Binder's brave legacy one of hope
Loretta
Bohn and Marilyn Freed heard the news of Karen Binder's death
through an e-mail that her husband Ron sent out to family and
friends on Jan. 6, the day after she died.
"We wanted to let
everyone know that Karen passed away peacefully last night at
11:30," Binder wrote. "She was in no pain and was surrounded
by family and her dogs.
"We can all feel
good that she is in a better place now, where there is no more
suffering. Karen gave a valiant fight against cancer for over
12 years and went well beyond where most people with her type
of cancer go.
She is truly an individual
who made a difference in this world and left it in better shape
than when she found it."
The Binders were a part
of the University community from 1994 to 2000 when they moved
back to Ohio to be closer to family as Binder's health worsened.
Ron Binder served as director
of Greek affairs for six years. Karen served as an adviser in
the General College for four years and then began working part-time
in the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Karen discovered she had
ovarian cancer while living in Georgia in November of 1991 when
she and Ron went to see their doctor to discuss their recent
infertility treatments.
Within days, doctors removed
her uterus and ovaries, and a fight for Karen's survival replaced
the couple's dreams of having children.
In 1995, the year after
they moved to North Carolina, she became the seventh woman at
Lineberger to undergo a new treatment called high-dose chemotherapy
with stem-cell transplant.
It was during this time
that she awoke one night with an idea to create a quilt that
would become for her not just an heirloom, but a legacy.
So she wanted to choose
a theme for her quilt that focused on living.
She chose the "Tree of
Life." It would fill the center of the quilt, and the leaves
could be sewn by family members. The tree represented longevity
and stability -- the very things cancer threatened to take away
from her.
Thoughts of the quilt
lifted her depression, she said, and gave her a purpose. "This
was my baby, my project, my reason for being," she said.
Binder sent word about
the quilt through a newsletter created by her parents. The newsletter
kept hundreds of friends and relatives informed about Binder's
progress with the quilt and about her fight against cancer.
"A quilt is a piece
of a woman's soul," she said in an interview with the "Gazette"
in fall of 1998. "It is a way for a woman to express herself
in a very intimate way."
She went on to raise awareness
about her disease, helping to establish Cornucopia House Cancer
Support Center, the Triangle North Carolina Ovarian Cancer Connection
and the North Carolina Ovarian Quilt Project for which she was
recognized with the Distinguished Public Service Award and the
Chancellor's Award.
Upon her return to Ohio,
she helped establish Let's Talk-It-Ovar, an ovarian cancer support
group, and the creation of ovarian cancer awareness quilts for
the Toledo Hospital and the Medical College of Ohio. Most recently
she worked with the University of Toledo Campus Ministries on
a fund-raiser.
Karen received her undergraduate
degree from the University of Toledo, where she was initiated
into Delta Delta Delta sorority, and her master's degree from
Bowling Green State University.
It was through the Delta
Delta Delta sorority that Freed knew Binder. Freed serves as
the sorority's house director and Binder served as an adviser
for the Chapel Hill chapter and was a member.
Bohn got to know the couple
while working for Ron Binder some five years during his tenure
as adviser of Greek Affairs.
Bohn now works as an administrative
assistant with the Systems & Procedures Department in Carr
Building.
When she and Freed heard
the news, Bohn said, "it never occurred to us not to go. We
flew up together."
Binder said he was "pleased
and pleasantly surprised that Loretta and Marilyn would fly
all the way to Toledo for the service, but that is just like
them.
"These two put a
nice face on UNC. At times big universities can seem large and
uncaring, but acts such as this give a human touch to the institution."
Bohn said one of the most
revealing things about Binder is a story that she wrote about
the lesson a student at the University of Georgia taught her
with a with a box of peanut M&Ms.
The student sat next to
Binder and each morning brought with her a box of M&Ms that
she would eat, not only one by one, but piece by piece, dismantling
the half of the outer shell, then the peanut, then the remaining
shell.
Binder wrote how the young
woman drove her to distraction until she reflected about the
value of really appreciating and enjoying something as small
as a peanut M&M.
"One of the lessons
that this little M&M reaffirmed for me is that we really
do have free will and the ability to choose the things we do
in life," Binder wrote.
"How many of us
can truly live in the moment without thought of personal gain
or future accomplishment," Binder wrote. "The story of the M&M
teaches us that you can take time from your schedule to enjoy
the small things in life. The things that don't necessarily
have to do with school or career, but things that feed your
soul: a walk in the sun, a telephone conversation with a friend,
or even a piece of chocolate."
Throughout her career,
Karen worked as an assistant dean, an assistant chair and an
adviser at three universities: Carolina, Georgia State University
and the University of Georgia. But she found a way to meaning
and purpose through her long battle with cancer as well, Bohn
said.
Bohn said a quotation
from a survivor of Hodgkin's disease, which was listed in the
bulletin of Binder's memorial service, captures the spirit by
which her friend had lived.
It read, "Cancer, I intend
to not only beat you, but to use you to better the lives of
everyone I can: by loving them, encouraging them, giving them
information, making them laugh, praying for them, and by any
other means I can. Cancer, you are not the end. You are merely
my opportunity to serve others -- and perhaps my only chance
to attain at least some small measure of heroism."
The family requests that
donations be sent to the Karen Kennedy Binder Scholarship Fund
at the University of Toledo. The fund was established for a
member of Delta Delta Delta who demonstrates outstanding public
service.
B
A C K T O T O P
Roper tapped to lead UNC Health
Care System
William
L. Roper, dean of the School of Public Health, has been named
chief executive officer of the UNC Health Care System.
The appointment, effective
March 15, was announced Jan. 23 by UNC President Molly Corbett
Broad and ratified by the UNC Board of Governors during a special
meeting in Chapel Hill. Roper, who will serve concurrently as
dean of the School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical
affairs at Carolina, succeeds Jeffrey L. Houpt, who announced
last spring his plans to step down from the posts.
The UNC Health Care System
(HCS), formed in 1998 through an organizational merger of UNC
Hospitals and the clinical programs operated by the School of
Medicine, now also encompasses Rex Hospital in Raleigh and its
affiliates. The creation and expansion of this integrated health
care system has better positioned North Carolina's only state-owned
university hospital to operate competitively in a rapidly changing
health care environment.
"We were extremely
fortunate," Broad said in announcing Roper's selection, "to
find within our own ranks a seasoned administrator with the
demonstrated expertise, ability and commitment to build on the
very strong foundation established by Jeff Houpt, who deserves
great credit for breathing life into the newly created organization.
Under Bill Roper's leadership,
the UNC Health Care System is well positioned to deliver the
highest standards of medical care for the people of this state
and to operate effectively in a very competitive environment."
Chancellor James Moeser
also lauded the appointment. "Bill Roper is one of America's
most distinguished health-care professionals," said Moeser.
"Under his leadership, our School of Public Health has firmly
established itself as one of the great public health schools,
along with Johns Hopkins and Harvard. He has strong support
from the faculty in the School of Medicine, and as dean of the
School of Medicine and vice chancellor for medical affairs,
he will play a key role in the senior leadership of this University.
I have great confidence in Bill and his ability to serve this
state and the health care needs of its citizens."
A pediatrician, Roper
has been dean of Carolina's nationally renowned School of Public
Health since 1997. He holds dual appointments as professor of
pediatrics in the School of Medicine and as professor of health
policy and administration in the School of Public Health.
Roper, 55, began his career
in public health in his home state of Alabama, where he was
health officer for the Jefferson County Department of Health
from 1977 to 1983 and assistant state health officer for the
Alabama Department of Public Health from 1981 to 1983. After
serving as a White House Fellow in 1982-83, he spent the next
seven years in a variety of key positions in Washington, D.C.,
including special assistant to the president for Health policy;
administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration, the
federal agency that oversees Medicare and Medicaid; director
of the White House Office of Policy Development; and deputy
assistant to the president for domestic policy.
In 1990, Roper was tapped
to lead the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
in Atlanta. He joined Prudential HealthCare in 1993 as president
of the Prudential Center for Health Care Research and was named
senior vice president of Prudential HealthCare the following
year.
He held that post until
assuming the post of dean at Carolina in 1997. Recently, "U.S.
News and World Report" again ranked the School of Public Health
as the nation's top public health school at a public university.
It is known and respected for its teaching and research on issues
such as health care, nutrition, chronic illness, infectious
diseases, family health, and environmental sciences.
A graduate of the University
of Alabama, Roper earned his medical degree at the University
of Alabama School of Medicine and his master's degree in public
health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of
Public Health.
Roper is a member of the
Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and
serves on the Institute of Medicine Governing Council.
Currently, he is vice
chairman of the board of the Partnership for Prevention, vice
chairman of the board of the National Quality Forum, a trustee
of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a member of the board
of directors of the UNC Health Care System, and a member of
the President's Commission on White House Fellowships.
The author or co-author
of more than 70 articles in publications such as the "Journal
of the American Medical Association" and the "New England Journal
of Medicine," Roper has won numerous distinguished service awards
from the U.S. Public Health Service, the Association for Health
Services Research, the National Association of Health Data Organizations,
Emory University, and the University of Alabama.
As CEO, vice chancellor
and dean, Roper will oversee an integrated health care system
that includes a top-ranked public medical school and modern
hospitals for children, women, neurological and psychiatric
patients, and general adult patient care. In the overarching
role of CEO, he will report directly to Broad. As vice chancellor
and dean, he will report to Moeser.
"We are thrilled
with this appointment," said James B. Hyler, Jr., a Raleigh
banking executive and chair of the HCS board of directors. "Bill
Roper is held in the highest regard by peers across the country,
and we are confident that the UNC Health Care System will benefit
greatly from his leadership."
B
A C K T O T O P
Requests for federal funding
net results
The $373 billion spending
package passed by the U.S. Senate in mid-January included
nearly $2 million in funds for the University, said Allison
Rosenberg, associate vice chancellor for research, federal
affairs.
Requested by Carolina, the funds will be distributed as
follows:
$1 million from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) for educational programs at the Morehead Planetarium
and Science Center. The planetarium will use the money to
work with laboratory scientists to design, develop and deliver
educational materials and curricula throughout North Carolina
that mirror the latest developments in the laboratory.
$700,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to
pursue research on "Green Chemical Manufacturing and Processing."
A focus of the research will be to develop a dry process that
will limit the use of water and organic solvents and pollutants
released in the microelectronics manufacturing industry.
$250,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice to implement
and test a new "Career Start" model of middle school education
to offer children who are at risk of school failure new reasons
for studying harder, staying in school and becoming productive
citizens.
Rosenberg said each program that received money is distinctly
different and reveals the excellence of the University across
a breath of disciplines. But all three programs share something
in common, she said.
"Each of these awards demonstrates Carolina's commitment
to public service and to bringing the science and technological
expertise of our faculty to bear on problems that are of concern
to citizens statewide," Rosenberg said.
The money to the planetarium is the second award it has
received to bolster science education in high schools throughout
the state. Two years ago, it received a $2 million award from
NASA, she said.
The planetarium, with its location on campus, is well positioned
to be a visible "front door" for the University and its research
laboratories, the request said. Because of past support from
NASA, the planetarium has developed a dynamic staff of scientists,
science educators and other support personnel that include
significant numbers of teaching fellows as well as undergraduate
and graduate students from the sciences.
The School of Social Work's Career Start seeks to develop
curricula for middle school students to not only keep them
in school but to help them focus on future careers they might
not otherwise consider, Rosenberg said.
The request cited evidence that shows how progress made
through early intervention and in elementary schools all too
often vanishes in middle school.
"Middle school appears to be a critical time in the continuum
of failure," the request said. "These are the years children
either engage with school and acquire attitudes and competencies
that propel them forward, or become discouraged and lose any
momentum they may have enjoyed. While there is growing evidence
that children in poverty in fact improve their skills in elementary
school, these same studies show too many experienced a rapid
falloff in math and reading competencies when they get to
middle school."
The outcome for such children is that few develop "a realistic
vision of opportunities for work, advanced education or personal
and financial independence beyond their school years," the
request said.
The goal of Career Start would be to "build a workforce
engagement system that fosters in children a realistic understanding
and preview of their opportunities for adult careers that
pay a living wage, while helping them recognize the connection
between their core studies and future work. Participating
schools will emphasize career exploration through curriculum,
school culture and parental and community involvement."
The funding for dry manufacturing of microchips holds the
promise of triggering the development of an entire new manufacturing
sector in North Carolina, Rosenberg said. The process under
study is the same that Carolina and N.C. State University
researcher Joe DeSimone has already successfully implemented
in the dry cleaning business, Rosenberg said.
As the semiconductor industry has advanced, the production
of pollutants has increased in proportion, and a technology
that would eliminate the use of solvents and water in the
manufacturing process could have profound implications both
for the economy and the environment.
The research was made possible by the University's ongoing
investment and commitment that was evident in 2002 when Carolina
announced the creation of the Institute for Advance Materials,
Nanoscience and Technology. Additionally, the University joined
N.C. State in an unprecedented $4.6 million joint investment
to establish the Triangle National Lithography Center that
will be located on N.C. State's Centennial Campus. (See story
on page 4.)
The analytical tools requested in the proposal will be housed
in the Phillips addition of the University's new Science Complex.
Rosenberg also expressed gratitude for the interest and
hard work of the state's legislative delegation to Washington.
"The University is extremely fortunate, indeed the whole
Research Triangle Park area is fortunate, to have a vocal
representative like David Price," Rosenberg said. "He understands
the basic connections between fundamental academic research
and social impact. As one of only two members of the North
Carolina delegation on the House Appropriations Committee,
he's earned the opportunity to bring his own appreciation
and understanding of science to benefit his constituents.
We are extremely grateful for all David Price does for us.
"Our senator, Elizabeth Dole must also be acknowledged for
her invaluable support. She understands well the urgency of
our work to assist the state's economic recovery. And we want
to thank Sen. (John) Edwards for his help throughout the year."
The money the University received is part of an omnibus
bill that consolidated the final seven appropriations bills
for the federal government's 2004 fiscal year that began Oct.
1.
B
A C K T O T O P
Virus identified as cause
of students' illness
A relatively small number
of University students have been ill recently with an acute
stomach flu with symptoms persist for a day or two. On Jan.
29, Orange County Health Department officials identified the
culprit as a norovirus.
Noroviruses can cause acute gastroenteritis in humans, and
that means nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea and stomach cramping.
In a campuswide e-mail sponsored by the Department of Health,
Environment and Safety, the Carolina community was cautioned
that while the illness is usually not serious, people who
have had it could remain contagious for up to two weeks.
Considering how unpleasant the symptoms are, it's recommended
that everyone take common-sense public health precautions
to reduce the risk of transmitting or getting this illness.
The key to prevention is meticulous personal hygiene.
Personal health tips include the following:
Frequently wash hands, especially after toilet visits and
before eating.
Don't share eating utensils or toothbrushes.
After an illness episode, thoroughly clean and disinfect
contaminated surfaces, including doorknobs and faucets, using
a bleach-based household cleaner. Immediately clean soiled
clothing or bed linens, using hot water and soap. Stool and
vomit are infectious.
In addition, the Centers for Disease Control recommend that
anyone infected with norovirus should not prepare food while
they have symptoms and for three days after they recover from
their illness. Food that may have been contaminated by an
ill person should be disposed of properly.
Faculty and staff with questions or concerns may contact
the University Employee Occupational Health Clinic at 966-9119
or find more information at ehs.unc.edu/workplace_safety/norovirus.
B
A C K T O T O P
Nanotechnology Center advances
Triangle as high-tech hub
A state-of-the-art tool delivered
to N.C. State University's Centennial Campus will allow faculty
and students at Carolina and N.C. State to take a huge step
forward in nanofabrication, or the fabrication of very small
things.
Leaders from the two universities, the UNC system, industry
and government witnessed the official opening on Jan. 20 of
the Triangle National Lithography Center (TNLC) at N.C. State's
Engineering and Graduate Research Center. Attendees toured
the new facility and viewed its high-tech gem -- a 193-nanometer
lithography stepper. The tool will allow nearly 100 students
and faculty members from both campuses, as well as industry,
government and other academic users, to conduct cutting-edge
nanotechnology research.
It is believed that no other institute of higher education
has such a state-of-the-art tool for nanofabrication. N.C.
State officials say that gaining experience with the stepper
will give students a big advantage in the nanotechnology workforce.
"As we open the doors to this new, world-class center, we
open a new era in nanotechnology research in North Carolina,"
said N.C. State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. "This center represents
an unprecedented partnership between the state's flagship
universities and our industry partners and is an investment
in the future of higher education and economic development."
Said Chancellor James Moeser, "This innovative center shows
just how powerful the partnerships between two great research
universities can be on behalf of the people of North Carolina.
The cutting-edge approach both campuses are taking with the
center will help address practical environmental and economic
issues facing our state and nation."
The lithography stepper will be used to produce patterns
on different substrates for use as electronic devices. Computer
chips, molecular electronics devices and opto-electronics
devices are just a few of the items that can be produced with
the stepper, researchers say. Other nanoscale technology that
can be produced by the tool includes "lab-on-a-chip" devices
that can, for example, screen biologically active reagents
like anthrax.
The stepper will also be used to support research in environmentally
safe lithography, polymers and polymer processing as part
of the National Science Foundation Science and Technology
Center's "Dry Fab of the Future" research program. That program
-- which works to develop sustainable, "dry" manufacturing
methods based on the carbon dioxide technology platform --
is headed by Joseph DeSimone, Kenan distinguished professor
of chemistry and chemical engineering who has joint appointments
at Carolina and N.C. State, and Ruben Carbonell, KoSa Professor
of chemical engineering at N.C. State.
"As a multi-user facility, the TNLC is available to local
industrial partners and academic institutions to further the
understanding of matter and processes at the nanometer-length
scale," DeSimone said. "The facility represents unmatched
capabilities to advance nanofabrication equipment and expertise."
"The opening of this facility is an important milestone
for the nanotechnology research community and the state,"
said Robert McMahan, an event speaker and science adviser
to Gov. Mike Easley, and a research professor of physics and
astronomy at the University.
The center will provide local industrial partners the infrastructure
necessary to compete on the international stage in advanced
applications in microelectronics, officials say. The TNLC
is an affiliate of the National Nanofabrication Infrastructure
Network (NNIN).
The stepper has a market value of about $12 million. N.C.
State and Carolina invested about $4 million in purchase and
start-up costs.
Other major facilities under construction at the University
will complement the new center at N.C. State. A new Institute
for Advanced Materials, Nanoscience and Technology directed
by DeSimone will be housed in the Carolina Physical Science
Complex, part of a public-private partnership.
B
A C K T O T O P
Forbes to be featured in
Belgian documentary
By Russell C. Campbell III
"Gazette" contributing writer
Below green wires dangling
like Christmas lights, a Belgian crew from VRT Televisie,
Belgian's public television, filmed a spectrometer, an instrument
that emits high-power ultra-violet excimer lasers so intense
that it can burn skin exposed even for a moment.
|
WHEN GOOD HOPS GO BAD
Chemistry Professor
Malcolm Forbes is interested in free radicals, and
that has led to his collaboration with a Belgian chemist
to use a spectrometer to research the process in which
light causes the hops in beer to turn "skunky." |
For the film crew's interests, this spectrometer determined
the breakdown of hop molecules in beer when subjected to
light, a chemical mechanism that gives beer the "skunky"
flavor and smell.
That process is a research interest of Malcolm Forbes,
a Carolina chemistry professor who will be part of a science
documentary the crew is filming for Belgian television.
The crew creates scientific programs for large audiences
and was looking forward to producing a simple program about
beer.
"We mostly do documentaries about medicine and illness,"
said Berten Baert, the crew's researcher. "It's nice to
do a program that doesn't involve someone dying."
VRT became interested in the research of Forbes and collaborator
Denis De Keukeleire, a chemist from the University of Ghent
in Belgium, when they were featured in a National Geographic
article on their discovery. Forbes specializes in looking
at free radicals -- their shape and their reactivity to
other molecules -- when they are exposed to light. The Belgian
film crew was interested in how the collaboration was started
and how the scientists actually solved the problem.
Forbes met De Keukeleire in 1996 at a conference in Brazil
where Forbes was giving a talk on the technique known as
"time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy."
"He and I stayed up late into the night discussing a possible
collaboration on the degradation of hop compounds in beer
using my spectroscopy to produce the mechanism," Forbes
said. "We eventually found out that we could get these very
strong signals in our spectrometer from hop compounds."
After creating computer simulations based on theoretical
models for the structure of the radicals, they found they
had a lot of mechanistic information.
Since at least 1875, it has been known that hops cause
beer to become skunky when exposed to light. In the 1960s,
it was determined that what creates the bad smell is an
acid known as skunky thiol (3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol).
"The beginning of the story with the hops and the end
of the story with the thiol were known," said Forbes. "What
we were able to do was to look at the actual mechanistic
pathways by which one is transferred into the other, so
we kind of filled in the middle of the story."
With funding provided by the National Science Foundation
and the Interbrew-Baillet Latour Foundation of Leuven, Belgium,
the resulting article appeared in the Nov. 5, 2001, issue
of "Chemistry," a European Journal.
"If someone comes to me with a problem involving free
radicals, I'm almost bound to be interested," Forbes said.
"I have lots of collaboration all over the world involving
free radicals, and this is just a small portion of my work
that I'm delighted to be working on. It's really fun to
go out and talk about this with students and other professors."
The documentary is scheduled to air in Belgium in late
March. It is not known if the documentary will be available
in the United States.
B
A C K T O T O P
Snow days
The pristine, powdery snow
that fell during the day on Jan. 25 became glazed with enough
sleet to close the University on Jan. 26 under Condition
III of the Adverse Weather Policy. The roads cleared enough
the next day, Tuesday, to return to Condition I, and the
University re-opened at 11 a.m. The same held true for Wednesday,
when classes began, and offices opened, at 10 a.m. To learn
more about the University's adverse weather policies, see
hr.unc.edu/Data/SPA/leave/adverseweatherleave.
Grounds worker Juan Garcia-Armenta spreads a mixture
of sand and salt onto the Cameron Avenue sidewalk.
|
A bicyclist makes his way over the paths of Polk
Place.
|
Grounds supervisor Tom Jenswold scrapes the sidewalks
near the School of Social Work.
|
Grounds employee Dave Stephens shovels snow along
the Cameron Avenue sidewalk.
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