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NC State University News Clips for October 11-13, 2003

Compiled by North Carolina State University’s News Services, a part of the Public Affairs Office. Listed below are the current news clips. Click on the headline of interest to be taken to the full text. Click on “Return to Headline List” at the bottom of each clip or use the scrollbar to be taken back to this location.

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Expansion questions answered

Oct. 13, 2003
News & Observer
By Chip Alexander, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 News & Observer

Q: Why is the ACC expanding again?

A: ACC leaders say it expands the league's "footprint," but it's more about the money. After a recent ruling by an NCAA panel, the chances of an 11-team ACC being allowed to hold a football championship game appeared slim. Such a game would generate an estimated $7 million to $11 million a year. ACC schools, in an expanded league, need that revenue. With a 12th team, the game can be played.

Q: Didn't the ACC reject Boston College last summer?

A: Boston College mustered six votes for approval, one short of the minimum required. Duke, N.C. State and North Carolina voted against inviting BC. Once the ACC got the bad news from the NCAA -- and Notre Dame made clear it wasn't interested in joining -- the conference turned back to Boston College.

Q: Why did BC accept so quickly?

A: BC accepted the invitation Sunday, saying it wanted to inform the Big East as soon as possible. The Rev. William Leahy, BC's president, cited the potential for greater revenue as a factor in the school's decision.

Q: Will BC have to pay an exit fee to the Big East?

A: Under new Big East bylaws, BC must give the league 27 months' notice that it intends to leave, or face an exit fee of $5 million.

Q: What's the ACC's entrance fee?

A: Virginia Tech and Miami each will pay $2 million. It remains to be seen whether BC will have to pay as much.

Q: When would Boston College enter the ACC?

A: That hasn't been determined. It may not be until 2006, ACC Commissioner John Swofford said Sunday. The Rev. William Leahy, BC's president, indicated the school could pay the $5 million exit fee, if need be, to make the switch sooner.

Q: How does this affect the lawsuit filed by four Big East schools?

A: The ACC was dropped from the lawsuit Friday by a Connecticut judge, who ruled ACC schools do not do enough business in the state to warrant being sued by the state. Miami still is a defendant. BC could be added, and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has said that the Big East's remaining football-playing schools would pursue their case against the ACC in another court or through appeals.

Q: What will the Big East do now?

A: The Big East will meet early next month to discuss expansion. Published reports already had the Big East picking up Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville and Marquette from Conference USA. But the Big East will need another replacement school. Army has said it will leave C-USA after the 2004 season to become an independent and could become a Big East target.

Q: Will the ACC now hold a championship game in football?

A: Under NCAA rules, the ACC can't hold a game until it officially has 12 members. BC may not join the league until as late as 2006, so the NCAA could allow the ACC's request for a waiver , but "I doubt it," ACC Commissioner John Swofford said.

Q: Will this have any effect on East Carolina's future?

A: ECU probably remains a long shot for Big East consideration.

Q: How will this affect the ACC's basketball and football scheduling plans made late last month?

A: The football models discussed by ACC officials included six- and five-team divisions. BC could be placed in the football division with N.C. State, Wake Forest, Maryland, Clemson and Florida State, which means it would play each of its divisional rivals once in the league in 2006. The other division would include: North Carolina, Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia and Virginia Tech. ACC and school officials had decided to stick with 16 regular-season league games in basketball. Florida State athletics director Dave Hart said Sunday that working out the new details should be a "simplistic task."

Q: Will there be divisions in football and basketball?

A: There will be divisional play in football. There has been no indication that the ACC will go to divisional play in basketball.

Q: How will this affect the ACC basketball tournament?

A: Like Virginia Tech and Miami, Boston College's ticket allotment for the tournament would go through a phase-in period. But it will mean less tickets for each ACC school, which in turn will put the squeeze on booster club members to pay more for their tickets. It also could force the ACC to look for larger venues for future tournaments. The tournament format could be tweaked, with possibly the top four seeds receiving first-round byes, then playing the winners of the four first-round games.

Q: Will the ACC be better off financially?

A: With the "super-conference" tag, a football title game and the Boston market, the ACC can better negotiate new television contracts for football and basketball. It also will be better positioned to put more than one team in football's climactic Bowl Championship Series . But there will now be 12 slices of the financial pie. That could mean about the same annual revenue in the short run for ACC schools.

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What they're saying

Oct. 13, 2003
News & Observer
By Joseph Smith, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 News & Observer

"I'm not happy about it, and I don't quite agree or understand some of it. The ACC did what they thought they had to do. They don't really care what I think."
-- Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese after Boston College accepted the ACC's invitation

"Today the co-conspirators carried out their predatory scheme, and now that their conspiracy is out in the open for the world to see, the Big East's legal claims are more compelling than ever."
-- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who has been acting on behalf of the schools that have filed suit

"Sounds like we wanted to do something to get to 12, to get to a championship [game in football], to get to more money, to get to where they wanted to get to begin with. And probably the quicker the better, and why not? They were one of the teams from the very get-go who were looked at and said to be a great fit for the ACC. It's another media market."
-- N.C. State football coach Chuck Amato

"I think [Boston College] should just stay where they're at. They're just doing it for the money -- just like Miami did."
-- NCSU junior Wes Miles

"So time was a real factor, and I also said, 'If you want us, you have to give us an invitation.' You can't be, 'Let's talk,' or 'We're interested.' It has to be an outright invitation. Otherwise, there isn't any value in engaging in conversation."
-- Boston College President Rev. William P. Leahy, on the ACC's renewed interest in the Eagles after rejecting them in June

"We had opposed expansion, but once we became a conference of 11, the arguments for adding a 12th member became persuasive."
-- UNC Chancellor James Moeser

"Three months ago, the presidents, chancellors and athletic directors of the six remaining Big East football schools sat face to face and pledged their loyalty to one another and to the Big East. I guess handshakes don't mean much anymore."
-- Syracuse athletics director Jake Crouthamel on BC's decision. Last summer, the ACC pursued, then rejected Syracuse

"I think BC is a good addition. It will help us with recruiting that area even some more. The New York/New Jersey area, maybe Ohio, we can now get into because of some players that have been getting to BC. ... And it's a great road trip. Might even go by Maine."
-- UNC football coach John Bunting, a native of Portland, Maine

"I don't like that [BC] is too far away, but I like having 12 teams. I'd rather have Syracuse out of New York or another local college. But I like having a championship game, though."
-- Ken Strickland, 68, Granville County resident

"We've made our feelings pretty clear at this point [about remaining independent in football]. Not that we can guarantee that is going to hold for 100 years, but it's something we feel very strongly about."
-- Notre Dame spokesman John Heisler

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ACC's latest move upsets Big East

Oct. 13, 2003
News & Observer
By Joseph Smith, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 News & Observer

The big question was what the Big East would do next. But before tackling that challenge, league officials first had to digest the news that they are losing another school to the ACC.

And it went down hard.

Syracuse athletics director Jake Crouthamel, whose school was an initial target for ACC expansion last summer, said he felt betrayed and "personally offended" that the ACC had enticed Boston College to join Miami and Virginia Tech in leaving the Big East.

Having failed to persuade an NCAA panel to waive the rule requiring 12 members for a title game in football, the ACC renewed its interest in adding a 12th member so that it can hold such a game, which would be worth $7 million to $11 million a year.

So, the ACC again went after BC, which had fallen just short of getting an invitation in June.

Crouthamel, however, lashed out at ACC Commissioner John Swofford for not seeing the NCAA legislative process through.

"A mere first step ... was not recommended for approval in the preliminary stage. However, there are at least two additional steps which could have delivered the intended result that were not pursued," Crouthamel said in a statement released Sunday evening.

"... As recently as two weeks ago, the commissioner of the ACC personally indicated to me his intent to follow through with the full legislative process. The fact that this process was ignored lends credence to the destructive motives of the ACC."

Crouthamel could not be reached for comment.

The Big East had already been busy picking up the pieces after the announcement that Miami and Virginia Tech would leave in 2004.

"It's going to be hard, but we're working on it," Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese said in a phone interview from his home in Rhode Island. "We're just going about our business. We've identified schools, and now with Boston College leaving, we're going to have to identify another."

Tranghese said the Big East has chosen two Division I-A football schools and two non-Division I-A schools that could be invited to join the conference as early as Nov. 4, when the league's presidents meet. He wouldn't identify the schools, although published reports have indicated that the Big East is targeting Cincinnati, Louisville, Marquette and DePaul of Conference USA.

Tranghese did concede that the Big East might invite schools from other conferences, as the ACC has done.

"We have no choice," Tranghese said. "I felt they had a choice."

Four Big East football schools -- Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Connecticut and Rutgers -- are also going ahead with a lawsuit against the ACC and Miami, with plans to add Boston College, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said. A Connecticut judge on Friday dropped the ACC from the suit, saying it didn't do enough business in the state to be taken to court there, but Blumenthal has said the Big East schools would pursue the ACC on appeals or in another court.

Said Crouthamel of his disappointment in BC: "Three months ago, the presidents, chancellors and athletic directors of the six remaining Big East football schools sat face to face and pledged their loyalty to one another and to the Big East. I guess handshakes don't mean much anymore."

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NCSU Names Dr. José Picart Diversity Vice Provost

Oct. 2, 2003
The Carolinian
By staff report
 © Copyright 2003 The Carolinian.

Dr. Picart to focus on enhancing increased interation with wide range of cultures on campus.

For a full-text version of this article, please contact News Services at 919/515-3470.

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Good economic news in business tax revenue

Oct. 10, 2003
The Triangle Business Journal
By Lee Weisbecker, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.

RALEIGH - State tax collections on corporate income, a barometer of economic health in the business sector, rose by 34 percent between July 2002 and June 2003 compared to the same period a year earlier.

Net corporate tax collections were $898.4 million during the period, up from $668 million collected between July 2001 and June 2002, says Karl Knapp, director of tax research for the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

The upward trend also continued during August, with the state collecting $28.5 million, up 22 percent from $23.4 million during August 2002.

The figures, which are gross collections minus refunds, represent a tax on corporate profits at the state rate of 6.9 percent.

Economists and state budget watchers disagree on whether an economic rebound can be declared on the basis of the increased corporate payments.

"There appears to be some sign of recovery in tax collections," says Knapp, who is cautious in analyzing the numbers. "But how much of that is due to an increase in overall economic activity is hard to estimate."

Knapp says the figures could represent the effects of corporate cost-cutting moves, including layoffs. "Turnaround versus profitability improvements, it's hard to tell," he says.

Mike Walden, a North Carolina State University economist who keeps a close eye on the state's economy, thinks the results are probably due to both factors, but he's more optimistic that they're an indicator of an economic upswing.

"The data we have is that 2001 was the worst year of the recession, both nationally and in North Carolina," Walden says. "The corporate sector is a lot more volatile than a lot of other sectors. But my take on this is that it represents an improved business climate in North Carolina."

Steve Tuttle, a spokesman for North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry, the statewide chamber of commerce, says the $898.4 million tax collection number is higher than expected.

"And I think it will come as a surprise to most business people," he says. "I don't think the business climate has been that healthy recently ... but I do agree ... that things don't seem to be getting worse."

State lawmakers and analysts, when recently drafting the state budget, were projecting that corporate collections would come in around $711.6 million, says John Barfield of the state Controller's Office. That number represents gross collections minus refunds to taxpayers, plus a range of other mandated deductions that pull money out of the corporate revenue pot and put it into such accounts as various public school building funds and local government tax reimbursements.

Even with those additional deductions, corporate collections came in at $840.5 million during 2002-2003, well ahead of the estimate used by lawmakers at budget time.

But corporate tax collections represent only 6 percent to 7 percent of the total amount of money, $13.12 billion, the state collected in taxes in 2002-03, including individual income taxes, sales and use taxes, franchise taxes and other levies.

David Crotts, director of fiscal research for the North Carolina General Assembly, says that during 2002-2003, the Department of Revenue made an effort to catch up on a backlog of corporate collections, and the General Assembly closed some tax loopholes.

"I wish it (the economy) was that rosy," he says. "But I don't think it's that robust."

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Game On!

Oct. 10, 2003
The Triangle Business Journal
By Kim Nilsen, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.

RALEIGH - Last season's abysmal play has cost the Carolina Hurricanes 25 percent of its season ticket base, but the hockey team has posted gains in the corporate sponsorship column.

For a full-text version of this article, please contact News Services at 919/515-3470.

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The Source

Oct. 12, 2003
Charlotte Observer
By Jim Morrill, Ann Doss Helms, Mark Johnson, Fannie Flono, staff writers
 © Copyright 2003 Charlotte Observer

No twin bill for Dole

Another Clinton-Dole matchup? That's what organizers had hoped for at the Women and Politics conference in Greenville, S.C., last week. Months ago, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Elizabeth Dole were asked to make a joint appearance at the kick-off for the conference. The two -- with Dole having run for president and Clinton widely speculated to eventually make a bid -- would have been quite a show. But North Carolina's Dole declined the invite. She wasn't keen on the double bill idea -- unlike her husband, Bob, an ex-senator and presidential candidate who appeared with former President Clinton on TV's "60 Minutes."

More listening, please

The U.S. Department of Education might want to work on a No Parent Left Behind policy.The department's Anne Hancock visited Charlotte Tuesday to hear what local folks think about the federal No Child Left Behind education reform law.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools convened about 50 parent leaders. Hancock kept them waiting while she did a TV interview, then spent most of the remaining time touting the law and telling personal stories.

Though she said she was eager to hear from the parents, only four got to speak before time ran out. The law focuses on achievement of minority and low-income students, but Hancock heard from no one representing high-poverty schools. Nor did any African American parents get a chance to speak, though they made up at least half the audience.

School board member Arthur Griffin, who had hoped to ask Hancock about bringing state curriculum in line with federal testing standards, had a similar experience during a separate session with CMS officials. "She did all the talking," he said.

Smelling the future

Then-Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker announced in a TV ad for his 2000 gubernatorial campaign that he was standing in front of a hog waste lagoon and, "It smells bad." The ad proclaimed the need for imposing tough environmental restrictions on hog farms and Wicker's role in doing so. Wicker's campaign would not disclose the hog lagoon's location, citing a binding agreement with the property owner when the ad was filmed.

The location, ferreted out by The Source, was N.C. State University's Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory in Raleigh. The ad turned out to be prescient. Last week, N.C. State announced that 3,500 gallons of waste water had spilled from the lagoon. The university reported that the spill was contained and examined by state regulators who found no fish kills in nearby tributaries.

McCain on his way here

U.S. Sen. John McCain heads to North Carolina next week to show campaign finance reform at work.McCain, an Arizona Republican, is helping raise money for the Carolina Public Campaign Financing Fund, which pays for a nonpartisan voter guide and helps finance candidates for the state Court of Appeals who accept strict fund-raising and spending limits. Voters can send money or check a box on their income tax return to donate.

McCain visits as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs whether to overturn the federal campaign finance reform law he co-sponsored. He will speak at a lunch Oct. 20 at Meredith College in Raleigh. Tickets cost $45 and are available at www.ncjudges.org/mccain or (877) 253-7819.

2 staffers leave Dole

Two top staffers have left Sen. Elizabeth Dole's office.

Chief of staff Frank Hill is leaving "to pursue other opportunities," says Dole spokesman Brian Nick. And Mary Brown Brewer, Dole's communications director, left for a similar job at the Commerce Department's International Trade Agency. Nick assumed her old job.

Hill was an aide and business partner with former U.S. Rep. Alex McMillan of Charlotte.

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Local Voices

Oct. 12, 2003
News & Observer
 © Copyright 2003 News & Observer

'There's a great tendency to look at data and generalize why an event is occurring. Crime problems tend to be local; you're more likely to be killed by your spouse than a stranger. Crime is generally not the highly organized, well-planned activity that people tend to believe. There's much more a reaction to opportunity and a weighing of cost and convenience than an organized market. It's very unlikely that offenders are making a planned trip up I-95. That tended to be different when you had cigarette smuggling, and transfer trailers came to North Carolina and loaded up with cigarettes. You can't do the same with guns. We don't have big manufacturing sites here; there's no systematic source. Where would you take them? So the suggestion that there's a very systematic gun distribution network operating on I-95, I find very difficult to believe.

'The nearest comparison to this was the work done with Operation Ceasefire in Boston a few years ago. What made it notable was looking at a small geographic area, and a group of gangs that were responsible for the majority of firearm-related violence. Doing traces on weapons in those cases, they were able to identify where weapons were coming from. In a small setting like that, patterns of getting guns are easier to detect and support with evidence. You can't reliably detect these patterns in larger amounts of data. I'm all for more gun control, but we can't tell from the data if that's the right or the most effective approach for reducing gun-related violence in specific places.'

- Deborah Lamm Weisel, who teaches a criminal justice and gun-control course at NCSU

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Schools discuss ACC expansion again

Oct. 11, 2003
The News & Observer
By Lorenzo Perez, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 The News & Observer Publishing Company.

The chancellors of N.C. State and North Carolina met with faculty members and athletics officials at their respective universities Friday to discuss the possibility of adding a 12th school to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The separate afternoon meetings preceded plans by the leaders of the nine current ACC schools to discuss that same issue on a Sunday morning conference call.

The New York Times, citing an unnamed ACC university official, reported late Friday that Boston College will agree to leave the Big East Conference to become the 12th member of the ACC when an official invitation is offered on Sunday.

Boston College trustee Gregory Barber said Thursday that school officials had discussed a possible invitation from the ACC and that BC would be receptive to reopening talks.

N.C. State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said it would be "totally speculative" to say whether expansion would come to a vote Sunday.

In a public discussion at NCSU that Fox couched in hypotheticals, Boston College and Syracuse were cited as the likeliest candidates for consideration. Much of the conversation at the meeting revolved specifically around Boston College as a possible addition, with faculty members citing that as an easier location to reach by plane.

"If it's Boston College or Syracuse, then we've done everything that the bylaws require," N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler said in a specially called meeting of the university's Council on Athletics. The meeting included faculty and alumni representatives from the council and from N.C. State's Faculty Senate.

A Friday court ruling in Connecticut gave ACC leaders another variable to consider as they weigh another round of expansion after earlier adding Miami and Virginia Tech, effective next school year.

Superior Court Judge Samuel Sferrazza dropped the ACC as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Big East schools over ACC expansion. That could open the door for another run at one of the two Big East schools that the ACC snubbed at the last minute over the summer.

Given that both Big East schools were vetted as required by league bylaws this summer when the ACC was considering inviting both schools, there would not appear to be any hurdles left to offering either one a conference bid, save a 7-2 majority vote by the ACC's current presidents and chancellors.

Less likely would be a run at Notre Dame, which has publicly maintained its desire to keep its football program as an independent. On Sept. 27, the ACC presidents and chancellors voted unanimously to uphold the league requirement that all conference schools participate as full members in athletics competition.

Fox said Friday that vote may force the Fighting Irish's hand.

"Well, it put pressure on Notre Dame to decide if they wanted a full membership or not. If they were adamant in their insistence on being less than a full member, it ruled them out," she said.

In Chapel Hill, Chancellor James Moeser held a closed-door meeting that was scheduled to include the chairwoman of North Carolina's faculty, the chairwoman of North Carolina's faculty athletics committee and athletics director Dick Baddour.

Afterward, Moeser said the meeting did not offer any quick answers about whether the ACC would be better off as an 11- or 12-school conference.

"It's a very complex issue that doesn't resolve that easily," said Moeser, who, along with Duke President Nan Keohane, cast the only "no" votes in June on adding Miami and Virginia Tech.

During her meeting, Fox described for N.C. State officials the perfect storm of events that has recently compelled the ACC to broach the expansion subject again, four months after it invited Miami and Virginia Tech to become the 10th and 11th schools.

Last month, an NCAA panel informally denied the ACC's request to waive the NCAA's 12-team rule for a lucrative conference championship game in football. A formal decision on that matter may not come before April, but ACC officials have said they want to decide sooner whether to push forward with plans for a football championship game next season.

On Nov. 4, the Big East is scheduled to meet in Philadelphia. Big East officials are expected to discuss pursuing Conference USA schools Cincinnati, Louisville, Marquette and DePaul, according to Boston Globe reports, and the league may consider raising the exit fee from $1 million to as much as $5 million for member schools who bolt in the future.

That would appear to leave a short window for any Big East school looking to jump before facing higher penalty fees.

"It's clear that the Big East expansion/contraction lock-in is of concern as we think about the kind of questions we talked about today," Fox said.

At this point, she said she was not ready to conclude whether the ACC even had to expand further.

"I don't think it's absolutely required. The Big Ten has done very well with 11," said Fox, who voted in June against inviting Boston College.

Friday's court ruling in Connecticut left Miami as the sole defendant in the suit filed by football-playing Big East schools UConn, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. The plaintiff schools argue that an expansion-hungry ACC and Miami conspired to weaken the Big East.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Friday that the lawsuit would go forward and that the Big East schools would pursue their case against the ACC in another court or through appeals.

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Select lawn service with care

Oct. 11, 2003
The News & Observer
By Dr. Carl A. Matyac, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 The News & Observer Publishing Company.

In this season of planting, landscaping pays the highest return on your investment.

For a full-text version of this article, please contact News Services at 919/515-3470.

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ACC may vote today to expand

Oct. 12, 2003
The News & Observer
By Lorenzo Perez, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 The News & Observer Publishing Company.

With their sights potentially set on securing the big money of a conference championship game in football, the presidents and chancellors of the ACC's current nine member schools could vote today to invite a 12th school to the conference.

But given the circuitous route those nine leaders took this summer to invite Miami and Virginia Tech to the fold, ACC school athletics officials were reluctant Saturday to offer any predictions on the outcome of the conference call scheduled for this morning.

A published report in The New York Times had an unnamed university official assuring that a formal invitation would be made today to Boston College to join the conference. ACC school athletics directors contacted Saturday said that was more speculation than certainty.

"Nobody really knows," Wake Forest athletics director Ron Wellman said about the likelihood of the presidents and chancellors taking a formal vote today on another round of expansion. "Our president [Thomas Hearn] doesn't know, and if he doesn't know, then no one does."

At the same time, Wellman and other ACC school athletics officials acknowledged that momentum toward adding a 12th team has accelerated.

Last month, an NCAA panel informally denied the ACC's request to waive the NCAA's 12-team rule for a lucrative conference championship game. A formal decision on that request may not come before April, but ACC officials have said they want to decide by the end of this year whether to push forward with plans for a football championship game next season.

And if they look to add a 12th team quickly, Boston College could be the likely pick, school athletics officials acknowledged.

"Eleven is not a great number without having a championship game," Duke athletics director Joe Alleva said Saturday. "The only considerations are do we wait and try to get the championship game with 11 teams, or do you take Boston College?"

Alleva said that if Boston College receives the presidents' approval in a teleconference vote, the private Catholic college could be extended an invitation as soon as today.

"I think BC is a great school," Alleva said. "They have great academics and great athletic teams. They're in a good market. It's a little far away."

The chancellors of N.C. State and North Carolina met with faculty members and athletics officials at their universities Friday. In Raleigh, N.C. State chancellor Marye Anne Fox cited Boston College and Syracuse -- both of whom the ACC courted this summer -- as hypothetical 12th members.

The last-minute decision in June not to offer either school a slot in the ACC left no hard feelings among athletics officials there, N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler said Saturday.

"They understand what had happened and knew things were beyond our control," Fowler said.

When asked, however, if that meant the ACC was poised to offer either school a bid now, Fowler said he had no idea.

Reached in Greenville before North Carolina's game against East Carolina, UNC athletics director Dick Baddour declined to comment on expansion matters.

Wellman said Wake Forest has been in favor of expanding to 12 schools "from the very beginning." Boston College, he added, would be "a wonderful fit."

"They're very similar to Wake Forest, so how can Wake Forest be against having a school like that?" Wellman said.

With the Big East scheduled to start its conference meetings Nov. 4, and with league officials there expected to discuss adding new schools and raising the exit fee to as much as $5 million for member schools who bolt in the future, Wellman acknowledged there was some urgency to the ACC's own expansion debate.

"But you can't make a decision like this just to play a championship game," Wellman said. "You make a decision like this because this is the right school for your conference forever."

Meanwhile, there could be more legal action against the ACC.

One day after the conference was dropped as a defendant in a lawsuit by Big East schools over expansion, Connecticut's attorney general said Saturday a new lawsuit would be filed.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the Big East schools have agreed to sue the officials of the ACC, including its commissioner, president, vice president and treasurer.

The dispute centers around Miami and Virginia Tech leaving the Big East to join the ACC, effective next school year. Big East schools Connecticut, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and West Virginia contend they have spent millions on their football programs based on presumed loyalty from schools they had been aligned with.

On Friday, Superior Court Judge Samuel Sferrazza of Connecticut ruled the North Carolina-based ACC did not have enough business dealings in Connecticut to warrant being sued in the state.

The judge did determine that Miami, as a member of the Big East, shares in revenues from games and other events that take place at Connecticut and is eligible to be sued under the state's "long-arm" statute.

Blumenthal said Saturday that the Big East schools felt Friday's order dropping the ACC was a narrow, technical ruling that still allowed the schools to take legal action against the officers of the conference.

"We are dead set and determined to hold these individuals accountable for the harm done by the ACC," Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal said the lawsuits will be filed Tuesday in Vernon Superior Court in Connecticut.

After the judge's ruling Friday, ACC attorney D. Erik Albright. said that all parties should move on and put the matter behind them.

"Competition between the ACC and Big East schools should be on the playing field rather than in the courtroom," Albright said.

He was not available for comment Saturday.

Staff writer Lorenzo Perez can be reached at 829-4643.

Staff writers J.P. Giglio, Rachel Carter and Joseph Smith and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Fame is his constant escort

Oct. 13, 2003
The News & Observer
By Anne Saker, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 The News & Observer Publishing Company.

Brent Wolgamott settled in for Sunday lunch at the Applebee's on Hillsborough Street, and fame followed him to the table.

"You didn't see them, but there were two women over there who were looking at me," he said. "It happens a lot. Everywhere I go, as a matter of fact."

The attention delighted the N.C. State University sophomore. People stared at him not just because he was tall and broad-shouldered and blue-eyed. They knew his face somehow ... something recent.

"WRAL did a survey of the top five days of the Peterson trial," said Wolgamott, 28. "Guess who was No. 2?"

Why, Brent Wolgamott, of course. Better known to some as "Brad from Raleigh," Wolgamott testified in Mike Peterson's murder trial that the Durham novelist had written e-mail in September 2001 soliciting his sexual services at $150 an hour.

Once, speaking in public about selling one's body would have caused at least embarrassment. But some in Wolgamott's generation think being on television, no matter what, is a good thing. He sees nothing wrong with moonlighting as an escort and views his August testimony as a highlight of his life, rivaling his April 2002 appearance on "The Price is Right," when he won a 36-inch television and a dining-room set.

Other witnesses gained a measure of notice through the Peterson trial, but none as much as Wolgamott, who has been recognized at his bank, at his tanning salon, in the gay bars, by the after-church lunch crowd at Applebee's.

Wolgamott's date with Peterson never happened. But prosecutors argued that Peterson's wife, Kathleen, might have seen the e-mail messages, starting an argument that led to Peterson's killing her Dec. 9, 2001.

Initially, Wolgamott fought the summons to the trial. An NCSU lawyer asked Superior Court Judge Orlando F. Hudson Jr. to shield his name and face. But the lawyer warned Wolgamott, "If you are trying to get a protective order, the press is going to fight you. They're going to want to know all the more who you are," Wolgamott said. "It was definitely a different experience from my time on 'The Price is Right.' "

Hudson declined to grant the order. So Wolgamott braced himself and testified Aug. 11.

"To act all serious and to act a bit shy about it would give an indication to people that I was somehow embarrassed about my life and my work and everything that I had done," he said. "I was not embarrassed in the least about it, and I was not going to let anyone think that I was going to be made to feel like I had done something that would shame myself."

Wolgamott is a product of small-town Indiana. His father is a Southern Baptist pastor, his mother a secretary at an auto plant. Valedictorian of his high school class, Wolgamott disclosed his homosexuality at 17. His parents wrestled with the revelation but eventually accepted it. At 25, he joined the Army for two years and was posted at Fort Bragg. He got into the escort business to earn money to go to college and eventually to medical school.

After his testimony, Wolgamott, a columnist for the NCSU newspaper, the Technician, feared professors would refuse to write letters of recommendation for him. But one told him, "I have skeletons in my closet that I wouldn't want to have coming out."

His parents were another issue. He had never told them about his escort work, not even when he knew he would be on Court TV.

"They don't have cable," he said.

But the next day, he discovered to his horror that ABC's "Good Morning America" had a story about him. He called home. He remembered his mother saying, "No matter what, I love you."

Wolgamott said at least one person has accused him of milking his newfound attention. His argument is: "If I didn't talk to the news media, then things were written about me that I had no control over. If I did talk to the news media, then I was accused of wanting fame and trying to be the Kato Kaelin of the Peterson trial."

After lunch, Wolgamott returned to his apartment near NCSU to watch NFL football. In the spare room, he riffled through a box of his columns from the Technician. An idea came to him.

"Hey, do you want to see the tape?"

He pulled out a videotape and fed it into a player. His smiling face appeared on the screen as he gave his bid to Bob Barker for the television set.

Staff writer Anne Saker can be reached at 829-8955.

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Boston College to join ACC

Oct. 13, 2003
The News & Observer
By Lorenzo Perez, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 The News & Observer Publishing Company.

Atlantic Coast Conference leaders avoided the last-minute palace intrigue of the summer's round of expansion and closed a deal quickly with Boston College on Sunday, securing a commitment from the Big East school to jump to the ACC.

About four hours after the presidents and chancellors of the ACC's current member schools voted unanimously Sunday morning to invite Boston College as the conference's 12th member, the leader of the private Jesuit college announced acceptance of the offer.

"The ACC is a strong, stable conference, and membership in it secures the future of our intercollegiate athletics program," said the university's president, the Rev. William P. Leahy .

"The move to the ACC will generate greater revenues in the future, and that is important to us as an institution."

Those greater revenues are likely to come from a conference championship game in football, a lucrative contest that the NCAA appeared unlikely to approve for a league with fewer than 12 teams. Such a game could generate $7 million to $11 million in revenue.

"I'm glad it's over," Duke Athletics Director Joe Alleva said Sunday. "The way it worked out, if we're not the best, we're at least equal to the best conference in the country."

With Boston College facing as much as a $5 million exit fee or a 27-month notification window to leave the Big East, however, ACC Commissioner John Swofford said Boston College's debut as a league member could come as late as 2006.

"That's really an issue for BC and the Big East to determine," Swofford said. "We would not inject ourselves in any way, shape or form into what their bylaws say in terms of a member leaving."

From the perspective of the Big East commissioner, however, the ACC had already injected itself in Big East business by inviting a third league team to jump south.

"Our membership is very surprised that ACC presidents continue to come back into our league for membership," Big East Commissioner Michael A. Tranghese said Sunday. "We're disappointed that [Boston College] accepted but not surprised."

Friday, a Connecticut judge dropped the ACC as a defendant in an expansion-related lawsuit filed by four Big East schools. Miami remains a defendant in the suit, which alleges that the ACC and Miami set out to weaken and destroy the Big East.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Sunday that if Boston College accepted the ACC's bid, the remaining Big East schools were prepared to take legal action.

The vote Sunday by the ACC came less than four months after conference leaders initially courted and then spurned Boston College and Syracuse in an expansion bid that instead netted two other Big East schools -- Miami and Virginia Tech.

Before Boston College had formally accepted the invitation, N.C. State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said that the league's current members "look forward to strong academic partnerships and collaborations" with Boston College.

In June, Fox, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser and Duke President Nan Keohane voted against offering Boston College a bid. That left the nine current ACC schools one vote shy of approving Boston College .

After a 90-minute teleconference Sunday that ended at about 10 a.m., the vote for Boston College was unanimous, said Clemson President James Barker, head of the ACC's Council of Presidents.

"We had opposed expansion," UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser said in a statement. "But once we became a conference of 11, the arguments for adding a 12th member became persuasive."

The renewed courtship between the ACC and Boston College intensified after an NCAA panel last month informally denied the ACC's request to waive the NCAA's 12-team rule for a conference championship game in football.

Leahy said that until a couple of weeks ago, Boston College had "no inkling of what was going on in the Atlantic Coast Conference."

"They were feeling the pressure to add a twelfth team," he said. "They had always had an interest in Boston College, and so in the last couple of weeks, I think they realized that BC was a great fit."

On Sept. 27, ACC presidents and chancellors voted unanimously to require any new members to uphold a league requirement that all conference schools participate as full members in athletic competition. That quelled speculation that the league could lure as a 12th member Notre Dame, which never wavered in its public commitment to keep its football team independent.

"There was never any suggestion that we were considering a football relationship with [the ACC] anyway," Notre Dame spokesman John Heisler said Sunday.

Leahy said Sunday that he told ACC officials he needed to know before Nov. 4, when Big East officials will meet to reorganize, whether the ACC was interested in inviting his school.

"So time was a real factor, and I also said, 'If you want us, you have to give us an invitation.' You can't be, 'Let's talk,' or 'We're interested,'" Leahy said. "It has to be an outright invitation. Otherwise, there isn't any value in engaging in conversation."

ACC officials must still determine the scheduling repercussions of adding Boston College. Just two weeks ago, ACC officials met to organize an 11-team sports schedule for next year.

Splitting basketball teams into two divisions remains unlikely, but the athletics directors agreed to create six- and five-team divisions for football.

With the ACC and Boston College officials still unclear on when the conference's newest member will join, Swofford said the league would pursue a football championship game.

"Would we try to have a championship game if we're 11 for a year or two? We have not fully answered that," Swofford said. "We will continue to support the legislation we've put forward [to the NCAA] ."

As sweet as twelve sounded Sunday to ACC officials, Clemson's president would not rule out possible future expansion. "We would never say never," Barker said.

Staff writer Lorenzo Perez can be reached at 829-4643.

Staff writers Luciana Chavez, J.P. Giglio, Joseph Smith and Rachel Carter and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Few run from funds

Oct. 12, 2003
The News & Observer
By Chris Serres, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 The News & Observer Publishing Company.

Lloyd Ness is not a man given to knee-jerk reactions.

spitzer's allegations
Here is a summary of the allegations made by Eliot Spitzer, New York's attorney general, and why they should concern mutual fund shareholders:

LATE TRADING: Mutual funds allow a trader to buy or sell a mutual fund after the stock market closes, yet the trader gets to buy in at that day's net asset value, or NAV, per share. The illegal practice enables traders to cash in on after-hours news before other investors, who must wait and buy the mutual fund at the next day's NAV. The practice hurts long-term shareholders because their shares have been diluted by the traders.

MARKET TIMING: The rapid buying and selling of mutual fund shares in an effort to profit from short-term market moves. Rapidly trading fund shares isn't illegal, but it may raise legal questions if the activity violates a fund's stated policies. Market timing can decrease the returns of other shareholders by raising a fund's transaction costs, or simply by distracting a fund manager.

SOURCE: MORNINGSTAR

where to look
The list of mutual fund resources available online continues to grow. Here is a sample:

WWW.MORNINGSTAR.COM

Morningstar's site is updated each day with mutual fund news and commentary. Type in a fund name, and the site will provide data on the fund's performance, fees and largest holdings. Paid subscribers can receive more detailed reports, along with e-mail alerts.

WWW.ICI.ORG

The Investment Company Institute is a trade group for the mutual fund industry, and a good source for tracking monthly cash flow into broad categories of mutual funds. The Web site also provides updates of legislation or tax changes that affect investors.

WWW.TRIMTABS.COM

A great site for those who really want to gauge investor confidence in mutual funds. TrimTabs Investment Research surveys 1,000 mutual funds daily, then produces regular reports estimating how much money is flowing in and out of mutual funds.

WWW.MFEA.COM

Contains a vast collection of data on mutual fund companies. If you know the name of the fund family, chances are you will find the prospectus you need on this Web site. The site contains a helpful list of cheap funds for investors who don't like to pay fees.

WWW.OAG.STATE.NY.US

A full summary of allegations by Eliot Spitzer, New York's attorney general, including the Sept. 23 complaint against hedge fund Canary Capital Partners that ignited the mutual fund scandal.

At 76, he has stuck with the same four mutual fund companies -- Vanguard, Fidelity, Merrill Lynch and American Century -- since the mid-1970s. Even after the stock market plunged in March 2000, Ness continued to reinvest his dividends.

Yet Ness, who is retired but works part-time at a Harris Teeter in Raleigh, has considered dumping all his mutual funds -- and investing the proceeds in certificates of deposit -- since learning that several of the nation's largest mutual funds may be ensnared in a widening scandal.

"I never thought I would say this, but perhaps there are safer places to put my money," Ness said.

For the past four decades, investment companies have touted the safety and integrity of mutual funds. No other investment vehicle, they argued, offers as much convenience and diversification for so little. As of August, mutual funds were owned by nearly one in two Americans, compared with one in 15 in 1980.

So it came as a shock last month when Eliot Spitzer, New York's attorney general, announced that he had evidence of illegal trading activity that potentially cost mutual fund shareholders billions of dollars annually. Ordinary investors were asking a thorny question: Should they sell and look for other places to put their money?

The short answer is no, most experts say.

The abusive trades, though serious, are not likely to have a big impact on the returns of any single fund account, say mutual fund experts. Plus, dumping mutual funds isn't a realistic option for the millions of Americans who invest through tax-deferred, 401(k) retirement accounts with limited choices.

Although bailing out of mutual funds altogether isn't a good idea, investors should take a long look to see whether their funds are really acting as good stewards, financial advisers say. A fund company that charges high fees, generates big tax bills through excessive trading or replaces its fund managers frequently should be avoided -- even if the returns look impressive.

"There are more than 8,000 mutual funds in this country," said Franklin Smith, a registered investment adviser from Raleigh. "There is no reason to stick with a fund if you aren't absolutely convinced it's looking after your best interests."

Thus far, most mutual fund shareholders have not headed for the exits. Investors poured $2.39 billion into equity mutual funds in the four weeks ending Oct. 1, according to AMG Data Services, a firm based in Arcata, Calif., that tracks fund flows.

Only Janus Capital has seen a sizable outflow of money since the scandal erupted. In September, investors pulled from Janus $4.4 billion -- the biggest monthly withdrawal in more than a year, the Denver company said Thursday.

The mutual fund companies identified by Spitzer have promised to fix any problems and compensate shareholders for any financial harm.

"When I sit down with clients and say, 'Look, isn't this awful?' most of them just shrug their shoulders," said William K. Dix, a Raleigh financial planner and program director for the Research Triangle Park chapter of the American Association of Individual Investors.

Scandals at public companies such as Enron, Adelphia and WorldCom destroyed billions of dollars in shareholder wealth and spurred public outcry. But allegations about mutual funds, for example, that they allowed big investors to trade after regular hours, have not generated widespread outrage.

Even if there were unethical or illegal trading , the damage to any single mutual fund account is likely to be minuscule. In a recent research report, Stanford University professor Eric W. Zitzewitz estimates that the annual cost from late trading amounts to just $400 million a year. Spread over millions of accounts, the costs probably won't amount to more than a few cents each.

"You look at Enron and that affected a small number of people very, very deeply, so it received a good deal of attention," Zitzewitz said. "But this affects a large number of people only a little. So people aren't as upset."

Even investors who feel cheated face the choice of selling when the stock market may be rebounding from a three-year decline. Over the past 12 months, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index has surged 33 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 72 percent.

Richard Mueller, another Triangle investor, considered dumping all 20 of his mutual funds when he learned of Spitzer's allegations. About 60 percent of his savings is already invested in bonds, money market accounts and certificates of deposit; if he invested any more in these instruments, he would miss out on an increase in stock prices.

"But what other options do I have?" said Mueller, founder and chief executive officer of Synergy Vaccines, a Durham-based biotechnology company.

Steven C. Robinson, a commercial real estate broker in Raleigh , said he is more concerned that his mutual fund, which he declined to identify, held onto Enron stock until it reached 65 cents a share.

"It bothers me that fund companies aren't asking tough questions of management," Robinson said . "That affects people far more directly than a few illegal trades here or there."

But that does not mean investors should ignore the scandal.

One of the main attractions of mutual funds is that every investor is supposed to receive the same professional management, said N.C. State finance professor Charles P. Jones, author of "Mutual Funds: Your Money, Your Choice" (Financial Times Prentice Hall, $23.05). Over the past month, however, mutual funds have found cases in which large investors were allowed to make trades that were off-limits to small shareholders.

According to Spitzer's lawsuit, four companies -- Bank of America, Janus Capital, Strong Capital and Bank One -- permitted a large hedge fund, Canary Capital Partners, to engage in trades that were off-limits to their smaller investors. Spitzer's office has since widened its investigation to include Alliance Capital, Putnam Investments, Prudential Securities and Fred Alger Management.

Morningstar, the nation's largest mutual fund research firm , says shareholders should consider selling shares of any mutual funds implicated in the scandals. "Even if the financial damages [to shareholders] are small, this calls into question the management of these fund families," said Russel Kinnel, a fund analyst at Morningstar.

But most advisers recommend investors remain calm until more details emerge. Along with the New York attorney general, William Donaldson, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said the agency is aggressively investigating potential trading abuses. No fund company has been charged with wrongdoing.

"If you bail out of one fund, you may find yourself in another fund that is engaged in the same activity," said Vernon Lee, a financial planner from Raleigh.

But people should review their mutual funds to determine whether they are serving their shareholders, Lee said. Any mutual fund that charges annual fees in excess of 1.5 percent of its assets deserves a "second or third look," he said.

In addition, if a fund has been performing below its peers, the fund should provide a clear explanation. "Blaming the economy, at this point, is not good enough," Lee said.

Staff writer Chris Serres can be reached at 836-4906.

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Letter to the Editor: Slow on Hillsborough

Oct. 13, 2003
The News & Observer
 © Copyright 2003 The News & Observer Publishing Company.

Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker spoke recently at N.C. State University. Among other issues, he addressed proposed changes to Hillsborough Street.

What Meeker and city leaders need to know is that many N.C. State students will develop agyrophobia, or fear of streets, thanks to Hillsborough's dangerously fast traffic flow. The neurotic neck-twisting one must do to cross the street, coupled with the lack of clearance between body parts and passing autos, is simply dangerous. Sauntering down the sidewalk would frighten even the most hardened urbanites.

Developers and city leaders envision a "Rue Hillsborough" complete with troublesome roundabouts. A quicker fix: simply lower the 35 m.p.h. speed limit to 20 m.p.h. in the stretch across from campus.

Lowering speeds would have two advantages. One, it would deter drivers from using the street altogether. Two, slowing cars down means a friendlier environment for pedestrians. Slower-moving traffic makes crossing easier and decreases the current fear factor.

Simply put, university and business leaders need to pressure city officials to make this change. It may be the only option left due to the apparent lack of funding and support to revamp this decaying "college Main Street." The result will be a safer street where families, students and other patrons may enjoy walking Hillsborough's sidewalks, without fearing for their lives.

Patrick Rivera
Raleigh

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Editorial: Building and growing

Oct. 13, 2003
The News & Observer
By staff report
© Copyright 2003 The News & Observer Publishing Company.

Monuments to man's humanity to his fellow man can be found in the most unexpected places. One such place is located on a Sampson County back road, where a nonprofit architectural firm and 14 N.C. State University students have built a bathhouse for migrant farm workers. Not only does the bathhouse offer these workers relief they deserve after long days of toil, but the project has won national recognition for its creative power. North Carolinians admire, too, what it teaches future professionals about sharing their skills with those less fortunate.
For starters, the project's primary goal was to improve farm workers' lives. "We're the architect for the farm workers," said Bryan Bell who founded the Design Corps firm in Gettysburg, Pa., 12 years ago. After building houses for migrant workers in Virginia and South Carolina, Bell brought the company to Raleigh a couple of years ago. The bathhouse is the company's first North Carolina project.

The work began with students surveying farm workers to focus the project on the workers' needs. In the process, students' eyes were opened to the subpar living conditions facing many migrant workers, who have a key role in harvesting North Carolina crops. The students learned to stretch their finances wisely by incorporating salvaged materials, such as school lockers and old street signs.

Not resting on its laurels, Design Corps next wants to build five more bathhouses for farm workers with the N.C. Rural Communities Assistance Project and a federal grant. Those projects would greatly benefit a state with more than 100,000 migrant farm workers -- and still more college students.

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Sediment Problems Force Delay On Highway 64 Bypass

Oct. 9, 2003
WRAL.com
By staff report
© Copyright 2003 WRAL.

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. -- The Highway 64 Bypass project is on hold because contractors did a poor job of keeping muddy water from eroding the land and pouring into streams, but, researchers at North Carolina State say the solution may be "dirt bags."

North Carolina State soil scientists say the "dirt bag" system starts by collecting standing water. A chemical is added that speeds the process of settling sediment. The water then passes through the big bag. Clean water flows out on the other end.

"It can be done. It's going to take some time to get the expertise to get the technical background for everybody, so we can get these things out there, but we're on our way," said Richard McLaughlin, a researcher at North Carolina State University.

The state Department of Transportation is already using the N.C. State technology on a road construction project in Charlotte. McLaughlin said the "dirt bag" has other uses as well.

"We'll have cleaner water to drink. We'll have better habitats in our streams, better fishing, less expense in treating water," McLaughlin said.

N.C. State researchers say the dirt bag can be set up for as little as $100.

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Footnotes: State Universities

Oct. 13, 2003
The News & Observer
By staff report
© Copyright 2003 The News & Observer Publishing Company.

Sister schools aid ECSU

When Elizabeth City State University was hammered last month by Hurricane Isabel, the campus got a helping hand from some of its sister schools in the UNC system. About 60 employees from five campuses, including N.C. State University and UNC-Chapel Hill, traveled to Elizabeth City to help with tree removal and debris cleanup. The workers slept on cots in the university's gymnasium.

ECSU had roughly 230 trees knocked down by Isabel's powerful winds. The university lost power and closed classes for six days. The campus estimated $200,000 in repair costs, including reimbursement for the other campuses that helped with the recovery.

Salary issue inspires new rule

When the UNC Board of Governors' personnel and tenure committee gave its blessing to salary increases for chancellors in September, the action came out of the blue. It had not been listed on any board materials or the committee's printed agenda. When the issue came up for a final vote the next morning, it caught some board members off guard.

That didn't sit well with Craig Souza, a board member from Raleigh. On Friday, he proposed a new rule that the full board would not vote immediately on any item that does not appear first on a committee's printed agenda.

Souza said board members would have attended the committee meeting in September if they had expected the prickly issue of pay raises for chancellors.

"I think it violated the spirit of the code," he said, referring to the official policies of the board. "I think it surprised a number of members on this board."

After the meeting, several of Souza's colleagues thanked him for speaking up.

Photo exhibit feted at NCSU

N.C. State University held a gala Wednesday night to honor the Pulitzer Prize photographic exhibit being held at its D.H. Hill library, but students weren't invited. Instead, computer desks and study tables were put away and the library was closed at 5 p.m. Wednesday to make room for the gala and the caterers' workspace. Guests sipped wine and nibbled sandwiches as the exhibit's curator, NCSU alumnus Cyma Rubin , and five of the photographers milled through the crowd.

Vice provost and library director Susan Nutter apologized for the closing but said many students were leaving town for a four-day fall break.

But students were there in spirit. Provost James Oblinger advised those gathered to return during the day and watch the reactions as students wandered among the stark, oversized photographs.

"For many of us, the photographs evoke powerful memories," he said. "For many students, it's the chance to see these exhibits for the first time."The exhibit, "Capture the Moment," shows 125 newspaper photographs from 1942 through this year. Rubin told the group that the pictures cross barriers of language, time and place. "They do not pretend to be a complete look at history. They are not the world's most popular photographs."

The exhibit runs at D.H. Hill Library through Dec. 13. The library is open to the public from 7:30 a.m to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m to 9 p.m. on weekends.

Perdue gives tips on lobbying

Folks begging for money usually don't get invitations to stand in line, so a recent speech to community college faculty by Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue might be as good as it's going to get.

Speaking to almost 300 educators gathered in Greensboro for the 2003 Community College Faculty Association conference, Perdue told the crowd to come to the General Assembly, where they should be "nice and respectful and then hit as hard as you can."

Perdue -- a voting member of the board that governs the state community college system -- told the faculty and others that personal stories about enrollment increases, faculty salaries and a lack of money for new programs are all effective ways to lobby lawmakers.

Noting that 70 percent of students enrolled in community colleges are there because they lost their jobs, Perdue said the "pervasive lack of respect" for the system puzzles her.

"The university is on a high altar and all of North Carolina would die for the public schools," she said. "Where do we fit into this thing called respect?"

Chambers to speak at UNC-CH

In the competitive battle for big-name commencement speakers, it's never too soon to ink a deal. UNC-Chapel Hill already has announced the speaker for its spring graduation ceremonies, civil rights attorney and UNC-CH alumnus Julius Chambers.

Chambers graduated from UNC-CH's law school in 1962 at the top of his class. He opened a law practice in Charlotte in 1964, and he and his partners argued Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, the landmark case that upheld busing as a means to desegregate schools, in 1971. He also argued Griggs v. Duke Power Co. and Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, two of the Supreme Court's most significant Title VII decisions.

Spring will mark the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education , the Supreme Court case that banned school segregation.

Chambers also is the former chancellor of N.C. Central University in Durham, having served at its helm from 1993 to 2001.

The commencement ceremony is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. May 9 at Kenan Stadium.

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N.C. cracks down on 'candy block' bear baiting

Oct. 12, 2003
Charlotte Observer
By Jack Horan, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 Charlotte Observer

A stricter interpretation of North Carolina's ban on bear baiting as a hunting technique makes it illegal to place "candy blocks" to draw black bears.

The Wildlife Resources Commission earlier this month agreed to crack down on hunters who use "sugar hooking" with blocks of candy weighing up to 2,000 pounds.

The blocks are made from fused bubble gum, licorice, chocolates or assorted hard candies.

David Cobb, chief of the wildlife management division, said in a news release that officials first learned of the practice three years ago. "Around these bait sites, we are seeing bears with health and behavioral problems," Cobb said.

Cobb and an N.C. State doctoral student, Tim Langer, in July watched bears behaving strangely near a candy block. "The bears didn't run away when we approached them," Langer said. "They appeared too sick to move."

Previously, some hunters placed candy blocks in an area but removed them before the beginning of bear season to avoid violating the baiting law. Now, it will be illegal to place candy blocks and subsequently hunt bears in the area.

Violation of the law is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by a two-year revocation of a hunting license, a fine of $2,000 or more, court costs and a $2,232 replacement cost if a bear is killed.

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People: Education: NC State University

Oct. 10, 2003
The Triangle Business Journal
By staff report
© Copyright 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.

North Carolina State University named José Picart vice provost for diversity and African-American affairs. He also will serve as a professor in the university's department of counselor education.

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Groundbreaking Entrepreneur Barbara Mulkey to Speak at NCSU

Oct. 10, 2003
D Business News
By staff report
 © Copyright 2003 D Business News.

Barbara Mulkey has broken ground – literally and figuratively – throughout her career.

Raleigh - As an undergraduate at North Carolina State University, she was one of only two women to graduate with degrees in civil engineering in 1977. Today, as president and CEO of Mulkey Engineers & Consultants, she leads one of the Southeast’s fastest-growing full-service engineering firms – a company respected not only for its extraordinary growth but also its commitment to providing employees with a flexible, family-friendly work environment.

Mulkey will share the story of her success, “Barbara Mulkey: From Kitchen Table Leadership to Boardroom Success,” with NC State students and faculty at the Fall 2003 Entrepreneurs’ Lecture Series, at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, at the McKimmon Center. A reception will follow the talk.

The Entrepreneurs’ Lecture Series, developed by the NC State Office of Public Affairs, is designed to showcase outstanding innovation and entrepreneurship among the university’s alumni and partners.

The lecture series is co-sponsored by the Engineering Entrepreneurs Program, started in 1993 to educate undergraduate engineering students in the art and science of new product development within engineering entrepreneurial and corporate environments. The students work in teams and research, design, build, test and demonstrate to business professionals their new products and business ideas.

Past speakers in the lecture series include: Bill Nussey, co-founder of DaVinci Systems, current CEO of Silverpop and NC State alumnus; Matthew Szulik, CEO of Red Hat and Centennial Campus partner; Scot Wingo, CEO of ChannelAdvisor, co-founder of AuctionRover.com and NC State alumnus; and Thomas R. McPherson, Jr., former president and CEO of Hatteras Networks and NC State alumnus.

Mulkey’s firm employs more than 170 people in three offices, and serves North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. It specializes in the areas of transportation, land surveying, land development, construction observation, and water resources and forensics.

Mulkey and her firm have won numerous awards from business and engineering organizations, including a 2000 Honors Award for Engineering Excellence in Transportation from the Consulting Engineers Council of North Carolina, and a 2001 designation as one of the “Family Friendly 40” by Carolina Parenting magazine.

In addition to her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, Mulkey earned a master’s degree in civil engineering from NC State in 1984.

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NCSU spinoff raises $2.4M to further pulmonary work

Oct. 10, 2003
The Triangle Business Journal
By Kim Nilsen, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.

BioMarck Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a venture focused on finding treatments for certain pulmonary diseases, has landed $2.4 million from angel investors.

For a full-text version of this article, please contact News Services at 919/515-3470.

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Universities struggle to stem outbreak of HIV

Oct. 13, 2003
The News & Observer
By Vicki Cheng, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 The News & Observer Publishing Company.

"Joe" lives in the Triangle and attends a public university. He has HIV.

He has had sex with men at four universities, including his own. A student at one of those schools, "Ed," also was diagnosed with HIV, and he has had sex with men at a fifth university. A heterosexual student at Joe's school has HIV, too. He has slept with women at his campus and at a sixth university.

The names aren't real, but the sexual networks are. Health investigators uncovered the links when they started mapping how an HIV epidemic may have spread in the Triangle, infecting at least 29 students.

When researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services first documented the outbreak this summer -- mostly among young, black men -- it was the first time in more than 20 years of research that college campuses were identified as high-transmission areas for the virus that causes AIDS.

Now, all 12 historically minority campuses in the state are planning to offer free, confidential AIDS testing for the first time, something larger campuses have been doing for years. N.C. Central University in Durham plans to start the service this week, said Charles Bowen , director of student health and counseling services.

Bigger schools are working hard on outreach, too. Some of the infected students in the study attended N.C. State University, said Marianne Turnbull , coordinator of health promotion at NCSU's Student Health Service. She's trying to reach students with free condoms provided by local health departments, messages about safe sex and a "know your status" campaign encouraging students to get tested.

But Turnbull has struggled to teach students about AIDS since it first surfaced about 20 years ago, and she sighs when she talks about the resurgence.

"It's hard to get the students' attention, because they don't see sick people any more," she said. "It's real easy to be complacent."

An investigation led by Dr. Lisa Hightow , a fellow in infectious diseases at the UNC School of Medicine, found that 28 men and one woman -- all of them college students -- were diagnosed with HIV in Durham, Orange and Wake counties from Jan. 1, 2000, to March 1, 2003. Since then, the study has expanded to include 34 counties.

All told, about 56 college students at 30 North Carolina schools have tested positive since 2000, said Dr. Peter Leone , an associate professor of medicine at UNC-CH and medical director for the HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch of the state's Department of Health and Human Services. The actual number of infected students could be larger, because the study relies on people who get tested voluntarily.

"We definitely have an outbreak of HIV on our college campuses," Leone said. "The Triangle has half the cases we've been able to identify."

Hightow sees cause for alarm because of the high number of cases per number of students and because of the jump in new cases starting in 2001.

Researchers found that many of the men were meeting sexual partners at clubs or on the Internet. In August, a five-person team from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention arrived in the state to learn what other factors may have contributed to the epidemic and why prevention messages don't seem to be getting through, Leone said.

Closeted bisexuals

Part of the problem, especially among young, black men, is that they're more likely to stay in the closet about having sex with other men -- possibly because they fear homophobia within the black community, according to CDC studies. Sometimes, women don't know that their male partners are also sleeping with other men -- a phenomenon known in the black community as being "on the down low."

"There are an astounding number of 'undercover brothers,' basically," said Mia Leak , a senior at NCCU and a member of Project SAFE, or Save a Fellow Eagle, which seeks to educate students about safe sex. "It's basically bisexual males that don't come out to female partners. There are some at Central."

Leone was careful not to identify any of the schools in the study because he doesn't want to stigmatize the campuses. Most of the cases don't come from historically black schools, he said. But those universities are especially vulnerable because their student populations are typically small, increasing the odds that a student will come across someone who's infected.

Phyllis Gray of the HIV/STD Prevention and Care Branch started working with the state's 12 historically minority schools on AIDS prevention June 1 -- before the study was released -- because minorities are disproportionately affected by the disease. "It is a disease that is becoming very much brown in complexion," she said.

In North Carolina, African- Americans are 11 times as likely to be infected as whites , Gray said. She expects at least half of the 12 schools will start offering AIDS testing this school year.

Gray added that staff members are working on a social marketing campaign for the minority colleges and have trained peer educators.

Message fatigue

Leak, the NCCU student, is trying to spread the safe- sex gospel to classmates by throwing "safer sex" parties, with free food and games to test students' knowledge. She passes out pamphlets with titles such as "101 Ways To Make Love Without Doing It."

But people have been talking about AIDS since Leak was born, in 1982, and students today may be suffering from message fatigue.

"When I was growing up, it was always, 'AIDS, AIDS, AIDS and safer sex,' " she said. "In '92 and '93, there was a real push to educate people. The push isn't there any more. To me, it seems like it's more, 'Get what you can, when you can.' They don't focus much on consequences."

Staff writer Vicki Cheng can be reached at 956-2415.

News researcher Lucy Reid contributed to this report.

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N.C. universities trying to attract American Indians

Oct. 12, 2003
The Wilmington Star-News, WRAL.com
By staff report
© Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.

North Carolina's two largest public universities are trying to attract members of the state's oldest cultures to its top institutions of higher education.

American Indian students, counselors and advocates are noticing the heightened interest from UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, two schools that historically wouldn't admit Indian students.

"I think there's a genuine interest in more Indian students coming, but maybe they can't make the resources available that would make it a better place," said Danny Bell, a Lumbee-Coharie Indian and a staff assistant in American Indian studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"I keep thinking, with our culture being here 15,000 to 20,000 years, that there should be more things here."

The effort has resulted in more campus visits by administrators, more visits to tribal regions and increased funding for student cultural events.

But it's a daunting task making students feel comfortable once they arrive on the sprawling campuses. Many of them return home every weekend to their tight-knit communities.

Junior Travis Blanks, now president of N.C. State's Native American Students Association, went to high school in Lake Waccamaw surrounded by other minorities, Indian as well as African-American.

The university's majority white campus was something of a shock for him, and it's hard for him to imagine how he would have gotten by on his own.

"I would've made it," said Blanks, a Waccamaw-Siouan. "I would've found another club to join. But it would've been kind of odd."

Much of the new recruitment drive comes because the universities are continuing their efforts to increase diversity and want to reach new groups of students, said Gretchen Bataille, senior vice president for academic affairs for the UNC system and a scholar in Native American literature.

North Carolina has more American Indians than any other state east of the Mississippi, with nearly 100,000 residents.

Recruiters are having success tapping into those ranks. For example, 204 American Indians attended school in Chapel Hill in fall 2002, up from 155 in 1998. At N.C. State, the number jumped from 176 to 195 in the same period.

But the numbers are climbing slowly. At both schools, American Indians make up just 1 percent of the total enrollment.

Administrators at UNC-Pembroke, the state's historically American Indian university in Robeson County, say it's not uncommon for students to head to Raleigh or Chapel Hill, only to come back to UNCP after a year or two away.

"You just want to take them under your wing and say, 'Welcome home,' " said Jackie Clark, vice chancellor for enrollment management and the former admissions director at UNCP.

Still, UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State are making a dent. Their efforts have affected Clark's school, which is competing for the top American Indian students.

Now UNCP, which still has a mission to educate Indians, is looking for students from tribes in other states.

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Campuses reach out

Oct. 12, 2003
The News & Observer
By Barbara Barrett, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 The News & Observer Publishing Company.

Other students at N.C. State University look at junior Travis Blanks' olive skin and dark hair and ask him, "What are you?"

He rolls his eyes, irritated at the question, but is willing to explain.

Blanks is an American Indian, Waccamaw-Siouan to be precise, and one of fewer than 200 Indian students on campus. To his knowledge, he's the only one from his tribe.

And the fact that he's there at all might speak to increasing efforts at North Carolina's two largest public universities to attract members of the state's oldest cultures to its top institutions of higher education.

Administrators' resolve to recruit American Indians has resulted in more opportunities for campus visits, more visits to tribal regions and increased funding for student cultural events. But observers warn that more needs to be done to make the students, many of whom are very close to their tight-knit communities and return home every weekend, feel comfortable once they arrive on the sprawling campuses.

American Indian students, counselors and advocates are noticing the heightened interest from UNC-Chapel Hill and NCSU, two schools that historically wouldn't admit Indian students.

"I think there's a genuine interest in more Indian students coming, but maybe they can't make the resources available that would make it a better place," said Danny Bell, a Lumbee-Coharie Indian and a staff assistant in American Indian studies at UNC-CH. "I keep thinking, with our culture being here 15,000 to 20,000 years , that there should be more things here."

Blanks, now president of NCSU's Native American Students Association, went to high school in Lake Waccamaw surrounded by other minorities, Indian as well as African-American. NCSU's majority white campus was something of a shock for him, and it's hard for him to imagine how he would have gotten by on his own.

"I would've made it," he said. "I would've found another club to join. But it would've been kind of odd."

Much of the new recruitment drive comes because the universities are continuing their efforts to increase diversity and want to reach new groups of students, said Gretchen Bataille , senior vice president for academic affairs for the UNC system and a scholar in Native American literature.

"There's a new focus on demographics in the state," she said. "When you look at that, you say, wait a minute, here's a group that's been here all along."

In fact, North Carolina has more American Indians than any other state east of the Mississippi, with nearly 100,000 residents.

Recruiters are having success tapping into those ranks. For example, 204 American Indians attended school in Chapel Hill in fall 2002, up from 155 in 1998 . At NCSU, the number jumped from 176 to 195 in the same period.

But the numbers are climbing slowly. At both schools, American Indians make up just 1 percent of the total enrollment.

"It's among the more difficult recruitment challenges we have," said Jerry Lucido, UNC-CH's admissions director. "Our success really varies."

Campuses doing more

For years, students did much of the recruitment work on both campuses, but they're demanding help now.

In Chapel Hill, American Indian students went to the office of minority affairs a few years ago asking whether the university could do more to increase their numbers, said Archie Ervin , assistant to the chancellor and director for minority affairs. "There wasn't enough of a community here to make this a comfortable experience for everyone."

On Friday, UNC-CH hosted its first Native American visitation day. About 50 students toured the campus to learn more about it.

At NCSU, student groups worked alone for years, organizing spring powwows to introduce their culture to the campus and raising money to host high schoolers from across the state on campus visits.

Now, NCSU has an administrator who focuses on Hispanic and Nat