May 7, 2008 edition

May 7 issue as pdf

READ MAY 7 ISSUE AS PDF

TOP STORIES:

Tar Heel Bus Tour

A crash course might be a poor choice of words to describe a classroom on wheels.

But that is exactly what the Tar Heel Bus Tour has been during the past decade for hundreds of newly arrived faculty members and administrators, and what it will be again when the tour his the road May 12–16 for the 11th class of passengers.

Details ...

Johns

To lead requires being out front. But being a leading public university, Andy Johns has learned, means something slightly different.

For Carolina, being out front creates an opportunity to show others a better way. And it is out of that tradition that the idea of sharing the University-grown RAMSeS (Research Administration Management System and e-Submission) emerged.

Details ...

Cox

In a classroom in Wilson Library, Robert Cox pauses to update his class about the sudden disintegration of a massive Antarctic ice shelf.

Raising his eyebrows, he gestures animatedly in front of satellite images depicting a slab of ice the size of Connecticut crumbling into the ocean.

With passion in his voice, he adopts a preacher- like rhythm that suggests that some of his words are italicized: “The physics of it are so uncertain and unstudied that we cannot model how quickly this will break down.” He is referring to scientists’ projections about how global warming will affect the rest of the ice.

Cox has good reason to be passionate about the collapse of Antarctic ice. In addition to teaching a course about global warming in the communication studies department, he is president of the board of directors of the Sierra Club.

Details ...

Read the Gazette's insert honoring recipients of the 2008 University Teaching Awards, the highest campuswide recognition for teaching excellence. It is available as html with color photos (file.5.html) or as a pdf.

 

CONTACT THE GAZETTE:
(919) 962-7124
FAX (919) 962-2279
gazette@unc.edu

The Gazette staff is always looking for ideas for interesting feature stories. Do you have one to share?

  Today's date:


ENDOWMENT

Former social worker gives UNC $1.4 million

Adair
ADAIR

Melvarene Adair, a retired North Carolina social worker, has established a charitable gift annuity with the UNC Foundation, directing nearly $1.4 million to the School of Social Work — one of the largest gifts in the school’s history.

The money will be used to create a $1 million endowment for The Johnson-Howard-Adair Distinguished Professorship. About $394,000 will go to an existing scholarship, which was created by Adair’s son, Kenneth Howard, in his mother’s honor.

The professorship will target a scholar or distinguished teacher interested “in the impact and influence of poverty on individuals, families and communities.”

“Mel’s transformative gift will have a lasting impact on the school” said Mary Beth Hernandez, associate dean for advancement. “The Howard-Johnson-Adair professorship will be among the largest professorships established at a school of social work, and the Adair Scholarships will support masters of social work students in perpetuity.”

Adair, who earned her master’s degree in social work from Carolina, hopes the gift will also help attract more students to the profession of social work.

“I’ve gotten the impression that everybody wants to go into mental health because of the prestige, but I want them to realize that this is a good field, too,” she said.

 

Return to top of page