Dr. Craig Harms and Dean David Bristol of NC State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine are participating in a special forum that will assess North Carolina’s preparedness to respond and recover from an oil spill event. Free and open to the public, the forum will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, July 29, at the UNC Friday Center for Continuing Education in Chapel Hill.

The “One Health Forum on North Carolina Oil Spill Response, Recovery and Health Effects” includes speakers from state and federal agencies who have expertise in public health, marine science, emergency management, and natural resources. Discussion will focus on the state’s strengths, the required coordination and collaboration among organizations, the training and use of volunteers, and areas that need additional coverage and management.

Dean Bristol and Dean Barbara Rimer of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health will open the forum and welcome participants at 9 a.m.

At 1 p.m. Dr. Harms, an associate professor of aquatic, wildlife, and zoological medicine, will discuss what he learned in his recent animal rescue work in the Gulf and how that experience could relate to protecting marine life in North Carolina.

Dr. Harms, along with CVM colleagues Dr. Greg Lewbart and veterinary technician Shane Christian, responded to an emergency request from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to work with the Audubon Nature Institute in managing turtle rescue efforts following the BP oil spill. The trio spent a total of three weeks in the Gulf working with green, loggerhead, hawksbill, and the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles.

Go to http://www.sph.unc.edu/oilspill for more information on the One Health Forum including an agenda and a registration form. You may also contact Bill Gentry wgentry@email.unc.edu at 919.966.4228.

The William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education is located at 100 Friday Center Drive, Chapel Hill (map and directions)

Forum participants include:

• UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
• N.C. State University, College of Veterinary Medicine
• North Carolina emergency managers & public health senior staff
• UNC Institute for the Environment
• UNC School of Medicine and School of Nursing
• N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources
• N.C. Department of Agriculture veterinarians
• Regional veterinarians
• U.S. Coast Guard senior staff
• UNC marine scientists
• North Carolina coastal county managers
• North Carolina county health directors
• Emergency managers and health preparedness coordinators
• County environmental health chiefs and supervisors
• State regional response teams
• State public health preparedness and response representatives
• Elected state and local officials
• Business and tourism representatives

The One Health concept is a worldwide strategy for expanding interdisciplinary collaborations and communications in all aspects of health care for humans and animals. The synergism achieved will advance health care for the 21st century and beyond by accelerating biomedical research discoveries, enhancing public health efficacy, expeditiously expanding the scientific knowledge base, and improving medical education and clinical care.

By Daniel de Vise  |  July 19, 2010; 11:21 AM ET

The university had raised tuition by $150 for in-state undergraduate students and $200 for all other students.  The total tuition increase will be $900 for in-state undergraduates and $950 for all other students.

“The need is immediate and the options are few,” NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson said.  “This is the second consecutive year of deep budget cuts.  With generous state support, North Carolina universities have historically held their tuition as low as possible while providing a quality education.  But low tuition without quality is no bargain and without this tuition increase, academic quality will continue to erode.”

The new state budget takes $99 million from universities.  In the last three years, the state’s universities have taken a budget cut of $575 million.  This year, the state legislature gave universities the option of raising tuition by as much as $750.  Budget projections indicate NCState could lose up to 200 course sections and 6,500 classroom seats without the tuition increase.

“At some point, we have to stop the erosion or risk long-term damage to one of the state’s greatest assets: its higher education system,” Woodson said.  “But even a tuition increase of this size is no silver bullet.  NC State will still see about a $3 million shortfall.”  NC State will use the tuition increase to restore some of the classroom seats and course sections lost in recent budget cuts, and support faculty and research that have consistently contributed to North Carolina’s economic development, the chancellor said.  Consistent with its historical mission, NC State will set aside 20 percent of the tuition increase to support need-based financial aid.

“Our promise is to continue to protect the academic core and do all we can to ensure students have the opportunity to make steady progress toward graduation,” Woodson said.

“On the other side of the equation, we will continue to be strong partners with the state in job creation and economic development to help ensure that there will be jobs available for North Carolina’s college graduates.”

A systemwide tuition increase of this magnitude is not unprecedented. Recessions in the last 30 years have produced tuition increases of more than 19 percent five times, including a 24.7 percent increase in 2003.

Here are the tuition figures for fall:
●    Undergraduate in-state: $4,853
●    Undergraduate out-of-state: $17,388
●    Graduate in-state: $5,358
●    Graduate out-of-state: $17,406

Even with the increase, NC State’s tuition is second lowest on the university’s list of 16 peers, which includes Maryland, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Only the University of Florida is lower.  NC State has been named a national “best value” by Kiplinger’s, US News and Princeton Review.  The best value rankings are based on quality and affordability.

Crash Test Dummies

We made a couple of changes last week that give us new ways to reach our audiences.  And before going any further, thanks to the web team for the technical and design help.

The biggest change is that the Bulletin now has a real home, which will allow us to update the site daily.  It also gives us some additional flexibility and options in our story treatments.  This is new enough to us that we’re still working out some processes – like what happens to the idea of our weekly email outreach to faculty and staff alerting them to the newest edition.  Your suggestions on that point are welcome, as are story ideas.

Here’s a more detailed report from David Hunt (David and D’Lyn Ford are our e-newsletters editors:)

The Bulletin is rolling out a fresh look and tone to more effectively engage the NC State community. You can expect to see more multimedia features such as video, audio and photo galleries. We also opened up comments on each page to encourage a two-way conversation with our visitors.

To augment the new look, we’re moving to a more conversational tone, presenting shorter, brighter features and news items.

Another option we’re excited about is an e-mail update system that visitors can opt into. The system automatically sends an update once a day to subscribers. That gives us an incentive to update the site more often, moving away from the once-a-week schedule to an open-ended system that allows us to respond to news as it happens.

We posted our first “daily” Bulletin on Thursday, complete with the ability to comment on the stories (thanks again to the web team for that).  If you haven’t visited yet, please do. http://www.ncsu.edu/faculty-and-staff/bulletin/

Also, for some time, we’ve kicked around the idea of a science blog, which launched last week at http://web.ncsu.edu/abstract/.

Here’s an explanation, courtesy of Mick Kulikowski:

The Abstract is the official research blog of the NC State Newsroom. Our goal is to make our readers say, “I didn’t know NC State did that,” “Gee whiz” or “Wow,” and then to smile (not necessarily in that order.)

We’ll update the blog at least three times per week – maybe more during the academic year and a bit less in the summer. We’ll write short pieces about research efforts large and small, but always interesting. We’ll bring you cool photos. In fact, there may be occasions when the photo is the most stimulating part of the entry, and we use the copy around it to explain the photo.

As with much of our research writing, entries will be written for the non-expert audience.

You can help us by giving us ideas on what you find interesting, and sending us leads on promising research you hear about, even if we’ve missed the paper or presentation’s release date. Or let us know if you hear a faculty member’s take on an important scientific or research issue that you think would be of interest to The Abstract readers.

These two additions give us a chance to rethink some of the ways we work.  We won’t necessarily be as tied to deadlines, since theoretically we can update the Bulletin and the Abstract in real time, so to speak.  Take a look and let us know what you think.

Thanks

Keith Nichols

Passion Rules!

1 of Many

It has gotten so bad that some publications are talking about requiring registration and no longer allowing anonymous comments.

The other thing that gripes me is the “fictitious” source.  You know, the friend of a friend of a friend that some bloggers use to promote their view of a particular issue…and they always support the viewpoint of the blog.  Fortunately fake sources are generally contained to the blogosphere and don’t appear in the formal news media.

A friend with Curley & Pynn communications in Orlando provides his thoughts on anonymous sources in the following contribution.   Right on Dan.

Passion Rules!

1 of Many

by Dan Ward

I rarely find myself in agreement with Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts, though I do enjoy his columns, which regularly appear in the Orlando Sentinel.

Today, however, I nearly stood and applauded as he discussed the “cesspool” of newspaper message boards.  Pitts blames the promise of anonymity for the “crudity, bigotry, meanness and plain nastiness that shocks the tattered remnant of our propriety.”

Reminds me of a post I once wrote about online anonymity, and of how my partner, Roger Pynn, defined online message boards as the “sewer of the Internet.”

The message boards that follow stories and editorials in most newspaper Web sites provide some positive benefits … driving Web page counts that increase profitability for the newspapers, giving readers an opportunity to discuss the stories that appear and share their opinions, etc.

But by offering anonymity, rather than requiring posters to provide name and address as they would with a Letter to the Editor, allows for personal attacks and the spread of rumors and false allegations.  We tell our clients to pay little mind to these message boards because they tend not to hold much influence, but it can be difficult to turn a blind eye to personal attacks and insults.

Some initial message board responses to Pitts’ column provide evidence to support his opinion that anonymity should no longer be allowed:

“bushhater” in the Salt Lake Tribune: “But first, lets gather up all the Mormons and ship them to Iran. We all know they are responsible for everything evil. And they are soooo stupid, and vile. Everyone of them.”

“Universalgenius” in the Greensboro News & Record: “What a lousy commie loser. There he goes again. This braindead crackhead hetrophobe radical liberal pervert is at it again this time trying to control the internet and destroy the world of high tech with his facist ghetto low IQ mentality.”

“HigherPowered” in the Miami Herald: “Get some perspective, you whiny elitist. The 1st amendment is both a wonderful and terrible concept, and we all wish we could suspend it when it suits us, but it is a key part of our collective patrimony.”

While I am a defender of free speech, HigherPowered is mistaken in his belief that Pitts’ idea would “suspend it when it suits us.”  The First Amendment holds that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.  It does not require newspapers … private organizations … to provide a forum for anonymous hate speech.

Ending anonymity is the right thing to do if newspapers ever hope to elevate public discourse out of the cesspool.

P.S.  Not all hope is lost … some newspapers are already ending the practice of allowing anonymous posts, and a new online media company led by former Orlando Sentinel business columnist John Koenig is gaining notice as “a forum for civil debate on substantive issues.”

FloridaThinks.com provides original articles, commentaries and reader forums … anonymous posts are not allowed, and civility is required.  A civilized forum for discussion of serious issues?  That’s an idea I can get behind.

Chancellor-elect Woodson recently stressed the importance of science and engineering in addressing “the grand challenges of society,”  such as water, climate and energy. At NC State, we believe this goes beyond educating those who will work directly in science and technology fields. It’s also important that we develop a strong scientific knowledge base among the general public and those who frame public policy.

Our elected and appointed officials need solid scientific information to make sound policy decisions, and citizens need the background and tools with which to evaluate those decisions. That’s why it’s important that our faculty take an interest in explaining their work outside their disciplines and that our colleges work together to prepare students not just to enter the workforce, but to be well-rounded, participatory members of society.

One way the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences seeks to achieve this is by hosting Scope Academy, an annual science education outreach event that allows students, alumni and all fans of the sciences to come together to learn about the latest advances and issues in our disciplines of chemistry; mathematics; physics; statistics; and marine, earth and atmospheric sciences.

This year’s event is coming up on Saturday, April 10, and features a keynote address by former White House Science Advisor and NSF Director, Neal Lane. Dr. Lane will review a bit of the history of science in America, describe some current challenges and opportunities, and offer speculation on possible futures for American science and implications for the nation. This lecture is definitely not just for scientists and engineers. It’s for all of us who are interested in what it will take for the United State to remain a world leader in science and technology.

For more information or to register for Scope Academy, please visit http://www.pams.ncsu.edu/weekend/

As suspcted, only two students in the audience were not on Facebook. More were not on Twitter, but that’s not a surprise. Stats show that Twitter is a mid-30s phenom.  The biggest surprise is iPhone usage.  Few students have an iPhone and fewer still think the iPad will be necessary on campus.   The feeling is that if you have a laptop, and almost everyone does, why to you need an iPad.  Time will tell.  I think the iPad will revolutionize the way we communicate, but then I’m not a student.  Who knows.

Anyway, it has been a very busy day so I’m going to just post my powerpoint presentation here (8MB) for your review…and comment.  Don’t let the opening mislead you.  I intentionally try to make people uncomfortable with the Web and the “don’t tase me bro” video does a great job of doing that.  It still chokes me up 18 months later.  If you haven’t seen it, please watch.  It demonstrates the dark side of social media.  Eight million page views in 24 hours!

Passion Rules!

87 of 100

This kind of thing almost put the Gator Grotto out of business back when I was blogging for UF.  Unfortunately, after I left Gainesville there was no one left to manage the Grotto so it closed anyhow.  Too bad.  This social media stuff can be a very effective tool in building the network and talking to each other.