| |
|
NCSU professors win $2M grant
Steven Clouse, horticultural science; Michael B. Goshe, biochemistryEric Dyer: Parties offering mixed message about economy
Andrew Taylor, political scienceWill Bush get a bounce?
Andrew Taylor, political scienceSales pressures take toll
Michael Walden, agricultural and resource economicsRivalries, geography clouding Triad's efforts to sell itself as a region
Michael Walden, agricultural and resource economicsNew overtime rules cut both ways
Michael Walden, agricultural and resource economicsTourists, locals enjoy lure, risk and fun of rock climbing
Aram Attarian, parks, recreation and tourism managementNew fire gear resists modern threats
College of TextilesSee how they rank ...
rankingsKeeping the campus safe
campus policeLook at safety as shared responsibility
written by Tom Younce, campus policeBack received no special favor
N.C. State committee of faculty and academic administrators
NCSU
still looking for new chancellor
chancellor search
Teachers
receive agriculture ideas
Agriculture in the Classroom
Raleigh
developer has option on Velvet Cloak Inn
Velvet Cloak Inn
Raleigh
Police Step Up Patrols On Avent Ferry Road
The crackdown comes after two serious accidents on the road near North Carolina
State University in a week.
Photo:
One of these things is not like the others
Chris Musto, graduate student
Convention-bound
GOP hopefuls tout loyalty
Kerry/Edwards rally
Researchers
Unveil Cutting-Edge Protection for Firefighters
College of Textiles
To
everything churn, churn, churn
JoAnn Burkholder, botany
Some
fear shift ahead for UNCC
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Creating
a cutting garden without ruining your regular garden
Association
of Specialty Cut Flower Growers
United
Arab Emirates Unifed Aerosol Experiment
research partnership with NASA
New fire gear resists modern threats
Aug. 27, 2004
News 14 Carolina
By Tony Jones
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. – Researchers at N.C. State's College of Textiles have designed a suit firefighters can use when confronted with chemical or biological hazards. It affords better shielding from heat and weigh 5 percent less than standard turnout gear.
Researchers unveiled the next generation of firefighter suits Thursday, triggering excitement among firefighters who look forward to the enhanced suit.
"This turnout gear will afford us the protection to hopefully be able to enter a situation and save lives," said Capt. William Bristle, of the Raleigh Fire Department.
It might also save the lives of firefighters – which is even more of a concern after the events of Sept. 11.
"With all the terrorism now, we're the first line of defense," Bristle said. "If we get in a situation where we feel like we need some extra protection for chemical and biological (dangers), up until now we have not had that protection. This is our first prototype."
Firefighters say the new gear will also be a time saver in emergencies.
"If we realize it is a WMD situation or a chemical or biological release, we'll have everything on us already that we can don and have that extra layer of protection that we do not have today," said Raleigh firefighter J.J. Roof.
Suits already in use can cost upwards of $1,500 each. Though no price has been set, those at Thursday's demonstration said the new suits are worth their weight in gold. However, Bristle said more tests must be done before the gear is distributed to all firefighters.
Aug. 27, 2004
Triangle Business Journal
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
Two North Carolina State University professors have received a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study molecular mechanisms controlling plant development.
Their research could lead to new ways to regulate growth in agricultural plants, perhaps giving farmers applications for speeding crop production.
Steven Clouse, professor of horticultural science, and Michael B. Goshe, assistant professor of biochemistry, will collaborate with researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Oklahoma to determine the molecular properties of cell surface receptors in Arabidopsis thaliana, a small flowering plant that is widely used as a model organism in plant biology.
Recent years have seen a growing collection of bioinformatics resources for the plant, including a fully sequenced genome. The grant to Clouse and Goshe is NCSU's first through the 2010 Project, an NSF initiative to determine the function of 25,000 genes in Arabidopsis thaliana by the year 2010.
Eric Dyer: Parties offering mixed message about economy
Aug. 30, 2004
Greensboro News & Record
By Eric Dyer
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH -- Campaign season is in full force. Time for voters to be on guard for the falsehoods and not-so-accurate statements endemic with political races.
Democrats are bound to offer up their own doozies before Election Day, but an early transgression came from the Republican Governors Association, a group that is pinch-hitting for Patrick Ballantine. It was running TV spots last week on behalf of his bid against Democratic Gov. Mike Easley and Libertarian Barbara Howe.
The Charlotte Observer complained that it was misrepresented in the ad, which said the newspaper called Ballantine a candidate of "new ideas." Actually, the article cited only said the Republican from Wilmington wanted to be known as such. Stations began dropping the ad, and the association begrudgingly re-edited it to take out the Observer.
Easley's campaign doesn't like the commercial because it implies that the governor permitted North Carolina to deteriorate in "jobs and education achievement." Wrong, his team countered, noting that test scores are rising and unemployment is falling.
The state of the state's economy may confuse voters this year as they listen to the candidates. It's an issue best described as one of those proverbial glasses that some see half full and others ... well, you know how the saying goes.
Arguments don't follow party lines, further muddying the matter. Incumbents accentuate the positive because they want the electorate to think they've straightened things out. Their opponents aren't eager to concede the sky is clearing because they need voters to demand new leadership.
Republican George W. Bush puts forth the rosier assessment, highlighting strengths in the state's health-care industry and biotechnology during a visit this spring to Charlotte. "You've got to be optimistic about your future here because North Carolina is a great place to do business, and you need to keep it that way," he said.
Democrat John Kerry, who wants to deny Bush another term, was in the Queen City recently but emphasized the economic problems that require fixes -- work going overseas, unaffordable health insurance, poorly enforced international commerce agreements that hurt textiles and other domestic industries. The state has lost 160,000 manufacturing jobs during the past three years, he pointed out.
In the gubernatorial race, Easley tries to inoculate himself to this statistic by blaming Washington for hard-hearted trade policies. Kerry and running mate John Edwards, who is North Carolina's senior U.S. senator, bolstered this argument during their recent appearances in the state. (Easley acts as though the Democratic ticket has the plague and didn't attend.)
But Easley doesn't dwell too long on the bad. Much like Bush, he notes how the economy is on the mend. Recent unemployment rates are helping him out; the statewide figure for July -- 5 percent -- is the lowest it has been since April 2001.
It's the GOP gubernatorial nominee who taps into economic fears.
Ballantine, a former legislator from Wilmington, contends that tax increases on Easley's watch have hindered a truly robust recovery. "I believe we can make North Carolina affordable again, for all of us," he says in a recent radio ad.
"The issue is confusing in part because the economy is not clearly in the doldrums and not clearly robust," Andrew Taylor, an N.C. State political scientist, explained last week. "It's somewhere in the middle."
Strong partisans are going to buy into their side's line, even though in this state the Democrats and Republicans are preaching mixed messages, Taylor said.
Independent voters will look at their condition and those around them in figuring out whom to believe, he added.
"They'll personalize this as much as possible," he said. "Not only how they are doing now but how they feel they'll be doing in the future."
Convention-bound GOP hopefuls tout loyalty
Aug. 30, 2004
News & Observer
By ROB CHRISTENSEN
© Copyright 2004
The major North Carolina GOP candidates will be in New York at the Republican convention this week -- unlike their Democratic counterparts, who skipped their party's convention in Boston last month.
Both U.S. Senate candidate Richard Burr and gubernatorial hopeful Patrick Ballantine plan to fly to the Big Apple Tuesday night and return Thursday.
Their Democratic opponents, Gov. Mike Easley and Senate candidate Erskine Bowles, stayed home during the Democratic convention. And the Republicans are trying to make the most of that difference.
"I am proud to stand with President Bush and will never distance myself from the president," Burr said. "It says a lot about Erskine Bowles that after giving thousands and thousands of dollars to liberal Democrats throughout the nation, he tries to hide from the John Kerry/John Edwards ticket."
POLITICAL SCORECARD
UP: GOP YOUTH MOVEMENT: Patrick "Landslide" McHenry, 28, was declared the winner in the 10th Congressional District runoff recount last week by 85 votes. He will be a strong favorite to win in the heavily Republican district.
DOWN: GOOD 'OL BOYS: Veteran Catawba County Sheriff David Huffman lost the runoff to McHenry, in a showdown between traditional and new politics.
DOWN: REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION: The group was forced to alter a TV ad on behalf of gubernatorial candidate Patrick Ballantine because it wrongly attributed a statement to The Charlotte Observer that was actually made by Ballantine.
North Carolina Democrats have often tried to put some distance between themselves and the Democratic ticket in a state that has gone Republican in every presidential race since 1976.
Easley has treated the Democratic ticket as if it were politically radioactive.
And Bowles was nowhere to be seen when Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry campaigned in his hometown of Charlotte earlier this month. But he did appear with Kerry and his vice presidential running mate, U.S. Sen. John Edwards, when they campaigned at N.C. State University in Raleigh.
Burr, a five-term congressman, plans to meet with North Carolina delegates and attend several fund-raising events. Brooke Burr, the congressman's wife, will hold a fund-raiser Wednesday for her husband at the Limited Design Studio in New York.
Road trip
In traveling to New York City, about 40 North Carolina Republicans said the best way was to take the bus, Gus.
State Sen. Fred Smith of Clayton chartered a bus after deciding it beat flying from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to New York's LaGuardia.
"When I was thinking about New York, by the time you fly up there and catch a cab, it takes five hours," said Smith, a developer. "It's just eight hours on the bus, and it gets us right to the hotel and brings us back at the end of the convention. It takes two or three hours more, but you don't have the hassle."
And besides, the conventioneers were likely to be better fed on the bus. Linwood Parker, a Johnston County restaurant owner and active Republican, planned to bring barbecue and a ham.
The bus was scheduled to leave at 5:30 a.m. Sunday from state GOP headquarters.
Briefly
* Three North Carolinians will serve as pages during this week's GOP convention in Madison Square Garden. They are Zachary Clayton and Andrew Upshaw, both of Raleigh, and Amber Story of Greenville.
* Sen. Thomas Carper of Delaware was in Charlotte last week raising money for Democratic Senate candidate Erskine Bowles.
* Congressman Bob Etheridge of Lillington will hold a summit in Raleigh on Tuesday with law enforcement officials to discuss the problem of methamphetamine labs in the region.
Aug. 29, 2004
News & Observer
By ROB CHRISTENSEN
© Copyright 2004
They arrived in New York City by airplane, chartered bus and by cab. They will hear from Arnold, Rudy and Liddy. They will party in restaurants, arenas and even the zoo.
But most of all, they will cheer for W.
The 131 delegates and alternates in the North Carolina delegation to the Republican National Convention began arriving Saturday at The Warwick, a midtown hotel. Their main job is to be part of a supporting cast of thousands at President Bush's coronation.
These are the Rush Limbaugh-Ann Coulter-Bill O'Reilly-you'll-have-to-pry my-gun-from-my-cold-dead-fingers Republicans. You've heard of Yellow Dog Democrats. These are Alley Cat Republicans -- they would rather vote for an alley cat than a Democrat.
And oh, one more thing. Don't look for a lot of home state pride in North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, the Democratic nominee for vice president.
Sexiest politician? How about bald is beautiful, as in Veep Dick Cheney?
If the Republicans have their way, the Bush-Cheney ticket will come roaring out the Lincoln Tunnel at the end of the convention with a full head of steam -- and run over Kerry-Edwards in November.
Ferrell Blount, the state Republican chairman from Pitt County, hopes voters will get a better feel for what a second Bush term would look like, and contrast the Bush program with that of Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic nominee.
"The convention is about promoting the Bush agenda," Blount said. "We will be able to draw a clear distinction."
Kerry failed to get a bounce in the public opinion polls after his convention in Boston, Blount said, because his pitch was too narrow.
"I think it was a failure just because Kerry talked the whole time about his four months of service in Vietnam," Blount said. "That is fine and good. But they want to hear a forward-looking agenda. I think the president is going to lay out the positive things he wants to do in his second term."
Of course it is not clear that Bush will get a bounce out of the Republican convention, either.
Most people have already made up their minds about this election, and the number willing to be persuaded is rather small. "An unusually high number of people have pretty solid preferences," said Andy Taylor, an N.C. State University political science professor.
"It might take a lot -- it may be impossible -- for them to change their minds," Taylor said. "We saw that after the Democratic convention there was an extremely small bounce. We probably will not see the kind of large swing after the Republican convention that we have historically seen."
Bush will undoubtedly portray himself as a strong wartime president. That is, after all, why the convention is being held in New York, for the first time, to be near the site of the worst foreign attack on American soil.
But Bush also knows that his father lost his re-election bid in 1992 after conducting the politically popular Gulf War, because voters thought he was not concerned enough about the economy.
"George W. Bush remembers those mistakes vividly," Taylor said. "He doesn't want to repeat them."
Aug. 29, 2004
News & Observer
By KARIN RIVES
© Copyright 2004
Hours that change from week to week. Constant pressure to make commissions and meet sales quotas. Low wages, high turn-over and stressed managers.
This is, for many workers, the world of retail. It's an intensely competitive industry that employs 1 out of 7 working North Carolinians, a slightly higher ratio than a decade ago.
For many people without college degrees, jobs at grocery stores, gas stations and discount chains have been a godsend when manufacturing plants shut down. But the flow of job seekers has also given employers leeway to squeeze more out of its employees.
They've had to.
Retailers today are in a furious race to slash prices for consumers. Pushed by discount giants such as Wal-Mart, the world's largest merchant with 3,600 stores in the United States alone, many have succeeded. Clothing costs, for example, have dropped 11 percent since 1997.
But what's good for consumers isn't always good for those who toil behind the counter or cash register. For every happy and well-paid retail employee, there seems to be many more complaining about unrelenting stress in positions that pay little but get filled because any job is better than no job.
With 10 large chains now raking in three-quarters of all retail sales in the United States, such jobs are increasingly found in big stores that bear more resemblance to giant warehouses than the intimate mom-and-pop stores that used to line Main Street.
"Retailers are always looking for ways to lower their costs and to reduce their operating margins, and they will be looking to employment for doing that," said Michael Walden, an economist at N.C. State University. "It's the so-called Wal-Mart effect."
That also helps explain why, between 2001 and 2003, the Triangle's retail industry shed nearly 3,000 jobs despite a steady influx of Super Targets, Wal-Mart Supercenters and two giant malls, according to N.C. Employment Security Commission data. During the same period, the region that consists of Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties lost 69 stores -- most of them small.
Wage uncertainty
Kathey Jernigan, 53, drives 30 miles every day from her home in Harnett County to Target in Garner. At the store, she wears the customary red shirt and khaki pants and takes her place in the store's "soft line" section where clothes, jewelry and accessories are sold.
As a Level 2 manager, she is one step above new hires, which means she supervises several employees during night shifts. For that she gets paid a little over $9 an hour. That would come to about $19,300 a year if she worked 40 hours a week. But Jernigan rarely does.
"They might give you 36, 32, 34," she said. "Nobody ever knows how many hours they will work."
The store adjusts the hours employees work according to its sales, which means that if revenue drops one week, they will be sent home early.
It's a practice that has become widespread throughout the industry in recent years, helping stores adjust their costs in a real-time manner and stay within budget, said Richard D. Hastings, a retail sector analyst with Bernard Sands.
Minneapolis-based Target did not return calls seeking comment.
On a recent day, Jernigan had been at work for only an hour when a manager called her on the phone, telling her to leave.
When that happens, Jernigan said, workers who stay at the store must jump in and cover her duties: keeping the shelves neat, retrieving returns from the customer-service counter, helping customers and watching the fitting room.
Sometimes, managers know ahead of time that payroll must be cut and let employees know. That's when the trading starts.
Single parents, especially, make the rounds asking their co-workers whether they can have a few of their hours to be able to pay their bills, Jernigan said.
After working 30 years at a manufacturing plant that shut down in 2000, she is happy to have a job. But Jernigan says she was amazed to learn that income security for retail employees is almost nonexistent.
Out of their hands
Indeed, keeping your job -- or keeping your hours up -- can depend on a number of variables that are hard for employees to control. Many sales clerks are paid on commission or have a quota of sales they must make each week. If you don't make the sales, you can lose your job. Some chains also also expect employees to sign up customers for store credit cards or extended warranties and put quotas on those items, too. But a sluggish economy in recent years has many consumers leery of taking on additional debt. That has made those aspects of the job even harder.
The commissions that Victor Perez earns selling cars for Leith Auto Park in Wendell have dropped by about one-third in the past year, and it's not because Perez doesn't know how to sell. His boss says he is one of the better salesmen on the floor, and Perez says he loves to see a happy customer drive off in a new truck.
"It's like a natural high," he said with a grin. "It makes you feel good."
After years in sales, Perez, 40, knows the potential his job has. Last year, new-car salesmen earned more on average than any other retail workers in North Carolina: $41,184.
But customers these days seem more hesitant to spend money, and competition from other dealers in the region continues to heat up. So, with a small child to support, Perez has begun to leave his business card at local businesses, hoping that outside prospecting will boost his sales.
Every dollar he earns comes from commissions, a percentage of the sales he completes.
"They tell us we're pretty much in business for ourselves here," he said.
Many burn out
The fast pace in many stores, coupled with some of the lowest wages the market offers, has resulted in persistently high turn-over rates.
Last year, 29 percent of all retail workers quit voluntarily, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total turnover for the industry was a staggering 49 percent.
Carmine Bondatti, a 62-year-old Willow Springs retiree, did a three-month stint this spring in the plumbing department at Lowe's Home Improvement store in Clayton. That was all he could take.
Bondatti says he made it clear when hired that he could work only 20-some hours a week to be able to collect Social Security benefits. Still, he was repeatedly scheduled to work a full week because the store was so understaffed.
He said he spent his days running up and down the aisles to answer questions and keep managers off his back when irritable customers pressed the call button for help. All the while he had to get merchandise up on the shelves in a timely manner with nobody else in the department to help out.
For that he was paid $10 an hour, less than a third of what he earned as a union construction worker in New York.
"It was just ridiculous," he said.
Lowe's prides itself on its customer service, said Jennifer Smith, a spokeswoman for the Mooresville-based chain.
"We feel that's one way we differentiate ourselves from our competitors," she said, adding that the company tries to adjust schedules to employee needs.
But Bondatti had had enough, and he quit in June.
Kathy Covert, 48, of Chapel Hill says she brought work home from Harris Teeter for several years because she couldn't keep up. Her job consisted of separating, sorting, hanging and scanning price tags on the shelves -- duties she says took many more hours than the 40 she was allowed to work.
Every year the Matthews-based grocery chain expanded its selection to keep up with competition. That meant the number of tags that employees had to scan every week tripled during the five years she was there, Covert said.
Her complaints went nowhere, she said, until her new boss got wind of her unpaid work and fired her last fall.
When Covert appealed to the U.S. Department of Labor, the agency sided with her former employer, noting that Harris Teeter had paid her some back wages and explicitly prohibited employees from working off the clock.
"I didn't think it was fair," said Covert, who is now account manager for a security firm and says she is happy to be working in a different industry.
Fed up
Retail workers have always worked long hours that extended into weekends and holidays, and they've always been near the bottom of the pay scale. What has changed, some industry experts suggest, is what people expect from their jobs and what they're willing to put up with.
"Perhaps retailers have been slow to adapt to that," said David Szymanski, director of Texas A&M University's Center for Retailing Studies. "They're running their HR departments like they always did."
But retailers wouldn't have to look far to find role models, he added. Several retailers such as the Dallas-based Container Store consistently rank high on Fortune Magazine's list of "100 Best Companies to Work For." They stand out because they manage to offer good wages, benefits and training opportunities while at the same time staying profitable.
Rivalries, geography clouding Triad's efforts to sell itself as a region
Aug. 29, 2004
Winston-Salem Journal
By Richard Craver
© Copyright 2004
Derwick Paige, the head of economic development for Winston-Salem, doesn't have to be sold on the benefits of regionalism, the concept of the Triad's communities working together.
Having good jobs, wherever they are in the area, and residential growth are important, Paige said.
But at the end of the day, he says, there's a more sober reality that trumps all this talk of cooperation.
"The property-tax base is a city or community's bread-and-butter," he said.
"Everybody would rather have the industrial or office project in your back yard because you get the double benefit of the direct investment of the company and the property and sales-tax benefit from employees who live in the community as well."
By some measures, regionalism has a strong heartbeat in the Triad.
The United Ways and chambers of commerce are collaborating to help the Triad deal with an economy in flux. The area has had more than 35,000 jobs eliminated since January 2000 - about 70 percent in manufacturing - and corporate contributions have been reduced.
There are plenty of task forces on education and technology. A drive on Interstate 40, the Triad's Main Street, at rush hour provides a glimpse of the estimated 150,000 people who live in one county and work somewhere else.
But other indicators point to the tough battle over forging a new regional economic identity. The region's sprawl over 12 counties and its lack of a major city make it a wheel with spindly spokes and hubs.
The communities still compete aggressively for business, and sometimes there are turf battles, the latest being at least three separate efforts to land a $190 million Dell Inc. manufacturing plant.
As traditional manufacturing declines, there is no clear picture of which industries will take their place. Officials say that biotechnology, transportation and logistics, and advanced manufacturing are the region's best bets.
All of these leave the Triad at a regionalism crossroads.
Supporters see opportunity within adversity. Skeptics wonder if there is enough public and political will to knock down community barriers and pool limited resources.
"I believe people are more receptive to regionalism because they've experienced the cold-water splash of job layoffs in their face," former Gov. Jim Hunt said.
Separate and thriving
Historically, the Triad has been a region whose largest communities - Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point - had little need to lean on each other for economic support.
It has been the home to such corporate stalwarts as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Wachovia Corp., Burlington Industries and Thomasville Furniture Industries.
Those companies combined to provide tens of thousands of good-paying jobs and benefits and finance cultural initiatives.
But in recent years, all of those companies, and many more, have been pounded by layoffs or bought by companies based outside the Triad.
That reality is gradually sinking into the Triad's mind-set, said Robbie Perkins, a Greensboro city councilman.
"We have to be willing to crawl with regionalism before we can walk or run," Perkins said. "There is no greater goal for Triad leaders than providing good-paying jobs for their residents, and a key way to achieve that is through regional recruitment of businesses."
Regionalism seems to work most effectively when it is applied like a layer of makeup to put forward the Triad's best face to out-of-state businesses and corporate site selectors.
"Corporations don't see county or city boundaries until they are well into the relocation process," said Ted Abernathy, the executive vice president of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership. "They do, however, recognize regions of the country they want to be in, which is where branding the Research Triangle Park has been a major competitive advantage."
However, the reality of business recruitment is that the Triad's metropolitan statistical area doesn't pack the same marketing punch as other regions similar in size. There's no unifying cultural or professional-sports identity here.
Most metropolitan areas have a more dominant main county than the Triad. In the Charlotte region, for example, Mecklenburg County accounts for about 50 percent of the region's population. In the Triad, Guilford County is about a third.
Further clouding the issue is that there is no clear-cut geographic definition of the Triad.
The Piedmont Triad Partnership markets the Triad as a 12-county area of 1.5 million residents, 750,000 potential workers, 11 universities and the nation's 36th largest region. The counties are Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Montgomery, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin.
However, the federal government's definition of the Triad is eight counties: Alamance, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph, Stokes and Yadkin counties. Companies and site selectors tend to rely on this definition because they rely on federal data.
Two state councils of government and four highway divisions carve up the region. There is no dominant daily newspaper, and each of the major cities has its own TV network affiliate.
Last year, a high-profile economic assessment of the Triad by the consulting firm AngelouEconomics was required to use congressional districts to determine what to look at because it was financed by a federal grant. As a result, Alamance, Guilford and Randolph counties were left out.
No regional recruitment package
The electronic-equipment plant that Dell is considering putting in the Triad is just the latest litmus test of regionalism.
Although there is evidence that Dell is also considering communities outside the Triad, and local negotiations with the company have been going on for months, economic officials have not rallied around one recruitment package.
Instead, Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, along with Davidson and Guilford, have prepared separate offers that would be added to nearly $100 million in incentives from the state of North Carolina and the Golden LEAF Foundation.
In a letter to the Journal, Greg Hunter of Winston-Salem said "it's clear that the members of the Piedmont Triad are not working as a team for business recruitment."
"Shouldn't the region bundle together the most attractive package possible and avoid competition? We only have one shot for Dell, so let's coordinate and do our best as a team!"
Gayle Anderson, the president of the Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, said that the Triad's communities will "never escape competing for economic-development projects."
"But the difference is now there is a realization that as long as a project lands in the Triad, it's a win for all of us from jobs, residential growth and retail sales," she said.
A report in March by the Piedmont Triad Partnership said that several economic studies "identify the historical competitiveness within the Piedmont Triad, particularly among the cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point, as an impediment to economic progress in the Triad."
"Competing for economic-development projects can leave you battered and bruised in some instances," said Don Kirkman, the president and chief executive of the partnership.
Triad communities do tend to cooperate in joint marketing efforts to get companies to look at the area, said Pete Brunstetter, the chairman of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners.
"When we've got their attention, communities will put on their Sunday best to land the project, sometimes competing against each other and driving up the cost of the project," Brunstetter said.
The biggest hurdle to regionalism is that "there is nothing to compel regional cooperation" in terms of a regional taxing authority or shared tax-revenue structure, Kirkman said.
Instead, one community might get the tax-base benefits of an industrial or office project, while another gets a disproportionate share of new housing and the costs associated with educating children.
Dan Lynch, the senior vice president of the Greensboro Economic Development Partnership, said he would support establishing a Triad economic-development authority.
"But try to add a penny to the (property) tax base of any Triad community, and some people would go crazy," Lynch said. "Some people just like things the way they are, but it takes money to promote and brand the Triad as a region for it to create tax revenues from new businesses and new jobs."
As long as communities are organized governmentally by counties and cities, that's where the first allegiance of elected officials and those appointed by elected officials will be, said Michael Walden, an economics professor at N.C. State University.
"So while many officials will support regionalism in public, I suspect in private they will work most diligently for their home county and city," Walden said.
Kirkman said that a number of organizations have chosen to collaborate in recent years at the regional level. Besides the chambers and the United Ways, they include:
"We're seeing more cooperative efforts toward regionalism from these organizations that wouldn't have been there even three years ago because of all the changes in our economy," Anderson said.
The biggest project that has received support throughout the Triad is the $516 million FedEx hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport. The hub, set to open in mid-2009, will create 1,500 full- and part-time jobs. There are projections of about 16,000 jobs from companies doing business with FedEx at the hub, which could result in a $7.5 billion regional economic impact by 2019.
However, there still is considerable debate about how many FedEx suppliers and businesses operating on a just-in-time business model will place operations outside Forsyth and Guilford - a major selling point for regional support of the project.
Skepticism in Forsyth
Some Forsyth residents and officials cast a skeptical eye at regionalism. They believe that most of the benefits have followed a one-way street into Greensboro.
Exhibit A is Piedmont Triad International Airport. It is in Guilford, and it has been a magnet for commercial development - especially at the Piedmont Centre business park in northern High Point - that has enriched those communities.
Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem had been in decline for some time as a viable passenger airport. But Winston-Salem and Forsyth's participation in the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority left them in the position of providing financing and representation to the rival Greensboro airport.
"Yes, I think there has been a sense that Winston-Salem has not received its share of regional benefits, especially with respect to the airport," said Charlie Moyer, a former dean of the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University.
"However, I sense that we're moving beyond that, and if some folks are not, they should. It's about the future, not the past."
Some officials said that Forsyth must be a clear winner in the next project with Triad implications.
Perkins, the Greensboro councilman, said that Triad legislators must push forward on the funding for the Northern Beltway, a 27-mile highway that would encircle two-thirds of Winston-Salem. A road could be spun off from the beltway to the airport to provide another commuting route for jobs in the area.
But the beltway itself is expected to cost more than $675 million to build, and funding from the N.C. Transportation Department has remained on the back burner. Some members of the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation from rural counties have said they want to know exactly how a new highway between the region's two largest cities would help their communities.
"Need always has been the driving factor of regional cooperation," said Becky Smothers, the mayor of High Point. That need typically involves necessities such as the environment, an adequate water supply as addressed by Randleman Dam, transportation corridors and solid waste.
There also are skeptics about whether the region can rally around a nonbusiness project after the rejection of a baseball-stadium referendum in 1998.
Stadium backers struck out in their attempt to convince Triad residents that attracting a major-league baseball team would be an economic home run and put the region on the map nationally and internationally.
Steve Googe, the executive director of the Davidson County Economic Development Commission, and Perkins support the building of business parks that are supported financially by several communities. They said that the parks would spur regionalism and create hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs.
In Googe's proposal, Davidson County would provide the land for a large business park near Interstate 85 or U.S. 52. Neighboring cities and counties would provide resources to pay for infrastructure and receive revenue in proportion to their contributions.
Perkins favors the creation of a Triad Metro Park along the Forsyth-Guilford border. Perkins also is the president of NAI Maxwell, a commercial real-estate agency based in Greensboro.
"The park could serve as an economic identifier for the Triad," along the lines of a Research Triangle Park, Perkins said. "We hope to have some ideas that the politicians can chew on in a couple of months."
Even though the legislation for building such a business park was passed recently by the General Assembly, communities and elected leaders remain reluctant to pursue such an effort.
"We haven't found the right project yet," said Keith Holliday, the mayor of Greensboro. "Sometimes, we tend to fear the unknown and having to give up something for regionalism. Revenue sharing may cushion some of that fear."
Tourists, locals enjoy lure, risk and fun of rock climbing
Aug. 27, 2004
Associated Press; WCNC; Wilmington Morning Star; Winston-Salem Journal; WVEC, VA
By JOE MILLER
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. - If rock climbing is supposed to be so dangerous, how do you explain Lewis Stockett?
Stockett is 35 and a database administrator at SAS. Until last year, he was a chain smoker who was 15 pounds overweight and found most of his workouts limited to the couch.
"I'm not an athletic person," he admits. Oh, and he's afraid of heights.
Yet for some reason, the hobby of a friend got the best of his curiosity. He asked to tag along one day as the friend ventured off for a workout at Vertical Edge Climbing Center in Durham.
"I was awfully tired after that first time," Stockett recalls. But he kept going once a week, learning the contortionistic moves often required to get from one hold to the next, belaying, trying new routes. Within two months, his friend had him climbing the real thing, at Pilot Mountain, a dome of granite northwest of Winston-Salem. Within a year, Stockett would find himself leading other climbers up vertical stone walls hundreds of feet high that 12 months earlier he would have thought impossible to scale.
This from a man who claims not to have a death wish.
So what's the deal?
Climbing has long had a reputation as being on the outer edge of the so-called extreme sports, a reputation climbers say is largely a myth generated by the media.
Think about climbing movies _ from "The Eiger Sanction" to "Cliffhanger" back to Spencer Tracy and "The Mountain" _ and in most, death is a prominent theme. And only if you subscribe to climbing and outdoor adventure magazines are you likely to hear of mountaineering's successes; otherwise, only when something goes horribly wrong does alpine adventure make the headlines. Even the most ardent couch potatoes can tell you the horror that unfolded on Mount Everest in May 1996.
Which isn't to say that rock climbing isn't without risk. After all, you don't see an annual compendium devoted to mountain biking's or hiking's worst accidents. "Accidents in North American Mountaineering," published by The Mountaineers Books, does just that, though its intent is to help climbers learn from the mistakes of others.
Start chatting with the climbing community and you soon discover that mild-mannered Lewis Stockett is more the rule than the exception.
"That's not true at all," David Thoenen says, referring to the muscle-ripped, slightly addled stereotype of the typical climber. Thoenen himself defies another climber stereotype: that only the young can handle its demands. Thoenen is 57, took up climbing when he was 55, has scaled routes up 5.10 (on a scale of 5.1 to 5.15) in difficulty and leads routes in the 5.7 to 5.8 range.
Time out for definitions.
Leading. Some technical climbs are top-roped, meaning the climbing rope is anchored to a rock or tree at the top. On other climbs, the rope is anchored to the rock face as the climbers ascend. This is called lead climbing, with the climber in the lead setting all the protection. That is, using various pieces of hardware either jammed into the rock or bolted to it to hook the rope into. Lead climbing is more demanding because the lead climber has less protection.
Climbs, or routes, up a rock face that require protection _ meaning you're hooked to a rope in case you fall _ are rated on a scale from 5.1 (pretty easy) to 5.15 (only monkeys need apply). Like ratings systems for other activities _ whitewater kayaking, for instance _ the numbers can be subjective.
"Sure, for a 5.12 or 5.14 route, those are very demanding _ you have to train," says Aram Attarian, who began climbing in the 1970s and has been instructing for most of that time. Climbing is a specialty area for Attarian, who is an associate professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management at N.C. State University and also sits on the board of North Carolina Outward Bound. "Those guys you see on TV are pros.
"It's just like any other sport," Attarian says of climbing. "If you put your mind to it, you can do it."
Attarian says indoor climbing gyms are a good place to learn basic rock climbing skills.
However, he warns, don't confuse an indoor wall with the real thing. For one, they don't have "objective" dangers. The vagaries of weather, for one. In a climbing gym it's always bright and 72 degrees. On a four-hour climb up a 600-foot face the day may begin warm and sunny, but deteriorate quickly when a thunderstorm rolls in.
Other objective dangers: insects, wasps, reptiles _ the usual stuff Mother Nature can toss your way.
Also, Attarian says indoor walls don't offer the same challenge.
"The disadvantage of climbing gyms is that everything is set up for you," he says. The holds are prepositioned, the routes set. Basically, the problem of climbing is solved for you. And that seems to be one of outdoor climbing's main attractions.
"It's the engineering problems, that part is really fun to me," Stockett says. Essentially, looking at what most people would view as a smooth chunk of rock, identifying the often infinitesimal holds and figuring out a way up.
Though Stockett had luck learning the ropes from a friend, Attarian says it's usually a better idea to hire a guide. "Do your homework," he advises. Get references, find out if they're insured. Have they had any accidents, any deaths?
Another advantage with a guide service: It supplies the gear _ which can get pretty expensive.
"I've probably spent $1,000 to $1,500," Stockett says of his first-year expenses.
Not that you need to buy everything right away. You can find starter kits on the Web that include the basics: climbing shoes, harness and a helmet for less than $200. Then, tag along with friends who have protection. (Quit snickering: That means ropes and the assorted hexes, nuts, cams and caribiners that can really make the sport expensive.) Use your pals' protection as you gradually acquire your own.
And, as is the case with any activity, you've got to stick with it to improve. Which, with rock climbing, can require the occasional leap of faith.
"I've wigged out a couple times," Stockett admits. "There have been a few times when I've thought, 'When I get back on the ground I'm going to find someone to sell this gear to.' "
Attarian says a good way to manage fear is to deal with it in small bites. "If you're in a bad situation, just try focusing on that ledge 10 feet ahead. Then, when you get there, focus on the next ledge above that. Before long, you're on the top."
In short, try not to focus on the risks. But don't discount them, either.
"You don't want to totally eliminate the risk," Attarian argues. "Then this wouldn't be a fun activity."
New overtime rules cut both ways
Aug. 27, 2004
Rocky Mount Telegram
By Tom Murphy
© Copyright 2004
New federal regulations governing payment of overtime is a two-sided coin, said Mike Walden, an N.C. State University economist.
The No. 1 thing the new rules do is increase the salary below which people have to be paid overtime to about $23,000 a year, Walden said.
"If a person makes that amount or less, he or she will be paid overtime," he said. "That's somewhat of a plus for workers who are worried about changes and the potential for losing overtime. Lower income workers will still have access to that."
On the opposite side of the coin, Walden said the government's new rules, in his view, make it easier for companies to deny overtime to people in managerial positions.
"Individuals in those positions have to watch out for that," he said. "The government's new set of rules set forth criteria that people have to meet in order to be eligible for overtime. It is possible that a person making above $23,000 and in a managerial position could have been in a situation in the past when they got overtime – but aren't now."
White-collar employees will have to be particularly careful where overtime is concerned, Walden said.
"It may be easier for someone's job to be classified as managerial or an executive-type position, resulting in the loss of overtime pay," he said.
Walden said he thinks existing overtime regulations did need to be adjusted.
"They hadn't been overhauled in a number of decades," he said. "The nature of the economy has changed. In the long run, they are more realistic regulations. Ultimately, of course, what salaries and wages come down to – unless you're in a union – is a negotiation between employers and employees."
Walden said nothing prevents an employer from adjusting the salary of a person who is losing overtime pay because of the new regulations to compensate for the loss.
"The bottom line is that you want to be aware of the new regulations," he said. "If you are in a situation where you come out on the short end of the stick, talk to your supervisor and see if adjustments can be made."
People who think they have unfairly been denied overtime can go to the U.S. Department of Labor's Web site, Walden said.
"Although I'm not a legal expert, there are fairly straightforward sets of information there that people can print out and look at," he said. "If someone has a good case to show denial of overtime that should be paid, I suspect there would be some type of recourse to take."
While there are concerns among employees at area businesses that the new rules may affect their overtime, Pam Owens, human resources administrator at Nash Health Care Systems, said the new regulations will not have any impact on the hospital. The only hospital employees who are not eligible for overtime are at the management level, she said.
"Registered nurses can be classified as professionals and can be exempt from overtime," she said. "We have always paid nurses overtime. Our pharmacists and therapists also are eligible for overtime. So, we not going to change that. We're not going to take any of those people and say because of this new law they're not eligible."
The new rules do have have the potential to affect employees, depending on the philosophy of businesses, Owens said.
"Management could take the stand that white-collar workers are no longer eligible and save money," she said.
NCSU still looking for new chancellor
Aug. 27, 2004
News 14 Carolina
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
The open forums are completed in NC State's search for a new chancellor.
The search committee is looking for someone who understands North Carolina like a native and a strong leader.
The search committee is preparing for the next phase of the search that includes contacting possible candidates and talking to references.
The university plans to name a new chancellor by the first of the year.
Marye Anne Fox left this summer to take the top administrative post at the University of California at San Diego.
Teachers receive agriculture ideas
Aug. 27, 2004
Rocky Mount Telegram
By Natalie Jordan
© Copyright 2004
Two Twin Counties teachers recently got a lesson in integrating agriculture.
Faith Christian School teacher Marlene Glassey and SouthWest Edgecombe High School teacher Walter C. Jones attended workshops sponsored by the N.C. Farm Bureau.
"It's all tied together," said Glassey, who teaches all second-grade core subjects. "I've incorporated what I learned into all the subjects I teach. In history, the students are comparing how farming is today to how farming was done in earlier times."
The workshop, Agriculture in the Classroom, was from July 19-21 in Durham and 53 teachers from 21 counties in North Carolina attended. The focus was on the importance of agriculture in North Carolina industry and how many aspects it really covers, Glassey said.
"We saw how North Carolina State University teaches its students to do fish farming," Glassey said. "We also visited dairy farms, the cattle industry and pig farms.
"The workshop was wonderful. They gave us lesson plans, activities to use in the classroom, teaching ideas, curriculum and excitement to inspire other teachers."
Glassey said one of the things she has done is bring in corn and the root, have children pick out different parts of the plant and write a corn report.
"Kids need to know where their food supply comes from," she said. "They need to know that it doesn't just appear in grocery stores."
The workshops were three-day educational programs geared toward teachers.
"The mission is to improve the lifestyles of rural North Carolinians, and one is through schools," said Louise Lamm, director of N.C. Agriculture in the Classroom. "The workshops are totally funded by us, so the teachers can have that opportunity."
Jones, who participated in the workshop for sixth- to 12th-grade teachers from July 12-14, said he thought the workshop was wonderful.
"The workshop was outstanding – very well planned and articulated," Jones said. "We focused on biotechnology and how we have used it to boost productivity and consumerism."
Jones, who teaches agricultural education for grades nine, 10 and 11, said he was given lesson plans to be used in classrooms and other resources to use for technology.
"I'm in the process of using these resources, and all that I can, to create awareness for my students as well," Jones said. "And these activities are working activities where students are involved."
The first workshop was a focus on environmental issues, while the second workshop was directed more to elementary school.
"It concentrated on how to introduce agriculture to students, and the importance of agriculture in students' everyday lives," Lamm said.
While Jones said he went to the workshop to increase his knowledge of the agriculture industry and become aware of the changes taking place in the environment, Glassey's motives were a little different.
"It was free," she said. "I got two renewal awards that goes toward keeping my certification for teaching."
The program provides materials and instructions to teachers to help them teach students an appreciation for agriculture and its impact on the state.
"Kids are so removed from farm life now that they don't even know what they are looking at," Lamm said. "Like the correlation between the farms and things like the clothing they wear, and the food they eat. We want to heighten awareness in the schools through the teachers, so children can learn to have an appreciation for it because it is still the number one industry in North Carolina."
Raleigh developer has option on Velvet Cloak Inn
Aug. 29, 2004
Triangle Business Journal; MSNBC
By Lee Weisbecker
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH - A Raleigh real estate developer has emerged as a possible buyer
of the 40-year-old Velvet Cloak Inn, a Hillsborough Street landmark that's
been on the market since 2002.
Sources familiar with the negotiations say David M. Smoot has taken an option
to buy the property while he studies its potential as a viable hotel. Speaking
on behalf of her father, Susannah Smoot declined to confirm the negotiations. "It
is an interesting rumor," she says. "If we have an announcement
about one of our properties, we will let you know."
David Smoot has an interest in the Progress Park Business Mall on Whitaker Mill Road and owns other real estate in Raleigh.
Newport News, Va.-based Mumford Co., a hotel brokerage firm, has been handling the sale of the 159-room hotel on behalf of its owner, Hawaii-based Kamehameha Schools, a $5 billion tax-exempt educational foundation based in Honolulu.
On its Web site, Mumford has the property, with a $4.8 million asking price, listed as "sale pending." The executive handling the property, David Mumford, didn't return repeated phone calls. The tax value of two buildings, one three stories and one five stories, and 2.5 acres of land is $7.06 million.
Raleigh attorney and real estate developer Michael Sandman in May let an option to buy the hotel property expire, explaining that he'd considered but rejected several possible uses for the site, including student housing, continued use as a hotel, demolition and mixed office and residential.
Built in 1963 by Raleigh developer J.W. "Willie" York, the Velvet Cloak Inn became a convenient stopping place for people with business on the campus of nearby North Carolina State University or with state government. At one time, it was a popular gathering place for politicians, especially on election nights. But over recent years, both occupancy and room revenue have declined.
While room revenue was at $2.1 million in June 2001, it fell to $1 million for the nine months ending March 31, 2004. Occupancy during the same period fell from 47 percent to 34 percent, according to figures complied by the Mumford Co.
Watching the progress of the latest sale negotiations are executives with the YMCA of the Triangle Area, who continue to eye the property as a possible piece in expansion plans for the Central YMCA building, which is next door to the Velvet Cloak.
Wayne Jernigan, YMCA vice president of risk management and property, says he's waiting to see how the current buy option works out. "We've talked to the Velvet Cloak folks over the years," Jernigan says. "There have been several options on the property, but we are not now in negotiations. We're not a player in the game right now."
Should the YMCA emerge as the purchaser of the Velvet Cloak, officials with the organization say the hotel would be razed. On that spot, a new Y facility would be built to replace the aging building next door. Should the YMCA not purchase the hotel, a new Y building would go up in phases on the nonprofit's current site.
While sale negotiations continue, the inn continues to book guests, while the original staff of 50 has been nearly halved.
Raleigh Police Step Up Patrols On Avent Ferry Road
Aug. 27, 2004
WRAL-TV
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Expect to see Raleigh police out in force looking for speeders on Avent Ferry Road.
The crackdown comes after two serious accidents on the road near North Carolina State University in a week.
In just a few hours Thursday, police issued 19 tickets.
"During times like these we are going to be really strict," said Capt. Dennis Poteat of the Raleigh Police Department. "This area has become too dangerous."
On Saturday, passenger Brandon Sova, 19, of Clayton, was killed in a two-car wreck near Chappell Drive. Three other people were injured.
Just after 2 a.m. Thursday, Krystal Faulkner, 24, of Raleigh, was injured after police say she lost control and hit a pole and mailbox before rolling over.
Police now say both accidents involved alcohol.
Drivers can expect the stepped-up patrols over the next several days.
Back received no special favor
Aug. 28, 2004
News & Observer
By CHIP ALEXANDER AND LORENZO PEREZ
© Copyright 2004
An N.C. State advisory council on athletics addressed some faculty questions Friday about the enrollment three weeks ago of freshman running back Bobby Washington and assured that proper steps had been taken before his application was accepted on the eve of the start of the school year.
Because of privacy laws concerning students' academic records, Washington was never cited by name during the meeting. Veterinary medicine professor Cecil F. Brownie, who posed a question from the N.C. State faculty senate about "the speed in which that student was accepted," confirmed without naming him that the discussion concerned Washington.
Rated among the country's top five high school running backs last season, Washington had hoped to enroll at Miami. His hometown university never admitted him, however. Questions had arisen at Miami about one of his standardized test scores, The Miami Herald reported. Released from his scholarship, Washington flew to Raleigh on Aug. 4 and was admitted to State and cleared to practice with the Wolfpack football team two days later.
An N.C. State committee of faculty and academic administrators reviewed Washington's records before he was admitted. Steven W. Peretti, an associate professor of chemical engineering who serves on the admissions review committee, told the council on athletics that no special meeting had been called for one particular applicant.
Peretti said the committee already had been scheduled to review applications of several other "special consideration" students.
After Friday's meeting, Brownie said it appeared that all the proper procedures had been followed.
"It's not for me to dispute that, because I trust my colleagues," he said.
TUB THUMPING: NCSU's depth chart for the Sept. 4 home opener against Richmond has either Washington or Darrell Blackman starting at tailback. The freshmen are listed ahead of junior T.A. McLendon, who has missed practice healing a hamstring injury.
"You can't make the team in the tub," Amato said.
Could McLendon still start against Richmond?
"You've got to get out of the tub," Amato said.
Aug. 30, 2004
News & Observer
By THAD OGBURN
© Copyright 2004
Triangle and North Carolina colleges were mentioned frequently in two recent national lists -- U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings and The Princeton Review's "Best 357 College Rankings."
U.S. News editors rank colleges against their peers, using data that mostly come from the colleges. The Princeton Review rankings are based on student feedback.
Duke University was the highest-ranking North Carolina college on the U.S. News list, and UNC-Chapel Hill was cited by The Princeton Review for its sports fans and student newspaper. N.C. State University was hailed as a bargain by The Princeton Review.
Here's a school-by-school release of the North Carolina schools that appeared on one or both lists:
Duke University, Durham
U.S. News ranking
Fifth-best national university
Princeton rankings
Toughest to get into: Ranked ninth nationally
Great college newspaper: Ranked 13th nationally
Jock school: Ranked sixth nationally
Students pack the stadiums: Ranked third nationally
Town-gown relations are strained: Ranked 11th nationally
Little race or class interaction: Ranked 13th nationally
Meredith College, Raleigh
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 16th among schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
N.C. Central Univ., Durham
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the fourth tier of schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
N.C. State Univ., Raleigh
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 86th-best national university
Princeton rankings
Best bargain, public: Ranked eighth nationally
Campus is tiny, unsightly or both: Ranked 17th nationally
Peace College, Raleigh
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 31st among schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Shaw University, Raleigh
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the third tier of schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
St. Augustine's College, Raleigh
U.S. News ranking
In fourth tier of liberal arts colleges
UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 29th-best national university
Princeton rankings
Great college newspaper: Ranked eighth nationally
Students pack the stadiums: Ranked fourth nationally
Appalachian St. Univ., Boone
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 11th among schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
Barber-Scotia College Concord
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in fourth tier of liberal arts colleges
Barton College, Wilson
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 41st among schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Belmont Abbey College Belmont
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 32nd among schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Bennett College Greensboro
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in fourth tier of liberal arts colleges
Brevard College, Brevard
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 41st among schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Campbell University, Buies Creek
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 55th among schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
Catawba College, Salisbury
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 22nd among schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Princeton rankings
Great college theater: Ranked second nationally
Bad food: Ranked 13th nationally
Chowan College, Murfreesboro
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the fourth tier of schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Davidson College, Davidson
U.S. News ranking
Ranked seventh-best liberal arts college
Princeton Rankings
Best quality of life: Ranked first nationally
Professors bring material to life: Ranked fourth nationally
School runs like butter: Ranked fifth nationally
Professors make themselves accessible: Ranked sixth nationally
Town-gown relations are good: Ranked seventh nationally
Students never stop studying: Ranked 10th nationally
Happy students: Ranked 15th nationally
Best overall academic experience for undergraduates: Ranked 19th nationally
East Carolina University, Greenville
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the third tier of national universities
Elizabeth City State University, Elizabeth City
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 43rd among schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Elon University, Elon
U.S. News ranking
Ranked sixth among schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
Princeton ranking
Beautiful campus: Ranked 18th nationally
Fayetteville State Univ. Fayetteville
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the fourth tier of schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
Gardner-Webb Univ. Boiling Springs
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the third tier of schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
Greensboro College, Greensboro
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in fourth tier of liberal arts colleges
Guilford College, Greensboro
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in third tier of liberal arts colleges
Princeton rankings
Great college radio station: Ranked eighth nationally
Class discussions are encouraged: Ranked 17th nationally
High Point College High Point
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 12th among schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Johnson C. Smith Univ. Charlotte
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 34th among schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Lees-McRae College Banner Elk
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in fourth tier of liberal arts colleges
Lenoir-Rhyne College Hickory
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 15th among schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Livingstone College Salisbury
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the fourth tier of schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Mars Hill College - Mars Hill
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 45th among schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Methodist College - Fayetteville
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the third tier of schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Mount Olive College - Mount Olive
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the fourth tier of schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
N.C. A&T State Univ. Greensboro
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the third tier of schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
N.C. Wesleyan College - Rocky Mount
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the third tier of schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Queens University of Charlotte - Charlotte
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 26th among schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
Pfeiffer University - Misenheimer
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the third tier of schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
Salem College, Winston-Salem
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the third tier of liberal arts colleges
St. Andrews Presbyterian College - Laurinburg
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the fourth tier of liberal arts colleges
UNC-Asheville, Asheville
U.S. News ranking
Ranked as fourth-best public liberal arts college nationally
UNC-Charlotte, Charlotte
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 26th among schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
UNC-Greensboro, Greensboro
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the third tier of national universities
Princeton ranking
Best bargains, public: Ranked second nationally
UNC-Pembroke, Pembroke
U.S. News ranking
Ranked in the third tier of schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
UNC-Wilmington, Wilmington
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 22nd among schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
Wake Forest University Winston-Salem
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 27th-best national university
Princeton rankings
Great college library: Ranked 15th nationally
Major frat and sorority scene: Ranked 19th nationally
Jock school: Ranked 17th nationally
Alternative lifestyles not as accepted: Ranked 19th nationally
Homogeneous, nondiverse student population: Ranked 10th nationally
Little race or class interaction: Ranked sixth nationally
Warren Wilson College Asheville
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 40th among schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
Princeton rankings
Students most nostalgic for Bill Clinton: Ranked first nationally
Birkenstock-wearing, tree-hugging, clove-smoking vegetarians: Ranked 15th nationally
Western Carolina University Cullowhee
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 55th among schools that focus on undergraduate and master's programs in the South
Wingate University, Wingate
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 18th among schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
Winston-Salem State Univ. Winston-Salem
U.S. News ranking
Ranked 34th among schools in the South that focus on undergraduate education
(U.S. News & World Report, the Princeton Review)Aug. 29, 2004
News & Observer
By JANE STANCILL
© Copyright 2004
As tens of thousands of college students settle onto campuses in North Carolina,
they're navigating a whole new way of life -- finding the library, making new
friends, diving into academics.
Crime is not something on these young, bright minds.
But safety is always a top concern for parents when they drop off their sons and daughters in the steam of late August. The recent killings of two female UNC-Wilmington students stunned an idyllic seaside campus and drove home the point. The crimes prompted a statewide review of campus security procedures and a nagging question from parents to universities: What will you do to protect our children?
The answer is hard to hear.
Universities have their own police forces, electronic card key systems and blue-light emergency phones, but they also have other, costly priorities. Campus leaders say they do what they can to provide secure environments for living and learning, but they emphasize that student safety begins with personal responsibility. After all, it's impossible to watch over thousands of adults who come and go whenever they please.
College officials insist that campuses must remain
true to their tradition of freedom and openness.
"We're a state university," said Willie Bell, police chief at Winston-Salem State. "We don't have big iron gates that close down at 6 p.m."
It is clear, though, that universities are taking extra steps to shore up their security -- partly because of publicity surrounding the Wilmington slayings, partly because of concerns about liability, partly because of changing demands after 9/11.
The UNC system and the UNC-Wilmington campus have separate task forces studying ways to improve safety, including the possibility of criminal background checks for a small number of applicants whose histories raise questions. Final recommendations could come in early fall.
This year, UNC-Chapel Hill became the state's first university to launch a K9 unit in its campus police force, with a German shepherd trained to sniff out explosives and to track suspects.
And at Duke University, Police Chief Clarence Birkhead took the unusual step this month of sending letters to the parents of 1,650 freshmen, asking them to discuss safety with their children. Another letter, with tips about locking room doors and walking in groups at night, went to students.
Birkhead said Duke wants to build a partnership with students to prevent crime, expecting them to report suspicious behavior and to avoid risky situations. But it's tough to get the attention of 18- to 22-year-olds who feel invincible while experimenting with alcohol and relishing their newfound independence. The bottom line for Duke or any other campus: communicate the dangers without scaring parents and students.
"It's a very difficult balance between sharing information and creating a panic," Birkhead said.
In recent years, universities have taken more initiative to alert students after a violent crime occurs. Some post fliers or send crime logs to campus newspapers. Some send out campuswide e-mail messages. A week ago, Duke police released a composite sketch of a suspect who robbed a pizza deliverer at gunpoint on Central Campus just after new students arrived.
Some say it's not enough. Duke students, for example, have complained that they heard about campus sexual assaults first on the television news.
Rules for colleges
It wasn't that long ago that universities guarded their crime statistics like state secrets for fear of frightening the customer. That changed in 1990, when the federal government started requiring regular disclosure of the information. The law is known as the Clery Act in memory of Jeanne Clery, a Lehigh University student who was raped and killed by a fellow student in her dormitory room in 1986. Her parents were outraged that students hadn't been told about the 38 violent crimes at Lehigh in the three years before her death.
Colleges now are required to tell students how to find their crime statistics, but the notice is often buried in an avalanche of enrollment paperwork or orientation material. Web sites of campus police agencies usually have crime statistics, but students have to go looking for them.
"It still is a pretty good secret at many schools," said Daniel Carter, senior vice president of Security on Campus Inc., a nonprofit watchdog group started by Clery's parents. "They don't want to be tagged as dangerous, and they don't want to be put at a competitive disadvantage."
Crime statistics may not be all that reliable anyway. Because sexual assaults are underreported, experts say, numbers don't give the full picture. And a 2002 study of more than 2,400 institutions showed that fewer than 40 percent were in full compliance with the Clery Act.
However, warnings about specific crimes can help raise students' awareness about the violence around them. Last week, the Web site of N.C. State's police department had a flashing "Community Crime Alert," warning about an attempted armed robbery of a group of students on Cates Avenue in Raleigh. The alert was not visible on NCSU's main Web page, but a campuswide e-mail advised students and included a link to the site.
Carter said his organization is watching North Carolina closely because of the UNCW slayings and subsequent debate about background checks for applicants. In both Wilmington cases, the suspects were students who lied to school officials about their criminal pasts.
But background checks could be problematic. Because juvenile records are sealed, a check would yield only a year or two of information for a typical 18-year-old freshman. Then there could be issues of racial profiling and fairness.
Indeed, some safety precautions seem to have created new worries for universities. N.C. State has been praised for its liberal installation of panic buttons in bathrooms, academic buildings and dormitories. In the past 12 years, it has put in 1,200 such buttons, which summon two police officers immediately.
The buttons have been used too often, though. Pranksters create 1,600 to 2,000 false alarms a year.
"We've got students who just push them," said Sgt. Jon Barnwell of the campus police. "It was heavily taxing manpower." He said he remembered only three instances in which the buttons produced legitimate calls for help.
Now the university requires thorough threat assessments of campus locations before installing panic buttons. Meanwhile, NCSU is exploring other options, including more call boxes in bathrooms.
Unforgettable fear
Diane Wallace, a Raleigh parent, can't help but fret about safety issues. She remembers a scary night as an undergraduate at the University of Florida in the early 1970s, when a man followed her until she ran into a well-lit building.
"I'll never forget the feeling," she said. "It was chilling. I never walked again on campus alone."
Her children, a 19-year-old son at UNC-CH and a 12-year-old daughter, have been trained in martial arts. "You work with them to make sure they have good skills," Wallace said. She thinks colleges should require students to take self-defense courses.
Angela Dunn, another Raleigh parent, believes in a lot of strong motherly advice. She has repeatedly warned her daughter, a freshman at N.C. Central University, not to walk alone. "I try to tell her, 'Megan, adults are missing and getting killed every day.' "
She also doesn't mind burning up the cell phone to check on her daughter. They talked twice a day the first few days. "I'm going to stick to her like glue," Dunn said.
Megan doesn't remember seeing any crime statistics from NCCU. The school did warn the new freshmen to watch out for outsiders who come onto campus and cause trouble, she said. Another tip from university officials, she said, was "always let someone know where you're going."
But is she worried about her safety?
"Not really," said the confident 18-year-old. "I've never really thought about it."
Photo: One of these things is not like the others
Aug. 28, 2004
News & Observer
By John Rottet
© Copyright 2004
Cutline: Chris Musto, a graduate student at N.C. State University reassembles broken pieces of pottery at the Office of State Archaeology Research Center in downtown Raleigh. "It's like a giant jigsaw puzzle," he says. Musto has interned at the Research Center for about 2 1/2 years and will receive his master's degree in medieval history after one more semester. "Nothing's ever the same," he says. "Even though a pot's a pot, they're all different. There's no two things alike."
For a copy of this photo, contact News Services at 5-3470.
Look at safety as shared responsibility
Aug. 29, 2004
News & Observer
By THOMAS YOUNCE
© Copyright 2004
In the past 15 years, safety and security on college campuses have undergone some dramatic changes. Many universities have made the transition from employing minimally trained security guard forces to professional law enforcement agencies.
Some of these changes can be attributed to a shift in expectations, to the surge in crime in the 1980s and early 1990s and to a tragic murder in a Lehigh University dormitory in 1986. Universities such as N.C. State, Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill have adopted community policing strategies to work more closely with their students to improve safety. Technology such as card access and closed-circuit television is used on some campuses to prevent unauthorized access to residence halls. Many positive changes have been made, but there is still much to do.
Though crime is low on most campuses, parents, faculty and staff members expect a higher level of security than they do in their neighborhoods. Balancing security needs with the freedom most people have come to expect is a challenge. Common security practices -- restricting access to certain facilities, locking buildings after hours, using technology such as cameras and carrying identification cards -- are often rejected because of the freedoms associated with public universities. Many are now recognizing the value of these practices and have begun to make changes.
A key is adopting a philosophy that safety is a shared responsibility. Students, staff, faculty and police departments working together to identify and correct deficiencies can have a dramatic effect on both actual and perceived crime. Student leaders and officials with student affairs and student housing should work with the police to monitor and reduce the abuse of alcohol, which is present in most violent campus crimes. The causes of crime and its prevention are complex and can be addressed only with the cooperation of everyone affected.
Safety has always been a concern for administrators, but events across the country have prompted them to make safety a high priority. After NCSU faculty members raised safety concerns last fall, then-Chan