lot
system, they would have thrown the sink into a lot with other
more attractive items just to get rid of it.
Now, the sink is still waiting for someone like Edmark with a
workshop who may decide it would be nice to have a place to wash
hands besides in the house.
The discussion got Edmark thinking, but not about the sink. "I'm
tell you what I'm looking for," he told Gorman. "A toilet, a real
toilet, because the ones they give you today, the 1.6 gallon jobs
--
"I
don't even know if they can sell me one legally or not, but if
I see one, I'm buying it."
Enough said.
Or, as Bullock might tell you, some of the really old merchandise
works better than the stuff they call "new and improved."
And here's one more tip from Bullock: Sometimes, there is no real
difference between something new and something nearly new -- except
the price. C'mon down, he said, and find out for yourself what
he means.
Carolina
joins EPA's elite
cogeneration partnership
On
Oct. 15, the University became one of 17 Fortune 500 companies,
city and state governments and nonprofit organizations to join
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in announcing the Combined
Heat and Power Partnership -- a partnership expected to be a more
efficient, clean and reliable alternative to conventional electricity
generation. The group was founded as a follow-up to recommendations
made in President Bush's National Energy Policy Report that promote
the use of combined heat and power.
Combined heat and power (CHP), also known as cogeneration, is
a highly efficient form of electric generation which recycles
and utilizes heat that is normally lost under traditional power
combustion methods. CHP captures this leftover heat, providing
a source of residential and industrial heating and air conditioning
in the local area around a power plant.
Carolina's cogeneration facility, which came on line in 1994,
has made a name for itself in the industry because of its record
of low nitrous oxide emissions -- greenhouse gases that can lead
to climate change, acid rain and summer smog. The co-generation
facility burns coal to produce steam, which is used to heat and
cool the campus as well as UNC Hospitals.
Energy Services Director Ray Dubose said, "It was a proud moment
when the Environmental Protection Agency ... called and asked
the University to be a founding partner. The honor of the invitation
was based on the reputation of the University and the performance
of our energy system with regard to the environment."
Partners in the program have agreed to work with the EPA to develop
and promote the benefits of new CHP projects. EPA will provide
public recognition of projects and benefits to the company, the
public and the environment. EPA also will support accelerated
development of new projects through education, streamlined permitting
and provision of technical tools and services.
DuBose said he expects Carolina's role in the partnership will
be to "help provide direction for the program first by example
and also with comments and suggestions on their activities to
promote combined heat and power.
"To
be selected to be a founding partner of this program is an endorsement
by the EPA of the things we are doing with our energy systems
regarding energy efficiency and the environment," Dubose said.
"We were selected by the EPA and Department of Energy a year ago
as a recipient of an Energy Star Combined Heat and Power Program
Certificate of Recognition. Energy efficiency and environmental
performance were criteria in that selection process."
In selecting CHP members, the EPA's Joe Bryson said his agency
looked for exceptional examples of "district energy" -- the system
that pipes steam, hot water and chilled water around a campus
or urban area.
He said Carolina's cogeneration facility turns into useful steam
and electricity a very high percentage of the consumed fuel.
"The
facility's efficiency of 72 percent is notable relative to typical
utility-supplied fossil-fueled power that averages 33 percent
efficiency," Bryson said.
Star
Heels enters second year,
ready for nominations
TIAA-CREF is sponsoring the Star Heels award program for a second
straight year.
An Oct. 24 kickoff launched the 2001-02 year for the program,
which gives campus departments the chance to recognize and reward
accomplishments of their employees.
Pirie McIndoe, TIAA-CREF's assistant vice president and manager
of its Raleigh/Durham offices, spoke at the event. He said the
program "has been more successful than we ever could have imagined."
McIndoe said when he mentions Carolina as he travels around the
country, people tell him they hold the University in high esteem.
That reputation, he said, stems from the hard work of Carolina
employees.
"You
are one of the premier universities in the country, public or
private," he said.
TIAA-CREF provides financial services and is the top pension system
for people employed in education and research in the United States.
Carolina is among its clients. University departments can use
Star Heels to recognize staff at any appropriate time during the
program year. Rewards are allocated based on the number of employees
in each department. Recipients choose a $20 gift certificate from
A Southern Season, the UNC Student Stores/UNC One Care, Lowes
or University Mall. Names of winners also are printed in the Gazette.
Laurie Charest, associate vice chancellor for Human Resources,
thanked TIAA-CREF for sponsoring Star Heels and praised the program's
design.
"The
particular beauty of this program is its flexibility and ease
-- it allows campus departments to almost spontaneously recognize
employees who go above and beyond," she said. "There are no long
nomination forms, no lengthy eligibility rules and no campus wide
committees to determine winners."
Employees can nominate a co-worker for a Star Heels award through
their HR facilitators, who send nominating information on to Employee
Services, the program's coordinator. June 1, 2002, is the deadline
for nominations.
There should be plenty of qualified candidates.
"Let
us never forget who really runs the University," Nancy Suttenfield,
vice chancellor for finance and administration, said at the kickoff,
attended by many of last year's Star Heels winners. "Senior administrators
serve only to guide and direct, to offer support and encouragement.
We never forget that our success as an institution depends on
you."
One winner from last year was Judy Sharpe, accounting manager
in environmental sciences and engineering. She said she appreciated
the recognition, and the 24-year Carolina veteran's description
of her job sounded just like what Suttenfield had described.
"I'm
the place where the buck stops, and I don't give up on it until
the job's complete," Sharpe said.
But, she added, she doesn't do it alone.
"[The
University] has been a great place to work, and my group is a
good group to work with."
Central
Receiving key
to campus's defense
Carolina's
"e-commerce" supply-ordering system already is helping keep the
campus safe, and officials hope to make it even more effective.
With e-commerce, employees use the web to order supplies from
vendors, who deliver most of those supplies to the University's
Central Receiving facility on Airport Road, from where Carolina
employees take them to units around campus.
Howard Gorman, director of the Materials Support Department, said
it's this step at Central Receiving in the e-commerce process
that helps keep Carolina safe from any supply packages that might
be laced with bioterrorism agents such as anthrax.
That's because employees in Central Receiving have been screening
supplies for anything suspicious since the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks. Employees have been trained to look for missing return
addresses and other signs that a package might be a threat.
Such screening is particularly important for research supplies,
which often contain hazardous materials, Gorman said.
"Central
Receiving is our first line of defense," he said.
And with e-commerce, he said, Carolina can track where and to
whom any hazardous material is going on campus.
Right now about 70 percent of supplies come through Central Receiving.
Gorman said he hopes to get that number up to as high as 95 percent
-- 100 percent for research materials. He is working with Carolina's
research-supply vendors such as Fisher Scientific to see if the
goal of 100 percent can be reached.
Other long-term possibilities for improving supply security include
purchasing high-tech equipment such as X-ray machines to examine
the contents of packages at Central Receiving, Gorman said.
"It's
going to be a constant battle, a constant awareness," Gorman said.
Gorman is well prepared for the task. He was the supply officer
at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., where during Desert
Shield and Desert Storm in 1990-91 he led efforts to assess and
minimize the threat of terrorism at the academy in circumstances
very similar to what Carolina now faces. He also has considerable
experience successfully implementing e-commerce in higher education.
Gorman said the academy forced "virtually 100 percent" of supplies
to go through central receiving while he was there, up from about
75 percent.
"If
we can do that here, which I think we can over the next six to
12 months, we can substantially reduce the terrorism threat on
campus," Gorman said. "Before Sept. 11 we viewed e-commerce primarily
in terms of its substantial cost savings benefits to the campus,
and it is saving millions.
"Now
we are looking at e-commerce as a prime vehicle to reduce the
threat of terrorism on campus. Since this is an issue concerning
the health and safety of our staff and students, it has our total
attention and is our number one priority."
Seminars
examine public health's terrorism response; web offers resources
To
better inform the general public and health community of the current
war on terrorism and of the recent bioterrorism attacks in the
United States, Carolina's School of Public Health has launched
a seminar series, "America at Risk: The Public Health Response."
Future scheduled installments of the series, which began Nov.
5, are:
"Tales
from the Front Lines: How Prepared Is Public Health for Terrorism?",
Nov. 19, Maj. Jim Hanlon, U.S. Army Medical Service Corps and
student in the master of science in public health degree program
in the School of Public Health; and Tom Blackwell, medical director
of the Center for Prehospital Medicine and the Mecklenburg Emergency
Medical Services Agency, Mecklenburg County.
"Vulnerability
of Water Supply Systems to Terrorism," Dec. 6, Rolf A. Deininger,
professor of environmental health at the University of Michigan,
whose current research is in the area of modeling of water distribution
systems and the changes in water quality from the treatment plant
to the consumer.
All seminars, free and open to the public, will be held at 2:30
p.m. in 133 Rosenau Hall.
Also, Carolina's Curriculum in Peace, War, and Defense will host
David J. Weber, associate professor in the schools of medicine
and public health, discussing "Bioterrorism: What Is the Threat,
How Great Is It?" on Nov. 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. in 100 Hamilton
Hall.
World Wide Web sites pass public health's examination
The School of Public Health recommends these web resources for
bioterrorism information:
* MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine), general health:
www.medlineplus.gov
* MedlinePlus, biological and chemical weapons:
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/biologicalandchemicalweapons.html
* MedlinePlus, anthrax:
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/anthrax.html
* MedlinePlus, smallpox:
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/smallpox.html
* Centers for Disease Control, bioterrorism site:
www.bt.cdc.gov
* Recent Centers for Disease Control broadcast for health professionals:
www.sph.unc.edu/about/webcasts/bioter_10-18_stream1.htm
* American Medical Association articles (free to the public for
a limited time):
jama.ama-assn.org/
* University of Alabama, Continuing Medical Education Online --
emerging infections and potential bioterrorist agents:
www.bioterrorism.uab.edu/
These sites are recommended for research interest in bioterrorism:
* Federation of American Scientists:
www.fas.org/bwc/
* American Society for Microbiology:
www.asmusa.org/pcsrc/bioprep.htm
Carolina sites with information:
* School of Public Health:
www.sph.unc.edu/bioterrorism/
* Health Sciences Library:
www.hsl.unc.edu
Other major medical center web sites with information:
* Johns Hopkins Center for BioDefense Studies:
www.hopkinsmedicine.org
www.hopkins-biodefense.org/
* University of Maryland Health Sciences and Health Services Library:
www.hshsl.umaryland.edu
* University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio:
www.library.uthscsa.edu/internet/bioterror.cfm
Protect
campus servers
from e-mail viruses
Almost
everyone working at the University spends a good bit of time writing
and reading e-mail.
We now depend on it so much that many of us could no more imagine
doing without it than without a telephone.
Our dependence on e-mail, though, leaves the University particularly
vulnerable to computer viruses. Given the number of urgent warnings
about possible viruses that are sent out, most employees probably
already understand that by now.
But Christopher Colomb, a system programmer with Academic Technology
& Networks, knows there are things employees can learn to
protect themselves against that threat.
Any server on the Internet is vulnerable to attack, Colomb said,
but everyone should be familiar with their particular servers
so they can better understand the potential threats to it and
how they should respond if they suspect one is in progress.
What is a server? In simple terms, it's a computer device that
provides information or services to computers on a network, Colomb
said.
And the relative vulnerability of different types of servers keeps
changing.
In the past, for instance, UNIX systems were frequently exploited.
Now, UNIX is more mature and its security aspects are better understood.
At the same time, UNIX systems tend to adhere to robust Internet
protocol standards easily opened to security audits. As a result,
UNIX systems are less vulnerable than before.
The same cannot be said for proprietary products like Microsoft
Windows and its associated e-mail and web servers, Exchange and
IIS. These products do not have an effective security model and
use proprietary technologies that are now being discovered and
exploited on a regular basis, Colomb said.
Colomb said there is no way to pinpoint how many employees use
each of the various systems, and it is no easier explaining or
anticipating in what ways the various systems are particularly
vulnerable. But CERT, a major reporting center for Internet security
problems, reports there have been more than 1,800 security vulnerabilities
so far this year.
Each system is vulnerable in a different way because there are
people using the Internet who can take control of the operating
system in order to steal, manipulate or destroy data. They also
can use one system to launch attacks against other computers.
What do the viruses do to the servers to make that happen?
In most instances, the virus creates what Colomb called a "reproductive
function" that can result in a denial of service because it creates
a system overload. It also can embarrass the owner by sending
copies of mail or other files on that computer, Colomb said.
A virus also can contain a "payload" -- a program that keeps the
door open for the intruder to enter a system.
What should employees do to protect their data and software?
Colomb suggests starting by using secure clients to access mail,
and provide virus protection. Employees also should consider disabling
automatic execution of attachments.
And what should employees do if they suspect trouble?
The best thing to do is get in touch with the unit's system administrator
-- ASAP.
SILS
group brings back the
joy of reading
Special
to the Gazette, by Becky Berry
"I'm
reading now from page 100," he said, and began to read a passage
to the five others sitting around the table. They were all seated
around a conference table, too far away from one another to even
touch someone else's hand.
But the atmosphere was intimate -- cookies, milk and a voice that
took each of the five to a place they had recently visited. But
each learned something different from his or her visit, and each
had something different to say about it.
They had all visited the home of the Hmong family. They shared
the Hmong joys and felt the Hmong pain. But they never left their
homes to visit the Hmong, except maybe to take the Hmong to the
library or the cofffee shop, or perhaps to a grassy patch under
a tree. Each had invited the Hmong into their lives by reading
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman, and
they came together to share their experiences from reading the
same literary work.
"We
talk about reading," said David Carr, associate professor in the
School of Information and Library Science (SILS). His is the voice
that reads the opening passage. "We talk about things that we
read and have opportunities to make them more than just our private
experience because we find that when we share them with other
people, they may have the same excitement that we have or may
have a different kind of excitement or a completely different
take on a book that we loved or thought that was terrible."
But this group of six didn't stumble upon the same book by chance.
They read with an organized campus group, founded by Carr, that
promotes reading and discussion.
"This
group is one that I started in 1998, and it begins by inviting
everyone in the SILS community to join us," Carr said. "There
are some folks from outside who may come in every once in a while,
but they come often as guests, or sometimes it's the spouse of
a student who's one of our members."
When Carr left his professorship at Rutgers University in 1998
and moved to Chapel Hill, he found that people wanted to read.
"When I came down here," he said, "I found that people read books
and talked about books and that people came to this program [SILS]
in order to become the kind of librarians that recommend books."
Carr encourages his students to join the reading group so they
can better serve the needs of library patrons. "I want my students
to be able to feel what they feel and to understand what they
feel, to be able to say `You know, here's how we can find something
that's good for you,'" Carr said.
But there is really only one criterion to join the club -- the
desire to read. Any member of the faculty, staff or student body
can participate.
One of the big ironies of education is that college is the thing
most likely to kill the habit of reading, said Neil Hollands,
a master's of science in library science candidate. But don't
think of the group as one more book to read, think of it as a
way to take time for yourself, as a way to escape the torture
of reading for classes.
"
I think it's just nice to hear everyone else's perspective," said
Kristen Bullard, also a master's candidate. "I think that by meeting
you kind of figure out more about what you think by reading and
talking about it."
"I
try to choose books that are available in paperback, that are
relatively inexpensive, and, lately, I have been trying to make
sure that they are not terribly long," Carr said. "I choose [books]
by paying close attention to what's being published and what people
say. I spend a lot of time in bookstores, and I listen to recommendations
from people who've read books that they think are really wonderful."
The group rotates meetings each month between Wednesday and Thursday
nights. An afternoon discussion is usually conducted for participants
who cannot attend night discussions. Reading takes time, which
we all find hard to afford these days. But the habit of reading
is one that should not be overlooked, and Carr's reading group
offers a way to make reading fun again.
How
to join
Employees interested in joining the reading group should contact
David Carr at 962-8364 or carr@ils.unc.edu
Richardson
honored with four oak benches
Retired
Provost Richard "Dick" Richardson had a devil of a time choosing
quotations to place on four oak benches honoring him, now gracing
a clearing between Steele and Saunders buildings.
"This
was extra hard, because I use lots of quotations," Richardson
said at a celebration he hosted with his wife, Sue, on Oct. 25
for those whose donations purchased the benches. "Many of the
quotations I selected were vetoed by Sue."
Richardson, long beloved on campus for his wit and wisdom, tickled
the guests in Carroll Hall with a few of the censored sayings,
then led everyone to the benches to dedicate them. Quotes that
made it onto the benches were from Henry David Thoreau, The Book
of James in the Bible, Dr. Seuss and a girl, age 8, whose words
Richardson once read: "Never try to baptize a cat."
More outdoor seating on campus was recommended in Carolina's 1997
intellectual climate report to encourage faculty, students and
others to stop and engage in discussion . Last year, political
science lecturer Donna LeFebvre, co-chair of a report implementation
committee with Libby Evans of Academic Technology and Networks,
came up with the idea of helping to fulfill the recommendation
by honoring the retiring provost.
Richardson said that hiring LeFebvre when he chaired the political
science department "was one of my best decisions, in terms of
her teaching and her friendship to me." He thanked LeFebvre, Evans,
Diane Gillis of Facilities Services and Andi Sobbe of development
for their efforts. More than 100 members of the University community
contributed to the benches, Sobbe said.
Richardson, who retired last summer, had been at Carolina since
1969, when he joined the political science faculty. With the benches
is a chair labeled, "In Honor of Richard Judson Richardson, Provost,
1995-2000, Teacher, Mentor, Friend."
The benches were designed and crafted by Jim Kirkpatrick of Chapel
Hill, son of the late Charles A. Kirkpatrick, who was a professor
of marketing in the business school.
Video
tells story of Ku Klux Klansman's relationship with welfare mother
The remarkable, moving story of how a Ku Klux Klansman from Durham
shed most of his lifelong racial prejudices and formed a strong
bond with a black welfare mother is being told in a new video
produced by Carolina faculty and others.
"We
made our video because the principals, Ann Atwater and C.P Ellis,
are in poor health, and there was an important need to capture
this compelling local history in their own words now," said Florence
G. Soltys, project director and clinical associate professor at
the schools of social work and medicine. "In many ways, their
story can reflect upon the current world situation."
The 35-minute video, The Unlikely Friendship, will be screened
for the first time in Chapel Hill on Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the
Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building Auditorium. A reception will follow
the free public event.
"Over
a 10-day period in the early 1970s, C.P., a leader of the Klan
in Durham, came to know Ann, a poor civil rights organizer also
in Durham," Soltys said. "They met while serving on a committee
trying to improve race relations and reduce tensions in the city
that arose after court-ordered school desegregation.
"At
first, their relationship was fraught with distrust. Before long,
however, they found that despite their many differences, they
were finding common ground and becoming good friends."
Their friendship deepened and continues to this day, she said.
Atwater is expected to attend the showing. Ellis might come, depending
on how he feels that night.
In producing the video, Soltys conducted the interviews with Atwater;
Ellis; Howard Clement, retired president of the N.C. Mutual Life
Insurance Co. and longtime city councilman; and others.
Diane Bloom, Jim Sander and Davis Stillman handled technical responsibilities
and edited the video. David Kaspar, who won an Academy Award for
his earlier documentary, The Panama Deception, was the videographer.
The UNC Center for Public Service supported the production with
a grant to Soltys and colleagues.
"When
I showed the video at a recent meeting of the International Reminiscence
and Life Review Society in Chicago, I didn't know what the reception
would be," Soltys said. "The audience gave it a standing ovation."
Editor's
note: This is the first installment of "Big Names on Campus,"
an occasional Gazette feature highlighting well-known and respected
figures who have come to Carolina because of the University's
drawing power.
Robert
Ingram, COO of GlaxoSmith-Kline, spoke to graduates of the
Kenan-Flagler Business School's Executive MBA Program on Aug.
25.
Donald
Sultan, an artist and Carolina alumnus, and Irving Sandler,
historian of postwar art and professor at SUNY-Purchase, participated
in a panel discussion in conjunction with the exhibition Space,
Abstraction and Freedom: Twentieth-Century Art from the Collection
or Mary and Jim Patton at the Ackland Art Museum on Sept. 8.
Bill
Cosby appeared in Memorial Hall to benefit the Carolina Union
on Sept. 21.
Larry
Brown, a fiction and nonfiction author who focuses on Southern
life, came Oct. 2 as part of the second annual Thomas Wolfe Prize
and Lecture. He is the only two-time winner of the Southern Book
Critics Circle Award.
N.C.
Sen. Howard Lee addressed educators and received the School
of Education's Distinguished Leadership Award on Sept. 22.
Phillip
C. Schlechty, president and CEO of the Center for Leadership
in School Reform in Louisville, Ky., addressed educators on Sept.
22 as part of the School of Education's Alumni Day and received
the school's Peabody Award for his contribution to the profession
of education.
Ken
Kizer, president of National Quality Forum and chief architect
behind transformation of Virginia healthcare, lectured at the
School of Public Health on Sept. 28.
Arun
Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas K. Gandhi, spoke to a gathering
on Polk Place on Oct. 3.
Mark
Shields and Paul Gigot, two popular TV political analysts,
delivered the Kenan-Flagler Business School's fall Weatherspoon
lecture on Oct. 9.
The
Branchettes, a widely renowned gospel trio and the subject
of the latest book by Glen Hinson, associate professor of anthropology
and chair of the Curriculum in Folklore, performed in the Johnston
Center for Undergraduate Excellence's "Thursdays on the Terrace"
series on Sept. 27. Algia Mae Hinton, who won a North Carolina
Heritage Award as an exceptionally gifted blues artist, performed
in the series Oct. 4; and John Dee Holeman, winner of the
North Carolina Heritage Award and the National Heritage Award
for folk traditions, performed there Oct. 11.
Nel
Noddings, emeritus professor of child education at Stanford
University, spoke as part of the School of Education's Smallwood
Dialogue Series on Women in Educational Leadership on Oct. 27.
Technology
& You: Study abroad applications go paper free
Many campus programs offer on-line applications but Carolina's
Study Abroad Office takes the idea one step further, providing
a new, virtually paper-free process for students interested in
spending a semester abroad.
The old process involved huge amounts of paper from beginning
to end: Students filled out a multi-page application and mailed
it to the Study Abroad Office, which then sent back a 30-page
acceptance packet including a variety of forms that needed to
be filled out, signed and resubmitted. Once those documents were
returned, office staff had to enter the data into a computerized
system and file the paper forms. The paperwork cycle continued
during and after a student's time abroad.
The new process, which went into effect this fall when the office
unveiled its redesigned web site (study-abroad.unc.edu/), allows
students to fill out all the necessary forms and even digitally
"sign" them using their Carolina ONYEN as a secure identifier.
Digital signatures -- used to authenticate an agreement legally,
in case of future disputes -- don't involve signing something
with a pen and paper, then sending it over the Internet. Rather,
they attach the identity of the "signer" to an electronic transaction
-- in this case, connecting a checkbox denoting a student's acceptance
of certain terms with that student's ONYEN.
Bob Miles, director of the Study Abroad Office, said his staff
consulted with the University's attorneys before implementing
the system because the required forms involve sensitive issues.
For instance, applicants must sign an agreement detailing the
rights and responsibilities of the student and the University.
According to that agreement, "we [the University] cannot guarantee
the safety and security of every student studying abroad" -- an
increasing concern since the events of Sept. 11, Miles said.
"We
had all the predictable concerns about authenticity that apply
to handwritten signatures," Miles said. "And because we're being
innovative, we wanted the legal credibility."
Once a student begins the application process, the Study Abroad
web site automatically generates a personal web page for that
individual and then notifies the student by e-mail as forms are
processed.
Once the application is complete, students can purchase additional
insurance or print insurance cards online, change their address,
find out housing regulations and program-specific details about
credit, and check payment information. The new process is especially
valuable for students studying abroad now who can access the system
from France, Saudi Arabia or wherever they might be studying,
Miles said.
The process isn't entirely electronic: The office still accepts
academic transcripts and personal recommendations on paper, and
non- Carolina students must fill out paper forms for signature
verification, said Garrett Christian, who helped develop the system.
However, the new system already has decreased some of the paper
flow, which makes life easier for both students and staff, Miles
said.
Students no longer need to phone or visit the office to check
the status of their applications, and "it makes us [the staff]
more efficient and substantially increased our potential to deal
with a much larger number of students," he said.
That's especially important given the University's commitment
to giving all students the opportunity to gain an "international"
experience, Miles said.
Last year, about 720 students studied abroad as part of more than
200 programs in countries from Austria to Zimbabwe. This fall,
the office saw a 25 percent increase in the number of applications,
Christian said.
Sponsored by the Technology in Context Consortium (www.unc.edu/faculty/tic)
Writer:
Cara Bonnett
State's
sustainability efforts showcased at Oct. 24 fair
Editor's
note: The following is the first installment of "Carolina Green,"
an occasional Gazette column by Cindy Pollock Shea, the University's
sustainability coordinator. The column will let Carolina employees
learn the campus is doing to encourage the adoption of more sustainable
policies, practices and technologies.
Two
thousand state employees learned more about the sustainability
efforts of their sister agencies and innovative manufacturers
during a warm fall day in Raleigh on Oct. 24. NC Green 2001: Steps
to Sustainability in State Government featured everything from
electric cars to porous pavement to water-free urinals to worm
bins that compost food waste. The Carolina campus was well represented
with two exhibits and one workshop.
Carolina's Sustainability Coalition exhibit featured the ever-popular
Energy Cycle. Bikers pedaling at a moderate pace were able to
light four compact fluorescent bulbs without too much effort.
Flipping the switch to the incandescent side and all but the most
fit were breaking a sweat and breathing hard when they finally
illuminated the fourth bulb. Visitors also found out about the
green building, storm water management and transportation plans
on campus.
Next door at Carolina's Office of Waste Reduction
and Recycling exhibit, curiosity seekers learned that the University
recycled 37
percent of its discarded material last year. Though far higher
than the state average, that rate was eclipsed by inmates at the
Brown Creek Correctional Institution, who have reduced their waste
going to landfill by 86 percent since 1997. A custom-designed
spinner game also asked contestants to identify the appropriate
strategy for handling various material discards.
At a workshop earlier in the day, representatives from eight UNC
system campuses and Guilford College met to discuss and share
best practices. Presentations on high performance buildings, storm
water management, purchasing for energy efficiency and food waste
composting gave everybody an idea to try back at their own campuses.
The compost pile rising atop balls of thawing, frozen pizza dough
evoked the most laughs.
Carolina participants were congratulated for the range of innovative
approaches being adopted across campus. Plans for green buildings,
storm water capture and energy and water efficiency upgrades are
truly leading edge.
Sponsored
by Facilities Services
Writer:
Cindy Pollock Shea, sustainability coordinator
Transportation
Demand Management: What is it?
Editor's
note: The following is the first installment in "Moving Forward,"
an occasional Gazette column by Debby Freed, the University's
Transportation Demand Management (TDM) coordinator. The column
will let the Carolina community know about alternatives to single
occupancy vehicles as ways to get to campus.
In
the past, parking availability was based on controlling supply.
As the population grew, parking grew with it.
As Carolina has grown, employee and student population growth
has outpaced parking growth. Even if parking could grow at the
same rate as the rest of the University, the undesirable effects
of increased vehicle emissions and traffic congestion would not
make promoting single occupancy vehicle (SOV) use an attractive
option.
When the parking supply does not grow at the rate demand is increasing,
it is time to look at controlling demand -- Transportation Demand
Management -- by moving people from their SOVs to other forms
of transportation. Encouraging people to use transit (Chapel Hill
Transit becomes FAREFREE in January 2002!), to walk, bike, park
and ride, car- and vanpool, as well as looking at other ways of
alleviating traffic congestion and parking demand during peak-use
hours, such as telework, flex-time and compressed work weeks,
are all necessary.
These are flexible options that work better for some departments
and some individuals than for others. These changes don't happen
quickly, but when they do happen, the mindset of the community
changes -- TDM measures become a way of life for the whole community.
Many thanks to the Gazette which has provided space for TDM information
on a regular basis. Future articles will include topics such as
park and ride, farefree transit, carpooling, vanpooling, a TDM
vision for Carolina, the results of a transportation survey and
changes in the workplace.
Upcoming events to be aware of:
* Transportation Survey: If you receive (or have received) a transportation
survey in the mail, you have been randomly selected to participate
in an important survey which will help determine commute patterns
and transportation needs. Please take a few minutes to fill it
out. Your response is crucial to the survey results.
* Chapel Hill Transit goes FAREFREE in January 2002.
Sponsored by Department of Public Safety
Writer:
Debby Freed, Transportation Demand Management coordinator
