| |
|
NCSU, Dole To Attempt To Develop Perfect Rose
College of Agriculture
NCSU,
Dole to work to develop perfect rose
NCSU florticulturist John Dole, College of Agriculture
Ammons
seeks growth along Fayetteville Street
Nearby attractions on Hillsborough
Street for NCSU students
Tobacco
buyout's taxable
Guido van der Hoeven
Port
City Java(R) opens first unit on North Carolina State University Campus
Port City Java opening at NCSU
TIAA-CREF's
Herbert M. Allison, Jr. to speak at NCSU College of Management - Feb
27
College of Management, Dean's Executive Lecture
Trucks
let you show team spirit
Advertising
The students'
burden
Erskine Bowles, BOG, tuition
UC's
Quest For The Best, Brightest - And Greediest
Marye Anne Fox sabbatical pay
Fox
Defends Extra Commitments, Pay
Marye Anne Fox sabbatical pay
Your
research dollars at work
Sam Jones
Six
Degrees of NC State
Meredith Davis, student publication
Science
meets beauty in quest for perfect rose
NCSU florticulturist John Dole, College of Agriculture
When
a Friend Moves Away
Karen DeBord, child development
NCSU, Dole To Attempt To Develop Perfect Rose
Feb. 14, 2006
NBC-17, News 14 Carolina, WSOCtv.com, WWAY NewsChannel 3,
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- Valentine's Days in the future might include the perfect rose, courtesy of research at North Carolina State University.
Dole Food Company is making another investment in North Carolina's agriculture. It's giving N.C. State nearly $1.5 million for a three-year study to engineer the perfect rose.
Dole is interested because it said it imports and markets more cut flowers than anyone else in North America.
The company's owner, David Murdock, is in the process of building a billion-dollar biotechnology hub called the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis.
Roses typically wither after a week or so in a vase. Dole and N.C. State are looking for a red rose that lives three to four weeks, has few thorns and perhaps smells better.
Feb. 14, 2006
Winston-Salem Journal, abc11tv.com, WRAL.com, Fayetteville Online, WVEC.com (VA), News & Observer, WCNC, Charlotte Observer, WRAL
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. - For Valentine's Day 2009, sweethearts may be able to give each a better, maybe even perfect, rose.
That's because Dole Food Co. is giving North Carolina State University $1.4 million for a three-year study to engineer the perfect rose.
Dole is interested because it says it imports and markets more cut flowers than anyone else in North America; its fresh flower division, based in Miami, accounted for 4 percent of Dole's $5.3 billion in revenues in 2004. The owner of Dole Food, David Murdock, is building a $1 billion biotechnology hub called the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis.
Roses typically wither after a week or so in a vase; Dole and N.C. State are looking for a red rose that lives three to four weeks, has few thorns and perhaps smells better.
The research, headed by NCSU florticulturist John Dole, will begin next month in Raleigh and expand to Kannapolis. John Dole leads a rose team that includes nine other professors, along with graduate and postdoctoral students.
"There's nothing more disappointing than getting a beautiful bouquet and not having them hold up," said Dole, no relation to the company. "We want people to buy flowers, know they'll last and get their money's worth."
The N.C. State team will either find the genes that produce the good characteristics and introduce them into a single plant or identify, then turn off, genes that inhibit the good qualities in one plant.
"It sounds very simple, but it's not," Dole said.
North Carolina State University will keep the intellectual property rights for what it produces, then license the work to Dole.
John Dole's group also will examine how roses are cut, how they're shipped and handled and what's in the water they're shipped in.
Fragrance is complicated, so Dole said researchers may work on that later.
Ammons seeks growth along Fayetteville Street
Feb. 14, 2006
Durham Herald Sun
By PAUL BONNER
© Copyright 2006
DURHAM -- UNC has Franklin Street, N.C. State University has Hillsborough Street, Duke has Ninth Street -- all with restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses that students find attractive.
So what about N.C. Central University, Chancellor James Ammons wonders.
Fayetteville Street, NCCU's main drag, lacks enough of those amenities, Ammons said, and he called upon developers Monday to help revitalize the strip.
But some people already involved in commercial development in the area oppose a planned feature of NCCU's development that Ammons didn't mention -- a traffic roundabout.
Ammons spoke Monday to the Durham Rotary Club, where civic leaders -- including two Durham City Council members and the head of Durham's Department of Economic and Employment Development -- offered support.
"There has been little to no investment by this business community along that corridor to NCCU," Ammons said. "We would not be able to make that Fayetteville corridor and the communities surrounding N.C. Central University the place we all know it should be unless this entire community wraps its arms around N.C. Central University."
Ammons outlined the campus's rapid growth since he last spoke to the group about five years ago, soon after he became chancellor.
But his effort to make NCCU, now the ninth-largest historically black university in the nation, into at least the fifth-largest requires more attractive surroundings, he said.
He thanked members of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce for supporting a new NCCU effort in biomanufacturing research and training.
The Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise, or BRITE, is scheduled to open a 65,000-square-foot building on Lawson Street in 2007.
But NCCU's neighbors aren't necessarily giving BRITE a green light. And they say they expect to be consulted on Fayetteville Street's revitalization.
BRITE's site plan heads tonight to the Durham Planning Commission for rezoning. The Fayetteville Street Planning Group, a roundtable organization of neighbors and others with interests in the corridor, will oppose it -- unless several features are addressed to the group's satisfaction.
The group wants more landscaping buffers behind BRITE, and opposes a traffic roundabout planned for the intersection of Lawson and Fayetteville streets, among other points.
A member and spokesman for the group, Larry Hester, said Monday the group has received conflicting answers about the roundabout from NCCU, the state Department of Transportation and city officials.
The group says the roundabout would harm Fayetteville Street as a business corridor because studies have shown motorists tend to turn onto side streets to avoid the circles.
The group also is concerned about what it says is the lack of a parking plan for BRITE, as well as inadequate parking at the university generally.
In his speech to the Rotarians, Ammons mentioned parking as a problem.
"It's not a criticism of the BRITE center," Hester said in an interview. "But it's been very difficult to meet with Central and have them give us an explanation."
He also hopes NCCU, commercial developers and the city will heed the Fayetteville Street Planning Group's 119-page plan for the area.
Hester also is chairman of Phoenix Crossing, a shopping center several blocks from NCCU that offers several of the kinds of shops Ammons mentioned.
"I don't think that's anything against Mr. Ammons or anybody else," Hester said of the group's stance. "It's a matter of respect for the people living in those neighborhoods."
Feb. 14, 2006
News & Observer
By Frank Norton
© Copyright 2006
Last fall, it was a windfall. This year, the federal tobacco buyout is a tax headache for thousands of former growers and quota-holders.
" Folks are confused out there," said Jake Parker of N.C. Farm Bureau. "This is a lot of money, so it's critical that they get the right advice."
The buyout was set up in 2005 to reimburse farmers and others after the federal government decided to eliminate the system of tobacco price supports that had protected the industry from foreign competition. About 78,000 North Carolinians are in line to receive $3.8 billion of the $9.6 billion total. The checks are distributed in equal installments over 10 years.
The payments are subject to as many as three separate federal taxes, depending on whether the recipient grew tobacco, simply held quotas or farmed tobacco with quotas he or she owned.
The buyout was designed to reimburse growers for lost income, so the payments to farmers who did not own quotas are taxed as ordinary income.
Former quota owners who did not farm are being reimbursed for the loss of value tied to the quotas they surrendered. So their checks are treated as capital gains, and as such, are taxed on the difference between the value of the quotas when they were acquired and the amount the government agreed to pay for them. Capital gains taxes are assessed on a scale depending on total income. For most married couples who earn more than $57,000 a year, the federal rate is 15 percent, but it can be as little as zero.
For many people, figuring the capital gain can be difficult, especially if the quota was obtained decades ago, or was obtained as a gift or inheritance.
"There are 78,000 quota holders in North Carolina alone," said Guido van der Hoeven, a buyout expert and agricultural economist at N.C. State University. "That means potentially 78,000 unique calculations on capital gains."
In addition to capital gains, former quota owners also must pay a tax on the interest earnings that have been calculated into their 10-year payment stream.
Former growers who owned their quotas could be subject to capital gains on the value of their quotas, as well as income taxes on the reimbursement of lost revenue and interest earned.
To further confuse matters, tax experts say IRS Form 1099-S for capital gains makes it appear as though former quota holders must pay the full 10-year schedule of those taxes this year. Former quota owners can pay the entire tax liability this year, but also may choose to pay taxes only on the amount of payments received in any given tax year.
TAX FORMS
QUOTA HOLDER: Capital gains tax (Form 1099-S); Interest tax (Forms 1099-INT or 1099-OID)
GROWER: Income tax (Form 1099-G)
PARTICIPANTS WHO OPTED FOR A LUMP-SUM PAYMENT: Quota holders (Form 1099-S
or Form 1099-B); Growers (Form 1099-MISC)
FOR HELP
N.C. State University Tobacco Economics: www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/agecon/ tobacco_econ/Buyout.html
N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: www.ncagr.com/TobaccoTransition/ index.htm
Farm Service Agency (part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture): www.fsa.usda.gov/tobacco/
Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association: www.burleytobacco.com/
Port City Java(R) opens first unit on North Carolina State University Campus
Feb. 14, 2006
Carolina Newswire, Business Wire (CA)
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
Port City Java(R) announces the opening of its newest cafe located at 1000 Main Campus, on the North Carolina State University Campus. This is the first of three planned Port City Java(R) Cafes for NCSU. The company is very pleased to see the fulfillment of its endeavors at NCSU and feels the Brand and NCSU are complimentary. COO Don Reynolds states "we are very excited with this opportunity and we feel very comfortable with NCSU University Dining's ability to execute and enhance The Brand." The company indicates University Dining has completed extensive training and is committed and in a position to operate an excellent program.
FAIRGANICS:
Port City Java(R) continues to develop its Fairganic(TM) Program,with the goal
of eventually offering 100% Organic Fair Trade Coffees and Teas. The company
has identified the Organic and Fair Trade segment as a niche it wishes to
dominate in the Coffee Retail Segment. Port City Java(R) feels the NCSU
Campus is an excellent environment to propel the Fairganic(TM) program and gather
market feedback. The company has developed specific coffee profiles and distinct
packaging for its Fairganic(TM) Program.
About the Port City Java(R) Brand.
Port City Java(R) is located in Wilmington, NC. The company opened its first cafe in March 1995, in Wilmington, NC. The company began Roasting in October 1995 and Franchising in September 2003.
Port City Java(R) has created a specific identity by creating an "all day approach" to sales, through its cafe environment. For additional information regarding Port City Java(R), please visit www.portcityjava.com or email info@portcityjava.com.
TIAA-CREF's Herbert M. Allison, Jr. to speak at NCSU College of Management - Feb 27
Feb. 14, 2006
Carolina Newswire
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
What: The Dean’s Executive Lecture at NC State University’s College of Management
Who: The speaker is Herbert M. Allison, Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer of TIAA-CREF. TIAA-CREF is the principal retirement system for the nation's higher education, research and health care communities, serving 3.2 million people at over 15,000 institutions, with more than $370 billion in combined assets under management.
When/Where: Herb Allison will be speaking on Monday, Feb. 27, 4:30 p.m. at NC State University’s College of Management, Nelson Auditorium, 3400 Nelson Hall, in Raleigh.
Topic: Herb Allison will speak on the challenges that both business and higher education must confront in order for our nation to maintain economic strength, an incomparable workforce and innovative leadership. He also will relate the impact that our national savings shortfall, looming deficits and struggling K-12 educational system will have on our nation’s future success, and will offer some thoughts on addressing those issues. The working title of his presentation is: Retirement Savings Crisis in America
Mr. Allison will be available to meet with the media on Feb. 27, between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., prior to the event. If interested in meeting with Mr. Allison, please contact Anna by return email or at 919.513.4478. Members of the media are also welcome to attend and cover the lecture. An advance interview by phone may also be possible.
Members of the media covering the event are asked R.S.V.P to Anna Rzewnicki, director of communications, NC State College of Management [office: 919.513.4478; cell phone: 919.961.0205]. If special technical accommodations are needed, arrangements should be made by February 23 or sooner, if possible.
Business Calendar Announcement
Herb Allison, chairman and chief executive officer of TIAA-CREF, will present the Dean's Executive Lecture at NC State College of Management on Monday, Feb. 27, 4:30 p.m., at the NC State College of Management's Nelson Auditorium, 3400 Nelson Hall, in Raleigh.
Join Mr. Allison for a discussion of the competitive pressures facing America today. He will address the challenges that both business and higher education must confront in order for our nation to maintain economic strength, an incomparable workforce and innovative leadership. He will also relate the impact that our national savings shortfall, looming deficits and struggling K-12 educational system will have on our nation’s future success, and will offer some thoughts on addressing those issues.
This lecture is open to the public at no charge. TIAA-CREF is the principal retirement system for the nation's higher education, research and health care communities, serving 3.2 million people at over 15,000 institutions. Read more about this event online at: http://www.mgt.ncsu.edu/news/2006/event_deans-lecture_allison.php.
Trucks let you show team spirit
Feb. 14, 2006
News & Observer
By Anne Krishnan
© Copyright 2006
If that T-shirt, foam finger and bumper sticker don't broadcast your loyalties loudly enough, how about showing up at the game in a team-themed truck?
More precisely, an F-150 pickup painted Wolfpack red or with a Carolina blue console.
The trucks, produced by American Specialty Trucks of Danielsville, Ga., are starting to roll into dealerships in Eastern North Carolina. They have embroidered mascots on the seats and features such as wolf or ram hood ornaments.
"It's a way to show your pride a little more," said Lewis Hardy, executive vice president of Licensing Resource Group, which represents N.C. State University in merchandise deals.
American Specialty Trucks is the only U.S. company producing college team-themed trucks under an agreement it signed with the NCAA in the fall, said Mike Rodefer, the company's vice president of sales and marketing. The company has modified about 300 Ford, GMC, Chevrolet and Dodge trucks since then.
So far, the Fresno State Bulldogs edition is one of its most popular, with about 25 trucks sold, Rodefer said. The universities of Michigan, Tennessee and Texas also have sold well.
At least two local dealerships are selling the trucks; one is Don Jenkins' Carolina Ford in Fuquay-Varina. Owner Bobby Jenkins says he has the first N.C. State Ford F-150 on his lot.
Jenkins has driven it to N.C. State ballgames, and while the bright red vehicle has generated a lot of inquiries and interest, he hasn't sold any yet, he said.
"You've got to be a real diehard State fan," Jenkins said. His next stop: big engineering firms with lots of State alumni.
In addition to the red two-wheel-drive 2005 model, he has black and red four-wheel-drive 2006 models. Jenkins has special-ordered a UNC F-150.
Lee Motor Co. in Wilson expects to get its first UNC and N.C. State F-150s in a few weeks, said Bill Floars, general sales manager.
Carolina Ford is selling the State 2005 F-150 for $34,999 after rebates, about $7,500 more than its non-accessorized counterparts. Since the product is university licensed, N.C. State gets a $300 cut, Hardy said.
Typically, the university gets 8 percent of the wholesale price on T-shirt sales and the like. In this instance, it pegged its percentage to the cost of modifying the trucks, not the price of the entire truck. Even then, it accepted a little less than its usual cut.
"We felt like on a product with that type of quality and value $300 would be sufficient," Hardy said.
The university generated more than $700,000 in licensing royalties for all products in the year ended June 30, while UNC collected royalties of about $3.2 million. University-branded products don't just bring in revenue, Hardy said, they sell the school.
"If the university is promoting the visibility of the brand, you would hope that would generate donations and alumni memberships and young kids starting to notice your school at an early stage and staying loyal to you," he said. "It's a huge business, and they have to be run like a business."
Hardy, an N.C. State grad, says a truck is a natural first vehicle to target N.C. State alumni, but his team also is working to develop branded sport utility vehicles for N.C. State, Wake Forest and other schools around the South.
"They're interested in things other than just trucks," he said.
So far American Specialty Trucks isn't working with Duke University on a Blue Devil pickup. Perhaps Duke alumni would prefer a Land Rover.
TRUCKS OF THE ACC
Seven of the 12 Atlantic Coast Conference schools offer branded trucks from American Specialty Trucks. These are available, or will be available, according to the company's Web site.
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY: Ford F-150
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY: Ford F-150, GMC LPV
GEORGIA TECH: Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado 1500, Chevy Tahoe, Dodge Ram 1500
N.C. STATE UNIVERSITY: Ford F-150
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: Ford F-150
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA: Chevy Silverado 1500, Dodge Ram 2500, Ford F-150
VIRGINIA TECH: Chevy Silverado 1500
Feb. 14, 2006
Charlotte Observer
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
When the UNC Board of Governors hiked tuition and fees last week, it capped a decade of unpredictable (and steep) increases in student costs for North Carolina. That's a dangerous precedent. It ought to stop.
The most responsible way to stop it is to price tuition and fees according to this simple principle: Students should pay no more than approximately a quarter of what it costs to build and operate our state universities.
UNC system President Erskine Bowles has hinted at such a policy, and he's correct. It's a commendable and practical way to assure that citizens do not get priced out of universities they build and support.
The Board of Governors raised tuition and fees at all 16 state universities last week -- again. The lowest increase was 9 percent; the highest was 20 percent. That action comes after a one-year freeze -- and after a decade of increases that upped student costs as much as 70 percent at some universities.
The culprit? Higher education costs have risen sharply, and funding from the state legislature has not kept pace. As a result, universities have hiked tuition and fees, the only ready source of funds available.
The question posed is simple: Should North Carolina's university system be state-funded or state-supported?
The distinction is profound. In a state-funded system, universities receive the bulk of their funding from state tax dollars, and the cost to citizens is kept low. But in a state-supported system, the primary cost is paid by students, with supplemental help from state funds. North Carolina needs a state-funded university system.
The latest tuition and fee hikes force North Carolina students to pay approximately 25 percent of the cost of higher education. In a state where the per capita income is $20,307 and where only 22.5 percent of citizens have a college degree, that's more than enough.
Before next year, the state needs a fair, consistent policy on tuition and fees. That policy must accomplish three things.
• Honor the obligation imposed
by the state's constitution, which requires that the cost of college at the
state's universities be kept "as close
to free as is practicable."
• Recognize that public universities are built and paid for by tax dollars,
and citizens should not have to pay for them twice.
• Provide comprehensive and reliable guidelines for increases in tuition and
fees.
Keeping college affordable is important for obvious economic reasons. Yet it
carries weight for other reasons.
" We do this because there is a moral obligation," Mr. Bowles said.
He's right. Limiting the burden on students should be a guiding principle of any policy on tuition approved by the Board of Governors.
How low can you go with Roundup Ready soybean seeding rates?
Feb. 14, 2006
Southeast Farm Press
By Roy Roberson
© Copyright 2006
Technology is a wonderful thing, but it comes at a price, and for soybean growers, a high price for Roundup Ready seed. With a record supply of soybeans in the pipeline and rumors of prices falling to $4 per bushel, how low to go on number of beans planted per acre may be the key to making or losing money in 2006.
In 2005, the top three yielding fields of soybeans, judged by the North Carolina Soybean Producers Association, averaged slightly over 78 bushels per acre and averaged slightly over 56 pounds of seed planted per acre.
The most efficient crops judged by the Association averaged using 50 pounds of seed per acre, all produced over 60 bushels per acre and at an average total production cost of slightly under $3 per bushel.
The top yield and efficiency winners verified results of a research study conducted by North Carolina State University Soybean Specialist Jim Dunphy. In 32 tests, conducted statewide in 2005, Dunphy’s research team found that in early May-planted, early maturity beans, there was no yield increase when seeding rates exceeded 50,000-60,000 seed per acre.
When the seeding was moved up to June, the optimum seeding rate was 70,000 per acre and in late planted, double-cropped beans the optimum was 100,000 seed per acre.
“Regardless of time of planting or variety planted, seeding rates of 50,000 to 100,000 are going to be most profitable,” Dunphy says. “With the high cost of seed, it is critical for growers to know as much as they can about the seed they plant,” he continues.
It is a delicate balance for soybean growers to keep production costs down, but to also put enough seed in the ground to supply a uniform stand that is capable of high yields. Too few seed are clearly a yield robber. In 2005 tests, Dunphy’s research team saw yield losses that averaged eight bushels per acre when seeding rates were dropped from 50,000 seeds per acre to 25,000 seed per acre.
On the other side of that balance, the North Carolina researchers found $36 per acre savings when seeding rate was reduced from 200,000 per acre to 50,000 seed per acre.
Dunphy notes that many factors affect the ideal number of seed to plant. High among the influencing factors is variety.
In statewide testing, the North Carolina researchers compared varieties from Maturity Group IV up to Group VII beans. In each test, yield was averaged for each maturity group to determine high, low and average varieties.
In Group IV Roundup Ready varieties, 4401RR and 4804RR were the only varieties to produce better than a 10 percent yield increase above average. Both these varieties are from Progeny Seed in Arkansas.
In Group V, nine out of 60 Roundup Ready varieties tested produced nine percent or better yield above the average. These include: AG 5605, HBK R5924, RT5450N, USG 7553nRS, V58n3RR, AG 5903, DP 5915RR and USG 7582nRR.
In Group VI maturity beans, only USG 620nRR produced yields at least 10 percent higher than average. Among the non-Roundup Ready varieties tested in Group VI varieties tested, NC Roy at 7 percent above average, was the only one above average in yield.
In Group VII maturing varieties, 34J71, DP 7220, and USG 7732nRR were 10 percent or better above average in yield. NC Raleigh, a non-Roundup Ready variety, provided yields better than 10 percent above average.
“We also looked at determinant versus non-determinant varieties for the first time in 2005. “This year the indeterminant varieties did not hold up as well at lower seeding rates, which was expected because the indeterminants diverted some energy to reproduction,” Dunphy explains.
“We also looked at 15-inch versus 30-inch rows, but saw little difference in the pattern of seed populations,” he says. The North Carolina researcher notes that the narrower rows did produce higher yields than wider row spacings, which, he says, was no surprise.
Fertility is another critical factor influencing performance of soybean seed. In consecutive years, Dunphy says, they have seen a slight yield increase from using an inoculant, plus nitrogen. “We don’t have a good explanation of these findings, but they occurred all over the state, two years in a row,” he explains.
The North Carolina State Soybean Specialist says they have not seen significant yield increases from the use of fungicides or insecticides alone. However, he does note a slight yield increase when using the fungicide Quadris in combination with the insecticide Warrior. Whether this combination is economically feasible depends on disease and insect pressure, he concludes.
If statewide yield and profitability are indications, how low to go on Roundup Ready seed seems to be closer to 50,000 seeds per acre than 100,000 seeds per acre. By knowing all the performance features of the seed variety planted and the soil dynamics, growers can adjust the rate up from 50,000 seed per acre to the ideal rate for a particular field, according to North Carolina State researchers.
UC's Quest For The Best, Brightest - And Greediest
Feb. 14, 2006
ZNet (MA)
By Dick Meister
© Copyright 2006
Scandalous. Outrageous. Astounding. Brazen. Pick your adjective. The sky-high
and often secret spending of University of California administrators on each
other's salaries and other compensation is all that and probably more. But finally
the State Legislature is paying serious attention - and finally may try to do
something about it.
Republican Assemblyman Jeff Denham of Salinas, among others, is on to them: "UC
says it wants to hire the best and the brightest. It seems like they just want
to hire the greediest."
That's been well-documented, most recently in investigative reports by the San
Francisco Chronicle and other newspapers. Legislative committees are doing their
investigating in hearings that began this month.
Denham is putting before the committees a bill that would order UC's governing
Board of Regents to abandon its practice of setting the pay and benefits of UC
administrators in secret meetings and to make yearly disclosures of all administrative
compensation.
The regents set compensation in secret, and then don't even disclose the full
amount to taxpayers, students and others whose money they're using? Yes, strange
as that may seem for a publicly-funded institution.
The regents aren't the only ones who shovel piles of dollars to those who presume
to direct the work of the university that's largely done by much lower-paid hired
hands. The university president and others at the top of UC 's hierarchy are
empowered to set the compensation of many fellow administrators.
How many dollars are they spending? Well, during the past fiscal year nearly
500 UC administrators got more than $300,000 in pay, plus health insurance, pension
fund contributions and other benefits. Another 2,200 or so got more than $200,000.
And as the university recently disclosed under media pressure, it secretly paid
at least $871 million in additional compensation to administrators in bonuses,
auto and housing allowances, entertainment expenses, club dues and other extras,
including six-figure severance payments for administrators who quit.
Even that wasn't enough for UC regents. Just a few hours after voting to raise
various student fees by as much as 10 percent last November, they adopted a recommendation
that came out of a secret meeting of a regents' committee to also grant administrators "merit
increases" averaging 3 percent.
UC President Robert Dynes' base pay went from $395,000 to $405,000 a year. Chancellors,
deans, and other executives at UC's 10 campuses went up to as much as $358,000.
Plus, of course, those lucrative extras.
It costs UC about $1 million a year to maintain rent-free homes for Dynes and
the campus chancellors. The university paid for all the furnishings, right down
to the teakettle ($75) and front doormat ($80) at the $10 million president's
mansion in Berkeley.
Most lower level administrators have to rent or buy their own places, but can
depend on Dynes and other UC officials to help them with grants of thousands
of dollars to cover their rents. Or they can get low-interest home loans.
Those coming to UC from academic posts elsewhere also needn't worry about the
costs. They can expect generous "relocation allowances."
Typically, David Kessler, dean of UC's medical school in San Francisco, got --
in addition to his $540,000 salary -- a $125,000 allowance for moving from Connecticut,
$30,000 for six month's rent, his actual moving expenses, even round-trip tickets
for him and his family to fly West to house-hunt.
M.R.C. Greenwood, appointed by President Dynes in 2004 as UC provost for $380,000,
also got $125,000 for moving, though her trip was a bit shorter -- 70 miles,
to Oakland from UC-Santa Cruz, where she had been chancellor. She resigned as
provost this year to take a 15-month sabbatical, at $25,000 a month. After that,
she'll return to teaching for a mere $164,000 a year.
Greenwood is hardly alone. Several others who resigned administrative posts also
have done so for payoffs higher than $300,000, some without even meeting the
requirement that they return to teaching afterward for at least as long as they
were on leave.
The pricey sabbaticals, better described as paid leaves or severance payments,
are granted to administrators on grounds that they'd be eligible for sabbaticals
if they were faculty members. Their sabbatical pay, however, is considerably
higher than faculty pay because it matches their administrative salaries, which
are at least twice as large as faculty salaries. Like Greenwood, their paid leaves
also are sometimes longer than the year granted faculty.
At least one chancellor, UC San Diego's Marye Anne Fox, was paid for not taking
a sabbatical. She secretly got $248,000 in addition to her $350,000 salary to
compensate her for forfeiting a paid sabbatical due her at North Carolina
State
University to come to San Diego.
All that money is being doled out to administrators while the pay of faculty
members, teaching assistants and non-academic employees vital to the university's
operations remains all but frozen at notably low levels, and student fees and
class sizes continue a steep and steady move upward to notably high levels.
Those at the top of UC's hierarchy - surprise! - argue that they and their fellow
administrators must continue to be rewarded in the handsome fashion to which
they've become so comfortably accustomed.
Why, says UC President Dynes, "getting and keeping the best people...
sometimes requires compensation packages that may look excessive on the outside,
but that reflect true competitive realities.....We must stay competitive for
the best people."
And who are these "best people"? They are, of course, the best administrators
our tax money can buy, educators who will serve only if the price is right.
It's all too clear that the University of California is hiring administrators
whose devotion to education can be measured by their demand for the highest possible
compensation, men and women who sell their services to the highest bidder at
our expense and that of UC's students, faculty and staff.
Fox Defends Extra Commitments, Pay
Feb. 14, 2006
The UCSD Guardian Online
By Matthew McArdle
© Copyright 2006
In the face of public and media criticism, UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox contends that her seats on multiple corporate and nonprofit boards do not interfere with her job as head of the university.
Fox said that while she does sit on more boards than many of her colleagues, her various board work brings major benefits to the university.
“It’s crucial for a chancellor to make connections,” Fox said. “We have to make bridges to the community, and that’s what boards allow me to do.”
According to data obtained through the California Public Records Act, published in a recent report by the San Diego Union-Tribune, Fox used 21 vacation days last year to attend to her various board duties — more than the 18 days she accrues annually as chancellor, a fact that Fox denied.
“The numbers are wrong,” she said. “I’ve never exceeded my vacation time here.”
The Union-Tribune also reported that Fox had spent more than 180 hours attending board meetings last year alone, and many of those meetings were on the East Coast.
Fox, an organic chemist, sits on the corporate boards of medical device developer Boston Scientific, clinical research company Pharmaceutical Product Development, chemical manufacturer W.R. Grace and software company Red Hat. She earns stock or cash for her corporate services, she said, and she indicated that she had those jobs long before she became UCSD chancellor.
Fox’s board duties extend to the nonprofit sector as well. Her services include government boards and private foundations, which offer no compensation, she said.
She added that by virtue of being chancellor, she is a member of several local boards, including the La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Science and Technology Council and the Children’s Hospital.
Though Fox acknowledged that board meetings do take up some of her time, she stressed that her dedication lies with UCSD’s interests and that when board duties and university business coincide, UCSD comes first.
Fox said she spends 60 to 70 hours a week on work dedicated to the university, and she skipped a board meeting last month to attend the UC Board of Regents meeting at UCSD.
“I attend to my board duties with vacation time only, and I always assign priority to university business,” Fox said.
Fox also said that her board duties help enhance her performance as chancellor because of the connections she makes. She gave the example of a “$5 million donor” to the university that she met through one of her boards. She meets many other people with interest in UCSD on her trips, which are financed by the companies, allowing her to make university contacts without using university time or money.
In a letter Fox sent to UCSD faculty, which has been obtained by the Guardian, she indicated that she believes her board duties have improved her overall leadership capabilities.
“My board service … [has] given me unique perspectives about the challenges of the business world and the issues that will face the future employers of our students,” Fox stated in the letter. “And, it’s experience that I have gained over the many years that I have worked with these organizations, giving me expertise that I have found invaluable.”
Fox also defended the $248,000 sabbatical stipend she received when she was hired as UCSD’s chancellor.
Jean-Bernard Minster, a geophysics professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the chairman of UCSD’s Academic Senate, said last month that he has no problem with Fox’s salary and that she has gained the “respect and trust of the majority of people he talks to.”
“She earned that sabbatical,” Minster said. “She deserves to be compensated.”
Fox said she accrued the sabbatical during her time as chancellor of North Carolina State University, and UC President Robert C. Dynes offered her the sabbatical stipend as part of her hiring package because she would lose the money by leaving North Carolina.
“[Dynes] offered to ‘make me whole,’” she said. “He offered me a cash equivalent for my sabbatical so UCSD would have no lapse in leadership.”
Fox indicated that if she had not been offered the stipend as part of her hiring bonus, she would have had to think very seriously about accepting the position as UCSD chancellor.
“I would have had to speculate with my own mind,” she said. “But the reality is that I was offered the money.”
But Maria Figueroa, the UCSD representative of the Coalition of University Employees, suggested that such large compensation packages are unfair.
“There are clerical employees who work one or two extra jobs to make ends meet,” Figueroa stated in an e-mail. “Health care premiums and parking rates have increased. It’s obscene that the chancellor should be paid so much when students and staff struggle to get by.”
Fox, however, said that she had spent six years learning to be a chancellor at North Carolina State and that the compensation package was a factor in her decision to come to UCSD, which she said was in dire need of leadership.
According to Fox, her dedication to UCSD has been demonstrated through her accomplishments, which include raising nearly $250 million for the campus. Under her command, UCSD has gained new minors, the Cal-(IT)2 building has become operational and a housing project for transfer students was approved. She also has worked to establish exchange programs with universities in Baja California and China.
“I’m very proud of the record the administration and I have produced,” Fox said. “I can’t say there is another person who could’ve done the same things.”
Readers can contact Matthew McArdle at matt.mcardle@gmail.com.
Feb. 14, 2006
Thoroughbred Times (KY)
By Denise Steffanus
© Copyright 2006
EQUINE research foundations raise funds to support studies that benefit the horse industry. In the United States, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, American Quarter Horse Foundation, Morris Animal Foundation, and many other foundations established by universities, associations, breed organizations, and individuals devote millions of dollars each year to research that enhances the health and welfare of the horse.
Recent studies have investigated a wide range of problems that challenge the horse and drain dollars from horse owners' pockets. Below are some research projects of particular interest to those in the Thoroughbred industry.
Accelerated fracture repair
Fractures in horses take as long as four months to a year to fully repair. Complications arise in many cases when the horse must bear weight on the injury or when laminitis develops in the opposite limb. Alicia Bertone, D.V.M., Ph.D., recently completed a study at Ohio State University that uses gene therapy to inject bone morphogenetic protein--a specialized protein that aids in fracture repair--directly into the fracture site to accelerate healing.
"There are body proteins--biologic proteins--that go up naturally at the site of the fracture," said Bertone. "The most potent one identified to date is bone morphogenetic protein: BMP. There is quite a bit of research in other species that shows that these BMPs can accelerate bone healing."
According to Bertone, human surgeons place surgical sponges soaked in BMP at the site of spinal injury to hasten bone fusion, but the BMP materials typically cost about $5,000. "It's complicated and expensive," she said. Bertone's study aimed to find a cost-effective means to provide BMP treatment to horses.
"What we did was take the gene for the BMP, which is much faster and easier to produce, and we put it into a viral vector," Bertone said. "Viruses have become experts in getting genes into cells; that's how they replicate and make you sick. They are the best method to bring genes into cells. So we take these viruses and make them non-pathogenic--they don't make the horse sick--and we put the BMP gene in this viral vector, and then we inject it into a fracture."
Bertone's study used BMP therapy to accelerate healing in splint bone fractures.
"Basically, that study is completed, and our results look very promising," she said. "I think it will become a cost-effective treatment."
Lung damage from bleeding
Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) occurs in most racehorses during peak performance. Different theories exist as to why bleeding in the lungs occurs.
Some researchers believe it is caused when the huge equine heart pumps at maximum force and causes the horse's blood pressure to soar to a level that makes small blood vessels burst. Other researchers theorize that bleeding results from mechanical weakness in certain parts of the lungs created by repetition of movement, much like bending a paper clip repeatedly causes it to break.
After an episode of EIPH, scar tissue typically forms during healing, which compounds the condition. "This results in a vicious cycle of racing, scarring, and bleeding," said Frederik Derksen, D.V.M., Ph.D., professor of large animal clinical sciences at Michigan State University and one of the world's leading authorities in equine respiratory disease.
Derksen has undertaken the task of testing the medication Enalapril for its effectiveness in preventing the formation of scar tissue in the lungs.
"This is not a medication meant to prevent bleeding itself," Derksen explained, "but to alleviate the damage caused by blood in the lungs."
In human medicine, Enalapril is in a class of medications called angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which are used to control high blood pressure. It decreases certain chemicals that tighten blood vessels, enabling blood to flow more smoothly and the heart to pump blood more efficiently.
New EPM diagnostics
Research is complete on three diagnostic tools to detect the neurological disease equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). The Western blot test, which has been the gold standard, does not distinguish between an active infection and benign exposure. Scientists hope these new tests will solve that problem.
Molecular biologist Daniel Howe, Ph.D., and his colleagues at the University of Kentucky's Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center have developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test that concentrates on detection of a surface protein of the protozoan Sarcocystis neurona that causes EPM rather than the multitude of proteins screened by the Western blot test.
Howe said 50% of the samples he tests are positive for antibodies to S. neurona, but not all these horses have an active infection.
"We hope we can use these assays to distinguish a horse that simply has been infected with Sarcocystis neurona but has no disease versus the horse that has been infected and is clinically affected," Howe said. "Obviously, I think that would be the biggest benefit, and there is still some work we are doing to try to achieve that."
Martin Furr, D.V.M., Ph.D., chief of medicine at the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center at Morven Park in Leesburg, Virginia, has completed work on a new diagnostic test that employs a computer chip to identify a pattern of activity, called gene expression, in circulating white blood cells that would indicate an active EPM infection. Gene expression means that certain genes that react to the disease begin to express proteins. Identifying those active genes and how they interact, then linking them to the specific disease that causes them is called a diagnostic signature.
"We developed a diagnostic signature for EPM that proved highly accurate, at least in the acute phase of infection--up to 28 days," Furr said.
The genomic biomarkers are expected to be able to provide information on the stage of disease and the prognosis, as well as a means to monitor the progression of the disease and its response to treatment.
William Saville, D.V.M., Ph.D., a principal researcher into EPM at Ohio State who also collaborated on Furr's project, disclosed that he and his colleagues have developed an ELISA test that detects the presence of immunoglobulin M (IgM) in serum of horses infected by S. neurona. IgM is the antibody produced in first response to an acute infection.
"Although [the test] is not perfect, we think that at least if there is IgM there, it is a very recent infection," Saville said.
Ideally, the test would be administered as soon as indications point to an EPM infection. "And if it's a very acute infection, the likelihood that it is EPM is higher, just based on the fact that it's occurring at that time," Saville said.
The question remains whether the new IgM test will be able to discern between a natural infection and antibodies produced in response to the EPM vaccine, manufactured by Fort Dodge Animal Health. "The vaccine produces very little IgM, according to the company," Saville said. "So, hopefully, yes, but it may not happen in all instances."
Magic bullet for foal pneumonia?
Respiratory disease is the most commonly reported cause of death in foals. One insidious form of the disease is pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi, a silent killer whose symptoms can go unnoticed for months until the infection has abscessed the foal's lungs--a point where little can be done to save its life.
Ronald Martens, D.V.M., Keith Chaffin, D.V.M, M.S., and Noah Cohen, V.M.D., Ph.D., are the principal researchers at Texas A&M University investigating R. equi. According to Martens, research has shown that foals most likely are infected with R. equi near the time of birth. Development of a vaccine to be administered to a newborn foal to prevent the disease is not practical because a vaccine would take about three weeks to achieve protection.
In a novel approach to the problem, Martens is investigating the use of a metal, gallium, to kill R. equi before it can cause clinical disease.
"Gallium works by starving the bacteria," Martens explained. "It does that because bacteria need iron to live. Gallium is very similar in some respects to iron. So the bacteria thinks it is iron and takes it in, but it can't utilize it. The gallium starts to interfere with the bacteria's DNA production. When they can't reproduce, they eventually die."
Martens said gallium is used safely in other species and to treat human cancer patients. His study has shown gallium's effectiveness in killing R. equi in test-tube studies and in laboratory mice. In preliminary tests in foals, Martens has obtained good levels of the metal in blood samples, and he has proven it is safe. The next step is to test its effectiveness in protecting foals against R. equi in a field study.
Endotoxemia blocker
Most colic deaths are caused by endotoxemia, which occurs when bacterial endotoxins are absorbed into the bloodstream through the horse's damaged gut walls, causing severe inflammation that results in shock and organ damage. The disease rapidly progresses to death.
"Endotoxins stimulate white blood cells and other cells to induce an inflammatory response that is not regulated appropriately," said Sam Jones, D.V.M., Ph.D., associate professor of equine medicine at North Carolina State University.
Jones and his colleagues believe a key player that enables certain genes to precipitate the severe inflammatory response associated with endotoxemia is the molecule p38. In this ongoing study, Jones ultimately hopes to find a drug that will block the function of p38, which he called a "linchpin" in the inflammatory process.
"Then we potentially can interfere clinically with the inflammatory response and ultimately have a treatment for endotoxemia," Jones said.
According to Jones, blocking p38 also might be useful in the treatment of laminitis or in inhibiting the inflammatory response that triggers the disease. "Many of the genes that have been identified as being involved in laminitis are regulated by p38," Jones said.
Inflammatory responses are the immune system's way of fighting disease. One of Jones's concerns is that a drug powerful enough to block the function of p38 also might suppress the immune system.
Jones said his study aims to find a drug that inhibits p38, confirm that it does the job appropriately, and assure that it can be used safely and effectively in horses.
"This is by no means something where, if these experiments work out, we now have a drug to treat endotoxemia, but we certainly have a very attractive possibility," Jones said.
Denise Steffanus is a contributing editor of Thoroughbred Times who writes frequently on veterinary and farm management topics
Feb. 14, 2006
mediabistro.com (NY)
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
Students are often a resourceful breed but the latest effort from the students at North Carolina State University goes far beyond the usual selling of plasma for a new hard drive.
On top of their own rigorous curriculum, the graphic design students at NC State gathered work from their peers, wrote design essays, solicited advertisers, and printed an actual magazine that could hold its own on newsstand shelves. They even got the duchess of design education, NC State prof Meredith Davis, to submit an article.
Six Degrees, a magazine and online forum for great designers who just so happen to attend NC State, is now available. Browse a sampling of the print version online, check out the multimedia offerings (love Matt Balla's PSA), and wonder what you might have created in college had you not been so hard at work on the definitive beer label collection.
Science meets beauty in quest for perfect rose
Feb. 14, 2006
The State (SC), Contra Costa Times (CA), San Luis Obispo Tribune (CA), Bradenton Herald, Myrtle Beach Sun News (SC), Belleville News-Democrat (IL), Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (GA), Charlotte Observer, Grand Forks Herald (ND), Monterey County Herald (CA), Kentucky.com (KY), Duluth News Tribune (MN), Biloxi Sun Herald, Pioneer Press (MN), Centre Daily Times (PA), Macon Telegraph (GA), Kansas City Star (MO), Charlotte Observer
By staff report
© Copyright 2006
Through the ages, romantics have pursued that one perfect love, from Antony and Cleopatra to Brad and Angelina.
So for Valentine's Day, let's embrace the latest quest: Creating the "perfect rose."
Our story begins in an unlikely setting: Kannapolis, N.C.
That's the former mill town where David Murdock, owner of Dole Food Co., is building a $1 billion biotechnology hub, the North Carolina Research Campus. Besides bananas and pineapples, Dole says, it also imports and markets more cut flowers than anyone else in North America.
Dole began brainstorming with N.C. State University, one of its collaborators at the research campus, on projects they could tackle together. The subject was roses.
Just as first love often withers, so do roses, usually after a week or so in the vase. Dole and N.C. State want to produce roses that last three to four weeks.
To that end, Dole is giving N.C. State $1.4 million for a three-year study
that will start next month in Raleigh and then expand to Kannapolis.
The goal: Genetically engineer a red rose for Dole that lives longer, contains
few thorns and maybe smells even better.
In search of lasting blooms
People aren't perfect, and, John Dole concedes, neither are
roses .Dole (no relation to the company) is an N.C. State floriculturist.
He leads a rose team that includes nine other professors, as well as graduate
and post-doctoral
students.
" There's nothing more disappointing than getting a beautiful bouquet and not having them hold up," he said. "We want people to buy flowers, know they'll last and get their money's worth."
But that one good plant is hard to find.
For decades, the floral industry has sought to make flowers last longer.
Genetic science finally has advanced enough to help, Dole said.
Just like scoping out a person's profile before Internet dating, researchers
need to study traits from different rose varieties to see what they excel
in.
The lists are not unrelated: nice shape; fairly resistant to disease; long-lasting
with few thorns; and the ability to produce many stems.
In the next step, the N.C. State team will take one of two approaches: Find
the genes that produce the good characteristics and introduce them into a
single plant; or identify, then turn off, genes that inhibit the good qualities
in
one plant.
" It sounds very simple, but it's not," Dole said.
The group also will examine how roses are cut, how they're shipped and handled
and what's in the water they're shipped in.
Fragrance, like a relationship, is complicated, but Dole said they may
tackle it later.
Still, the law of unintended consequences applies equally to blind dates and messing with roses' DNA: The results may not be pretty.
What is perfect?
But even if they create a perfect rose, Dole said, it still may not be everyone's ideal.
Many gaze at a rose and already see perfection, said Marilyn Wellan, president of the American Rose Society.
" The perfect rose," she said, "is in the eye of the beholder."
Denise Lee agreed. The floral industry consultant said a rose's beauty is as timeless as love itself. Her perfect rose depends on what she's in the mood for at the time.
When asked to discuss the project, Dole company President Richard Dahl demurred like a blushing co-worker quizzed about an office crush: He mentioned something about trade secrets.
Professor Dole's love of flowers began when he was 8, growing up in western Michigan, where his neighbor ran a small farm stand. Dole spaced gladiola plants and helped cut the flowers.
About to start the biggest project of his 17-year career, on Monday he was still having a hard time with Valentine's Day.
He'll certainly be giving roses, the 43-year-old said, but he wasn't sure what kind yet.
" I'm a fairly picky flower buyer, as you might expect," he said. "So I pick the one that's in the best condition."
Adam Bell: (704) 786-2185
The Perfect Rose
THE PLAN
N.C. State University has a three-year, $1.4 million grant from Dole Food
Co. to try to extend the vase life of roses. The goal is to take vase
life of seven
to 10 days and extend it to three to four weeks. N.C. State will keep
the intellectual property rights for what it produces and will license the
work to Dole.
THE COMPANY
Dole's Fresh Flowers division, based in Miami, accounted for 4 percent of
Dole's $5.3 billion in revenues in 2004. Its line of fresh flowers has more
than 800
varieties, and its rose plantations produce more than 250 million stems a year.
building a better Flower
Researchers are looking for several
traits to help create the "perfect
rose":
• Good post-harvest life.
• Stem length of up to 42 inches.
• Minimal number of thorns.
• Shiny, dark green leaves.
• Resistance to diseases such as powdery mildew.
Feb. 14, 2006
Parenting magazine
By Marguerite Lamb
© Copyright 2006
After 4-year-old Natalie Dayton's best friend, Jake, moved away, "she'd cry whenever we went to the park where they used to play together," says her mother, Jennifer, of Levittown, PA. "Months later, she still asked for him."
Three- to 5-year-olds are just beginning to form attachments to peers, says Karen DeBord, Ph.D., associate professor of child development at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. If a friend moves, they miss him, but can't quite grasp where he's gone because they have no concept of distance. To help your child:
• Broaden his social horizons. Enroll him in a music class or sport, or have playdates before and after the move. This will cushion the blow and keep him from relying too much on one pal in the future.
• Skip the long goodbyes. Wait until a week before the move to tell your child that his buddy is leaving.
• Don't console too quickly. The news may barely faze him. But if he is upset, be positive: "Jacob gets to move to a new city!"
• Make a scrapbook or video of your child and his friend (make a copy for the pal, too). A memento means more to young kids than a call does.