UNIVERSITY GAZETTE | January 24, 2007 | The University of North Carolina

Purpose: School of Education;, Morgan Writer in Residence; Educational Foundation.

Allen and MusetteMorgan of Memphis, Tenn., will give $1 million to complete the James Yadkin Joyner Fellowship in Education Policy in the School of Education and further its academic initiatives, to strengthen the Morgan Writer in Residence program in the College of Arts and Sciences, and to support the Educational Foundation. The Joyner fellowships honor Musette’s great grandfather, a pioneering educator who advocated for quality public education at the turn of the 20th century. Both Morgans are Carolina alumni.

Nominations are due by Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. for the 2007 University Awards for the Advancement of Women, sponsored by the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost and the Carolina Women’s Center (CWC).

Recognizing contributions to the advancement of women at the University, each year three individuals — one faculty member, one staff person and one undergraduate/graduate student/postdoctoral scholar — may be selected to receive the award. The faculty and staff recipients each receive $5,000 and the undergraduate/graduate student/ postdoctoral scholar recipient receives $2,500.

Submit nominations for women and men who have contributed in one or more of the following ways:

Participated in and assisted in the establishment of professional development opportunities for women; or

Participated in and assisted in the establishment of academic mentoring for women.

Contact Donna Bickford, director of the CWC, at dbickford@unc.edu or 962-8305 if you have questions about the awards or nomination process.

Awardees are honored in an award celebration during the Carolina Women’s Center’s annual Women’s Week Celebration.

Nominations are due on Feb. 9 for this year’s C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Awards. Bestowed for “unusual, meritorious or superior contribution made by an employee, past or present,” these awards may be given by the chancellor to “any living full-time or part-time employee, whether faculty or staff.”

Letters of nomination also may be sent to: Carolyn Atkins, C. Knox Massey Awards Committee, University Development Office, CB# 6100, 208 West Franklin St. Nominations received after 5 p.m. on Feb. 9 will be considered in 2008.

Each nomination should contain the name of the proposed recipient, whether the nominee is a present or past University employee (if past, list the dates when the nominee was employed), a brief description of the service rendered, why the contribution is considered sufficiently “unusual, meritorious or superior” to deserve an award and the signature of the nominator or anyone seconding the nomination.

Because of the signature requirement, nominations and seconds will not be accepted by fax or e-mail.

For more information about the Massey nominations or to receive a copy of guidelines and past recipients, call 962-1536 or e-mail Atkins at carolyn_atkins@unc.edu.

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller and state legislators Verla Insko, Ellie Kinnaird and Bob Atwater joined delegates of the Employee Forum during their Jan. 16 annual retreat to outline their agendas and respond to questions on everything from their battle for better benefits to the war in Iraq.

In the forefront of many delegates’ minds was the President’s Advisory Committee on Efficiency and Effectiveness (PACE).

PACE is an initiative by UNC system President Erskine Bowles to review operations throughout the UNC system to identify areas of potential savings.

Employee Forum Chair Ernie Patterson said the forum would be closely monitoring measures put forth by the PACE study, supporting those initiatives that are good for employees while opposing those that are not. Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration David Perry is leading the University’s review of PACE issues.

Miller, a Democrat, who earned a B.A. from the University in 1975, represents the 13th District, the new seat to the U.S. House of Representatives allocated to North Carolina following the 2000 Census.

With the Democrats again in control of the House for the first time since 1994, Miller s said he had gone from being “a voice in the wilderness” to someone who can play a role in Congress getting things done similar to the one he played while in the state Senate.

As a member of the Science and Technology Committee, Miller said, he would work to make sure that federally sponsored research is not hampered or distorted by politics.

In the Bush administration, Miller charged, scientists have been pressured to tailor research to fit conclusions supported by the president in such key areas as global warming. Miller said it should work the other way around — politicians should form conclusions tailored to honest research.

Insko, a Democrat representing the state House’s 56th District, is a retired health-care administrator who repeated her long-held support for publicly funded universal health- care.

Insko compared serving in the House with 120 members to previous public offices she has held as a county commissioner and school board member. Being part of a bigger body, she said, has forced her to become a better listener and helped her to see the range of values and viewpoints from across the state.

One such issue that has broad-based support is some kind of ethics reform, she said.

Insko supports amending the State Constitution to make access to publicly funded health care a right. Insko also supports a bill that would provide insurance for about 30,000 people classified as “high risk” by insurance companies because of their pre-existing medical conditions.

Kinnaird, a Democrat and former mayor of Carrboro who represents the 23rd Senate District, has been a vocal opponent of the death penalty and in 2003 sponsored a bill to impose a moratorium on the death penalty in the state.

Kinnaird said she was always invigorated to see “advocates out there making sure the administration is paying attention to you.

“You got a nice pay raise last year, thank goodness,” Kinnaird said. “It was long overdue and you all know that.”

What nobody knows yet, including her, is whether there will be money available in the upcoming budget to offer such a nice raise again, she said.

Kinnaird said she is working on a bill that would ban the death penalty for the mentally ill. “Quite frankly,” she added, “that would do away with all executions.”

Atwater, a retired University employee and former Chatham County commissioner, is a Democrat representing state Senate District 18 that covers Chatham and Lee counties and a portion of Durham. He arrived late and did not speak.

The University ranks eighth among top U.S. colleges and universities for the number of alumni volunteering to serve in the Peace Corps in 2006. That was up from 11th the previous year and 14th in 2004.

Currently, 77 UNC graduates are representing the United States abroad by serving people who live in the developing world as Peace Corps volunteers.

Since Peace Corps’ inception, 966 Carolina alumni have joined the organization, making the University the 24th largest overall producer of total corps volunteers. Last year, the University ranked 25th.

The Peace Corps ranks schools based on the size of the student body. UNC is among the large schools with more than 15,000 undergraduates.

This year’s rankings list had the University of Washington at the top for the first time since 1981 with 110 volunteers among large schools. The University of Wisconsin at Madison held that distinction for two decades running and now ranks second with 106 volunteers, followed by the University of Colorado-Boulder with 100.

In the second annual graduate school rankings, the University of Michigan finds company at the top with the University of Washington. Both schools have 20 graduate school alumni serving. UNC-Chapel Hill ranked 24th with seven alumni with advanced degrees currently serving as volunteers.

“Peace Corps allows graduates to take their skills outside the classroom and make a real difference in the lives of people who can most use their help,” said Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter. “The over 1,200 institutions of higher learning that have volunteers overseas, sharing what they have learned, should be proud of their contributions.”

Overall, the University of California-Berkeley has produced the most volunteers since 1961 with 3,282. This year, the University of Colorado-Boulder became only the sixth school to surpass the 2,000 volunteer mark.

Although it is not a requirement for service, most volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps over the past 45 years have been college graduates. Currently, 93 percent of volunteers have at least an undergraduate degree, with 12 percent of those also earning a graduate-level degree. However, over the years, the Peace Corps has also enjoyed the support and interest of high school graduates and community college graduates.

The Peace Corps is celebrating a 45-year legacy of service. Since 1961, more than 187,000 volunteers have helped promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of the 139 countries where volunteers have served. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment.

Raising faculty pay at Carolina to the same level as its national peers is both a well-documented need and a long-established goal of Chancellor James Moeser and University trustees.

The good news, Moeser said in remarks at the Jan. 19 Faculty Council meeting, is that UNC President Erskine Bowles recognizes the need as well — and has made doing something about it a top goal in his UNC system budget priorities during the upcoming deliberations by the N.C. General Assembly for the 2007-09 biennium.

“Chapel Hill has the greatest discrepancy with its peers than any member of the UNC system,” Moeser said. “Erskine Bowles has put this at the very top of his legislative agenda. I want you to know this and I want your colleagues to know this.”

Bowles’ proposal calls for $43.8 million in recurring funding for faculty salary increases in 2007-08, followed by a request for another $43.8 million in additional funds for 2008-09. This money would bring faculty salaries at each campus to the 80th percentile of its peers, Moeser said.

If that request is funded, Carolina would receive $20.7 million over the next two years to reach that 80 percent threshold.

At the same time, Moeser said, Bowles’ budget calls for merit-based salary increases as well — $70.9 million in recurring funding in 2007-08 followed by an additional $72 million in 2008-09.

The only higher goal in Bowles’ budget proposal is need-based financial aid, Moeser said.

Moeser said that the average 6 percent pay raises for faculty approved last year were a great start. The merit-based funding, combined with the 80th percentile dollars, would help all UNC campuses to be more competitive with other states in recruitment and retention of faculty.

Moeser added, “This would be a magnificent accomplishment if we can put this off.”

$119.6 million for a 210,000-square foot Genomic Sciences Building with classrooms, offices, nine wet labs, four bioinformatics labs and lecture halls of 450 and 250 seats;

$96 million for a 216,000 square-foot Oral Sciences Building for the School of Dentistry;

About $76 million for projects growing out of a chancellor’s task force on engagement with the state, including $35 million over two years to address health workforce shortages, diversity, primary care residency training and indigent care; $21.7 million to produce more math and science teachers and improve low-performing schools; and nearly $20 million for economic transformation through programs to support communities and high-growth companies;

$20.2 million in recurring funds and another $15.8 million in one-time allocations for the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis. Carolina will have a major presence through its top-ranked nutrition program;

$5 million in 2007-08 and an additional $5 million in 2008-09 for the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), which collaborates with other campuses to support research efforts statewide;

$15 million in 2007-08 and $15 million in additional funds in 2008-09 for a research competitiveness fund to support investment in emerging industries statewide;

$5.1 million in 2007-08 and $5.1 million in additional funds for 2008-09 for graduate student recruitment and retention. If approved, this funding would add 216 new remissions at Carolina; and

$2 million in 2007-08 to increase the state’s matching funding for distinguished professorships to $10 million. The matching state money has allowed the Carolina First campaign to create 193 new endowed professorships — seven shy of its goal of 200 by the end of 2007.

Moeser said the budget process would be long and arduous, and no doubt, filled with both victories and setbacks.

“It’s a very ambitious set of goals, but we’ve never had a better package to go with,” he said. “I hope you have a sense that this is a very strong budget that really reflects the needs and aspirations of this University.”

Carolina’s net licensing royalties and related investment proceeds totaled $3.95 million in fiscal 2005-06, marking the best year in the program’s history and a record payout for need-based and merit-based scholarships.

Annual net earnings have steadily increased from less than $1 million in 1989 to approaching $4 million last fiscal year, said Derek Lochbaum, director of trademarks and licensing.

After payment of operational expenses the revenues yielded $3.64 million for merit and need-based scholarships, Lochbaum said.

The upward trend in revenues was part of a recent report Lochbaum made to the University Board of Trustees’ Finance Committee.

During the 2002, 2003 and 2004 fiscal years, Carolina ranked first among the top licensing schools in the country, but slipped to fifth in 2005, according to the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC).

Ranking ahead of them in 2005, in sequential order, were Texas, Michigan, Notre Dame and Georgia.

The CLC is the nation’s leading collegiate licensing and marketing representative. The CLC’S consortium is made up of more than 180 universities, bowl games, conferences, the NCAA and the Heisman Trophy.

Protect your computer data with back-up plan

Have you ever lost all your computer data? All your files, personal photos and private information — gone?

It is not a question of if, but a question of when. On average a hard drive crashes every 15 seconds. Hardware or system failure accounts for 78 percent of all data loss and it is common for a computer to go through two hard drives in its lifetime.

What can you do? One option is to use a back-up and recovery solution offered by Information Technology Services (ITS), Iron Mountain.

Previously available only for departmental purchases, Iron Mountain is now offered to faculty, staff and students for their personal Windows-based computers.

The online service gives users on-demand data retrieval 24 hours a day over any Internet connection from anywhere. This easy-to-use, efficient and reliable back-up solution protects data through secure automatic backups.

“If you think data loss can’t happen to you, think again,” said Priscilla Alden, assistant vice chancellor for user support and engagement. “This is a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of a low-cost solution to a very real problem. Even if you have complete hard drive failure, you can retrieve a virtual clone of your machine, with all your data and personal settings intact.”

Iron Mountain is available for $120 per year at the ITS Response Center (ITRC) in the lower level of the R.B. House Undergraduate Library with the UNC One Card.

Purchasers who bring their laptops can have ITS staff install the program and do the initial backup for them. ITRC staff suggest that the installation and the first backup be performed on campus because the UNC network offers optimum speed and efficiency.

To learn more, visit software.unc.edu/IM or call the ITRC at 962-HELP.

In memoriam

Participants in the Jan. 17 candlelight vigil shield their candles from the wind as they begin a procession from the Old Well to Memorial Hall as part of the campus’ observance of Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration events, Jan. 14-19. Following the vigil, Cornel West, Class of 1943 University Professor of Religion at Princeton University, presented the week’s keynote address, the MLK Memorial Lecture in the Beasley-Curtis Auditorium.

Ocean temperatures affect larvae travel patterns, researchers find

Imagine if only 1 percent of your children survived to adulthood — and that that was normal. For most marine species, including lobsters, clams, cod, and herring, that’s the way life is. They begin as larvae, and drift along for miles on ocean currents in a process called dispersal. Most die during dispersal — some are eaten by predators, others wither in too-harsh environments, and many simply don’t make it to their destinations and starve to death.

The survival of larvae, such as this sea urchin larva of the species Lytechinus pictus, depends to a great extent on the temperature of the water in which it is disperses, researchers have found.

The larvae have to separate from the parent organisms in order to develop and find mates. “Dispersal prevents inbreeding,” said Mary O’Connor, a doctoral student in marine ecology in UNC’s Curriculum in Ecology and the Department of Marine Sciences. “For some species, this is a time to move from breeding ground to a habitat where they’ll mature.”

Scientists have long known that warm water temperatures speed larval development and metabolism. But O’Connor and her collaborators, which include UNC’s John Bruno and Jack Weiss, have found that the distance larvae travel before they mature is directly linked to ocean temperature — specifically, larvae don’t travel as far in warm waters as they do in cold waters.

“Temperature can alter the number and diversity of adult species in a certain area by changing where larvae end up,” O’Connor says. “To conserve and manage marine animals, whether for harvested fish stocks or for conservation of biodiversity, we need to know how they will respond to climate change.”

O’Connor and her collaborators used data from 72 species to develop a model that predicts how far larvae will travel at certain temperatures. The model can make predictions about almost all marine animals that go through a larval stage, without having to closely investigate each different species.

“The link between ocean temperature and larval movement help us to understand and predict patterns of the number of fish and other animals from year to year as ocean temperatures fluctuate,” O’Connor said. Although their model suggests that warm water can keep the larvae from traveling very far, it may also mean they’re more likely to survive dispersal.

“This could mean some populations may become isolated from other populations,” she said. “It also means Marine Protected Areas should be close enough to each other to allow animals to disperse from one protected area to another.”

Understanding ocean life makes possible better biodiversity management. “Better management and conservation means there is a greater chance people will be able to enjoy ocean ecosystems, either through tourism or by eating fish, for a long time, even as the entire ocean environment changes and already unsustainable fishing pressure increases,” O’Connor said.

For this study, O’Connor, Bruno, and Weiss collaborated with researchers Steven Gaines, Sarah Lester, and Brian Kinlan of the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as Benjamin Halpern of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara, California.

Provided by the Division of Research and Economic Development
Editor: Neil Caudle
Writer: Margarite Nathe

'Unearthing the Maya'

The Maya people of Central America, whose civilization thrived from about 1800 B.C. to A.D. 1200, charted the heavens, mastered mathematics, built elaborate temple-pyramids and developed the only true writing system native to the Americas.

All this occurred while Europe labored in the Dark Ages.

Today, some 7 million Maya survive. But because their formal civilization faded so very long ago, it took years of relatively modern hard work to discover all that we know about them now.

The stories of artists and archaeologists who made these discoveries are told in “Unearthing the Maya: Highlights of the Stuart Collection,” on view through March 31 in Wilson Library’s Melba Remig Saltarelli Exhibit Room.

Included in the exhibit are photos by Henry Sweet that appear in British archeologist Alfred P. Maudslay’s “Archeology.” Above is El Castillo, a temple at Chichén Itzá, taken during Maudslay’s 1889 expedition. Right, Maudslay is shown working in his camp at the ruins of Chichén Itzá.

Faculty can join new engaged scholars effort

The conversation between Mike Smith and Bill Friday was part of the faculty planning retreat held Jan. 8 to kick off the Faculty Engaged Scholars Program, an initiative of the Carolina Center for Public Service (CCPS) and Smith in his capacity as vice chancellor for engagement.

The program aims to advance faculty involvement in the scholarship of engagement. Such scholarship, while fully grounded as disciplined inquiry according to the highest academic standards, also strengthens university-community relationships.

This program will bring together eight to 10 faculty members to participate in an advanced curriculum on community engagement through scholarly endeavor. Each participant will conduct a scholarly project and produce a product of disciplined inquiry. Examples include:

Peer-reviewed articles or proposals on service-learning, community practice, community-based applied or participatory research.

Applied products that promote the transfer of knowledge to and from communities, are implemented in communities, or have an impact on communities.

Community dissemination/translational products resulting from research such as community forums, articles, websites, or presentations.

Each faculty member also will participate in an advanced curriculum on engagement, including an orientation, three to four sessions, and a closing symposium.

Goals of the program are to:

Recognize and reward faculty involved in engaged scholarship.

Create and sustain a diverse community of engaged scholars.

Promote the scholarship of engagement across disciplines.

Continue to build UNC as an institution committed to and living up to strong university-community relationships.

Participants will be awarded a financial stipend (up to $4,000) for participation and to develop their scholarly product. They will also receive support for their engaged scholarship from selected peers in the program and from faculty mentors and community partners who have experience in engaged scholarship.

The curriculum for the program will include background and current developments in the work of engaged scholarship at the global, national, state and local levels. Sessions will include such topics as funding and dissemination of engaged scholarship, navigating disciplinary expectations while addressing community needs, and partnering with local communities in North Carolina and beyond.

Priority for participation will be given to tenure-track faculty and fixed-term faculty who have been at Carolina for at least five years. A competitive application process will begin this spring, with the inaugural class starting next fall. Faculty who demonstrate that their scholarship responds to community need, with the potential to establish long-term benefits to North Carolinians, will receive preference in the first year.

School of Education Dean Tom James, who chaired the steering committee that developed the program, said the scholarship of engagement is about deepening connections with the community by offering service through scholarship.

James told the 90 or so faculty members who participated in the retreat that they were the “ambassadors and emissaries” who can carry this message forward throughout campus.

Chancellor James Moeser has helped Carolina to become a more engaged university, James said, by moving beyond traditional public service.

Oracle calendar helps schedule meetings, agendas

Using the Oracle calendar to schedule group meetings can save significant time. Once a meeting is on your calendar, indicate if you will attend. There are three options: will attend, will not attend and will confirm later. You can also indicate a preference for a different time. The default for any meeting someone else has placed on your calendar is “will confirm later.” If you change that response to “will attend” or “will not attend,” the meeting host can prepare the correct number of handouts, reschedule the meeting if necessary and otherwise better prepare for the meeting.

To schedule group meetings in the Oracle calendar, opening a group agenda will allow you to see available times for everyone at once. Once the group agenda is opened, it is easy to add an additional person or resource. Look for the icon showing a group of people and a plus/minus sign next to it. Select that icon and additional people or resources can be added to the group agenda as needed.

LearnIT workshops can help maximize use of the Oracle calendar. Point your web browser to LearnIT.unc.edu and select “Current Schedule of Workshops” from the right-hand side to see the current offerings and to register. You can find documents about the Oracle calendar by pointing your web browser to help.unc.edu. Search for “Oracle calendar.”

Featured CBT course
Users of Microsoft Office products can get a first look at Access 2007, Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2007 and Word 2007. Even experienced users of the current products may find the previews of the new features useful. If you are not already a subscriber to the free service, point your web browser to cbt.unc.edu/subscribe and follow the instructions. To see the list of all available courses without first subscribing, point your web browser to cbt.unc.edu and select “List of Information Technology Courses” and “List of Business Fundamentals Courses” from the right-hand side.

Learning potential of multiplayer games: discussion opportunity
If you are interested in the learning potential of multiplayer online games at UNC and want to join a community of people who will explore the topic further, please contact LearnIT@unc.edu or call Elizabeth Evans at 843-0132.

Facebook for faculty and staff
More than 90 percent of undergraduate students at use the University’s Facebook (facebook.com) to develop online social networks. A growing number of faculty and staff also use Facebook to interact with students and with each other.

If you use Facebook to interact with your students, we would like to hear from you. Contact LearnIT@unc.edu to share your experiences.

CEI Fund awards grant for innovations

The Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative (CEI) has awarded a $49,500 Innovations Fund grant to the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise to help develop a new graduate certificate in entrepreneurship.

Meanwhile, the CEI Innovations Fund has opened its spring grant cycle and is accepting applications through March 15 for new grants.

The fund provides grants to faculty, staff and students interested in developing new programs that expand entrepreneurship teaching, education and research.

“The Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative is designed to instill an entrepreneurial mindset among the students, faculty and staff of the University,” said Ted Zoller, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.

“A graduate certificate in entrepreneurship represents the next logical step in advancing this aim,” he said. “It complements degree programs offered to undergraduate students at UNC and graduate business students.” The new program will give graduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences and other professional schools the opportunity to learn how entrepreneurial principles and practices can help them transform their ideas into enterprises of all kinds.

The CEI fund offers competitive grants of $5,000 to $50,000 to development new programs that will help infuse entrepreneurship education across campus and throughout its disciplines.

CEI now offers more than a dozen programs that help students, faculty and staff learn to transform their ideas into sustainable enterprises of all kinds — commercial, social, scientific and artistic.

The CEI has awarded four Innovations Fund grants in 2004. The other three provided funding to develop:

A scientific track for the minor in entrepreneurship that is offered to students in the College of Arts and Sciences;

A Social Justice Entrepreneurship Incubator created by the Campus Y; and

A project to explore creation of an artistic entrepreneurship track and develop a pilot course.

Application forms and instructions may be downloaded at www.unc.edu/cei/innovation.

For more information, go to www.unc.edu/cei, or contact John Kasarda at 962-8201, john_kasarda@unc.edu.

The Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative helps students, faculty and staff transform ideas into sustainable enterprises that create value. The $11 million program is funded in part by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, managed by the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise and led by faculty and staff. Successful entrepreneurs, many of them Carolina alumni, serve as advisers, lending their real-world expertise.