PUBLIC SERVICE AND ENGAGEMENT

Carolina Blood Drive launches database to track departmental participation
Dunk-a-Dean benefits Build A Block

Carolina Blood Drive launches database to track departmental participation

In preparation for the 23rd annual Carolina Blood Drive on June 7, the University will showcase its new registration system for donors and volunteers, called the Carolina Blood Drive Database.

The idea for the database started when Katrina Coble, chair of the Carolina Blood Drive Committee, spoke with a recruiter at a departmental function who told her about the problems he was having with the current system.

“I overheard [the conversation] and suggested that it sounded like a good project for my software engineering class,” said computer science research professor Diane Pozefsky.

Last fall, four undergraduates took on the project.

The Carolina Blood Drive Committee and American Red Cross representatives told the students about the manual process used for tracking blood drive participation and asked for their help.

The four who stepped up to respond were Mary La, a chemistry and computer science double major and Hispanic studies minor; Rebecca Lovewell, a senior computer science major and information systems minor; Beth Sams, a computer science and information systems double major and mathematics minor; and Cameron Swaim, a computer science major. They created the database through MySQL and PHP software.

Originally known as the University-Wide Blood Drive, the Carolina Blood Drive began in 1989 after then-Chancellor Paul Hardin contacted the Office of Human Resources about the need for donated blood during the summer when most students were on break and many faculty and staff took time off.

Now much more than a blood drive, the Carolina Blood Drive has become a tradition. It is one of the largest and longest standing blood drives in the Carolinas Region of the American Red Cross. Since its establishment, more than 19,000 units of blood have been collected from more than 20,700 donors, 2,700 of whom have participated for the first time.

Coble said the new database will enable the committee to track departmental participation in the drives more accurately and let recruiters know at all times where they stand in the points competition for prizes. Donors also will be able to change their appointments online and will receive confirmation emails electronically.

“Before, this was a manual process,” database webmaster Lynn Eades said. “With the new database, we hope that registrants and recruiters can keep track of their own information.”

Eades will be responsible for keeping the website up to date, while a contact in the Office of Human Resources will be responsible for the database’s server.

The database will be put to the test during this year’s blood drive, scheduled for June 7 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Smith Center.

“Only time will tell how well it will affect the blood drive,” Eades said. “We hope it will be a success.”

Door prizes given randomly during the day of the blood drive will include UNC football and basketball tickets. Presenting donors will be automatically registered to win one of two pairs of round-trip Delta Air Lines tickets sponsored by the Carolinas Region of the American Red Cross.

For information about the blood drive, refer to www.unc.edu/blood.

Editor’s Note: This article was written by Chala Jones, a rising senior who is double majoring in journalism and mass communication and Romance languages.

Dunk-a-Dean benefits Build A Block

Barbara Moran, Louis Round Wilson Distinguished Professor in the School of Information and Library Science (SILS), takes the first icy plunge May 3 as part of a fundraiser to benefit the Library Community House, part of the campus-wide Build a Block program. SILS and University Libraries have partnered to raise the $35,000 needed to support construction of one home.

In addition to Moran, Barbara Wildemuth, professor; Brian Sturm, associate professor; Joanne Marshall, Alumni Distinguished Professor; and Gary Marchionini, dean and Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor, all stepped up on behalf of SILS for a turn in the Dunk-a-Dean booth in the Pit. They were joined by Steve Matson, professor of biology and dean of the Graduate School.

Those who signed up to be on the receiving end of the Pie-a-Professor event, also held that day, were Cal Lee, assistant professor with SILS; John Loy, University Library electronics specialist; and Bob Anthony, curator of the North Carolina Collection.

More than $900 was raised during the event. To learn more about the project, see http://bit.ly/e8lFee.