Posts from — November 2010

MILWAUKEE (Nov. 29) — A 100-year-old greeter at a Milwaukee Walmart was shoved by a customer after the centenarian tried to stop the woman to determine if she’d paid for items that were in the lower part of her shopping cart, police said Monday.

Greeter Lois Speelman fell down and went to a hospital after she was shoved on Sunday.

“I’m bruised a little, but I’m able to go back to work Thursday,” Speelman told The Associated Press from her home on Monday.

Speelman declined to answer further questions, saying she didn’t want to lose her job and the investigation wasn’t over. A Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman didn’t have more details but said that Speelman’s health was the company’s primary concern.

“Most importantly, our associate is doing OK and we’re grateful for that. The actions of this individual are appalling and we appreciate the work of police in this case,” spokeswoman Ashley Hardie said.

NC State’s Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research is hosting a symposium on Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicines from 1 to 5:30 p.m. at the Park Alumni Center on Friday.  A reception will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

This is an important One Medicine event and demonstrates NC State’s leadership with attendees coming from Duke, UNC, Wake Forest University, and other academic, corporate, and research organizations. One of the presenters is Dr. Anthony Atala of Wake Forest who did the “Growing Body Parts” interview on 60 Minutes recently.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/11/60minutes/main5968057.shtml

There will be more than 20 presentations during the afternoon and Dr. Natasha Olby’s presentation on her spinal cord  transplantation research should be of great interest.

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Trustees at two North Carolina universities have approved tuition increases for next fall to help cover as much as a 15 percent reduction in state funding. North Carolina State University trustees approved a 6.2 percent increase and North Carolina A&T approved a 6.5 percent increase on Friday. State university system policy limits tuition increases to 6.5 percent and the increases still must be approved by the UNC board of governors. The increase would push N.C. State’s in-state undergraduate tuition to more than $5,100 dollars and A&T’s to $4,500. Out-of-state and graduate students would pay more. Education officials say they don’t expect the tuition increases to completely cover the anticipated state funding cuts. Increases also were approved recently at Chapel Hill and Greensboro.(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 11/20/10).

North Carolina State University is the recipient of the 2010 C. Peter Magrath University Community Engagement Award for the Riverworks at Sturgeon City Project, a broad-based, community/ university partnership that transformed the once devastated Wilson Bay on the New River in Jacksonville, NC, into a national model of environmental restoration and education.

The national recognition was presented Nov. 14 at the 123rd Annual Meeting of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). The award, supported by a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant, includes $20,000 and a trophy.

Dr. Jay Levine, a professor of epidemiology and public health in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, helped spearhead the innovative project. His efforts involved bringing together numerous local stakeholders from government, education, business, and non-profit organizations; incorporating CVM and other NC State resources; integrating basic and applied research; and combining environmental principles with community design and economic development.

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Jeffrey Papa and Tom Hayes, from the marketing firm  SimpsonScarborough, point to the 20-60-20 rule about organizations as a major stumbling block to change in higher ed marketing: While 20 percent of employees will be enthusiastic about organizational change and 60 percent could be persuaded to go along, the remaining 20 percent will resist no matter what—and those could be longtime, tenured faculty members. “The people who don’t make the transition moving forward are the presidents who spend too much time and energy trying to persuade those 20 percent who are never going to change,” Mr. Hayes says. “At some point you have to give the get-on-the-train speech: We love you people, but we’re going.”

To see the complete article, visit The Chronicle of Higher Education at  http://bit.ly/dAjCKq

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Passion Rules!

Not only did Wadsworth – a Political Science / Women’s & Gender Studies double major in NC State’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences – run for public office, she was the top vote-getter in a three-way race for the Wake County Soil and Water Conservation Board. The NC State junior was selected on 41.19% percent (112,231) of all ballots cast.

Wadsworth is the youngest elected official currently serving in North Carolina and – as far as she’s been able to determine – she’s the youngest woman ever elected in North Carolina. Days after the election, Wadsworth was still in a state of shock, but excited to begin work in her new position. [Read more →]

Happy Veterans Day to all the men & women who have served & continue to serve & protect our nation every day. Thank you for your service!

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Passion Rules!

The power and proliferation of social media is on display today at NCSU.EDU, thanks to a red-hot interview with superstar actor/comedian (and NC State alum) Zach Galifianakis. In less than 11 hours since the story went live, it’s garnered more than 8,800 pageviews – capturing readers’ attention and keeping them engaged within the site as they “dig deeper” into NC State’s Department of Communication, learn more about Galifianakis’ favorite professor, and more.

(To put the popularity of this story into perspective, NCSU.EDU’s second-most-viewed November feature has garnered approximately 2,300 pageviews.)

The Web Communications staff did post a link to the university’s official Facebook page to kick things off, but after that, the Twitterverse and Facebook users took care of the rest – seemingly spending their entire Monday reposting, sharing and tweeting about Galifianakis and his chat with NCSU.EDU web editor Dave Pond.

How are you allowing social media to further push your message?

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Passion Rules!

http://ncsu.edu/sma/

By Bradley Wilson

N.C. State’s yearbook, literary magazine, daily newspaper and radio
station were all honored at the national convention of the College Media
Advisers, Associated Collegiate Press and College Broadcasters in
Louisville, Oct. 31. The yearbook and literary magazine came home with
top national honors. The literary magazine was also named the Best of
Show in its category. In addition, students at WKNC 88.1 fm received
recognition as Best Radio DJ, Best Regularly Scheduled Program and Best
Student Media Website.

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Gotta love what you can do on the computer in just a few minutes.

Last week NC State introduced a new flavor of Howling Cow ice cream called Wolf Tracks.  It’s got chocolate, it’s got fudge, it’s got vanilla and it’s got peanut butter.  Soon thereafter the attached Garage Band version of the event hit the airwaves.  Or more accurately, the net waves.  Take a listen.  It will make you smile.  http://tinyurl.com/2cgvxx8

Now if you really want to smile, grab a bowl of that Wolf Tracks ice cream.  Halloween candy all over again . . .  with peanut butter!

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Passion Rules!