By Kristin Zachary

Thursday, October 25, 2012

A wreck that killed an East Carolina University student on Tuesday occurred after a man looked down to change the radio station and rear-ended another driver, according to a crash report.

Ashley Steven Smith, 32, of 3894 Countryaire Drive, Ayden, was stopped in his 2000 Honda hybrid car at a red light on N.C. 11 North when he was rear-ended at 1:12 p.m., the report said.

Smith, an ECU student studying physics and engineering, died after he was struck by a 1997 Jeep driven by James Caleb Cannon, who was traveling northbound at 55 mph.

Cannon, of 7269 Stokestown-St. Johns Road, Grifton, told police he was traveling straight with a green light when he looked down to change the station on his radio.

Cannon said when he looked back up the light was red, and traffic had stopped in front of him.

The man, whose age was redacted from the crash report, said he applied his brakes but still struck the Honda. The report lists his vehicle’s speed at impact to be 55 mph.

A witness, who was stopped beside Smith in an adjacent lane, told police she did not see any indication the Jeep was braking before impact, according to Sgt. Joe Friday of the Greenville Police Department.

Friday said the airbags of the Honda did not deploy. Smith died at Vidant Medical Center on Tuesday night from his injuries, Friday said.

The northbound lanes of N.C. 11 were closed for about 90 minutes on Tuesday while officers investigated the scene.

It was unknown on Wednesday what charges, if any, will be filed.

Friday said the investigation is ongoing.

According to a Facebook post on Wednesday afternoon by Pitt Community College, Smith, who is called “Ash” in the post, graduated from the college in 2010 and moved on to ECU. Smith was one of 50 to win an academic excellence award at PCC in 2010.

He was featured last year in an article in the school’s Career Focus magazine, which said Smith was working at a refrigeration company he owned and operated with his father when he enrolled at PCC as a part-time student.

As he started attending full time, PCC began a pre-engineering associate in science program, from which Smith graduated in the spring of 2010.

The article lists his hobbies as astronomy, computer games and working on electric cars.

Smith said he hoped his friends would view him as a “calm, rational, intelligent and charismatic person.”

Contact Kristin Zachary at kzachary@reflector.com and 252-329-9566 and follow her on Twitter @kzacharygdr.

via The Daily Reflector.

The Associated Press

GREENVILLE, N.C. — Campus police at East Carolina University in Greenville are investigating vandalism at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Officials think several people stole and wrecked utility vehicles and damaged the football field, concession stands and water fountains on Sunday.

The Daily Reflector of Greenville reported (http://bit.ly/PQ7mUG) that police have identified one suspect and are looking for two others.

via East Carolina investigates stadium vandalism – East Carolina – NewsObserver.com.

Published: October 24, 2012

Updated: October 24, 2012 – 7:03 PM

By Erica Anderson

GREENVILLE, N.C. – We received more than 700 comments on facebook about East Carolina University sponsoring “Pirates for Obama” signs Here in the East.

So, 9 On Your Side asked the question, can a university trademark be used to push a presidential candidate?

ECU says it does not endorse the purple and gold “Pirates for Obama” signs displayed around town.

The signs were created and distributed by the Pitt County Democratic Party.

The college republicans posted their own signs saying, “ECU stands with Mitt Romney.”

Both signs caused the University to look into the matter. In September, the University sent a letter to both parties letting them know they cannot use university trademarks for political campaigns.

Clint Bailey the director of marketing says it’s a copyright issue.

“As a university and any organization that has trademarks, we have to protect the use of those marks. Their use is by permission only and it is standing policy of the university we do not give permission for those to be used for political purposes,” said Bailey.

When the both parties got the letter they stopped distributing the signs

WNCT-On Your Side Copyright (c) 2012, Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. A Media General company.

The Daily Reflector
Mallory Holtman, the NCAA Sportsmanship Award Winner, spoke at East Carolina University on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. (Aileen Devlin/The Daily Reflector)

“If you live by a code of conduct and ethics that are toward that path, that’s how you will be remembered.”Mallory Holtman     NCAA Sportsmanship Award winner

By Katherine Ayers     Thursday, October 25, 2012

Being nice matters.

That was the message softball coach Mallory Holtman brought to East Carolina University on Tuesday evening.

Holtman, who coaches at Central Washington University, is best known for her display of sportsmanship during a softball game in 2008. She and fellow CWU Wildcat teammate Liz Wallace carried Western Oregon’s Sara Tucholsky around the bases after Tucholsky tore her ACL while rounding the bases after hitting a home run.

While heading to second base after hitting the only homer of her life, Tucholsky realized she had inadvertently missed first base. When she pivoted to return to the bag, she injured her knee.

At the time, the umpires explained that per NCAA rules, if the team wanted Tucholsky’s home run to count, none of her teammates could touch her, so Holtman and Wallace stepped forward to assist. Western Oregon went on the win the game 4 -2.

Holtman said she had no idea that incident would become national news. Her parents, coaches and teammates didn’t talk about it, but two days later, a video someone had taken of the game went viral and she became an immediate sensation.

Wallace, Tucholsky and Holtman received a 2008 Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award (ESPY) Award, she won the AT&T and NCAA National Sportsmanship awards, attended the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star game and the NCAA Softball World Series and was invited to a closed practice with the last U.S. Olympic softball team.

“This has been able to take me amazing places that I never expected,” she said. “People used to tell me karma, karma, karma — I believed it then but I really believe in it now since everything I’ve done has come back to me tenfold.”

Holtman described herself as “competitively compassionate.”

“You don’t remember the numbers. What’s important is the process you took to get there and what happened along the way,” she said.

Speaking at a mostly full Wright Auditorium, Holtman stressed the importance of perception versus reality. Most people want love, encouragement, support and to know their performance doesn’t matter, she said.

Often times, coaches, parents and other teammates offer too much pressure, incorrect instruction or force players to choose between doing something they love or feeling accepted.

“You want the people in your circle to be helpful, not hurtful,” she said. “You deserve the best experience possible whether it’s in sports or in life.”

After Holtman graduated from CWU with her Master’s Degree in Athletic Administration in 2010, she was offered the head coaching job with the softball team.

The first thing she did after accepting the job was hire her former coach Gary Frederick as her assistant coach. She spoke about their relationship and said she valued his role as a mentor to her.

“Its nice to have someone by your side to reassure you that what you’re doing is right and who will have your back unconditionally,” she said.

Ultimately, Holtman said success is great, but it’s better to be regarded as person who will do the right thing.

“If you live by a code of conduct and ethics that are toward that path, that’s how you will be remembered,” she said.

via The Daily Reflector.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

The ECU sports teams may garner the headlines but my wife and I have been regular attendees at the wonderful performances provided by the ECU Symphony Orchestra over the six plus years that we have lived here.

These students are a source of pride for the university and deserve more recognition than they are given.

The Oct. 20 performance also included the chamber singers and chorale in addition to guest soloists and was truly ethereal. Kudos also to conductor Jorge Richter for the splendid job he does in getting the very best from our students. Unbelievably these performances are free. Bravo and bravo again. Go Pirates.

SCOTTY ANDREWS

Greenville

via The Daily Reflector.

By Wesley Brown

Thursday, October 25, 2012

The Tar River University Neighborhood Association has demanded that Greenville city administrators and elected officials promptly turn over “all forms of communication” concerning the city’s residential occupancy standards.

The injunction was sent by certified mail under the N.C. Public Records Act late Wednesday afternoon, almost two weeks after the city passed the University Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative.

Despite including data-driven approaches to improving the appeal and charm of TRUNA, the legislation permits four unrelated people to live together in four-bedroom homes between Elm, Fifth and Reade streets to the Tar River.

That provision has divided the neighborhood in intense debate for the past six months and likely will be the center of an anticipated TRUNA lawsuit.

“The request was part of our continuing investigation and certainly something we felt like was prudent to do prior to filing any litigation,” said John M. Martin, the attorney with the law firm Ward and Smith who was hired by TRUNA in August.

The open records request filed by Martin is wide-ranging.

It requests all staff reports, minutes, email messages, letters and studies compiled by the Community Development Department in researching and developing the University Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative.

It includes all email accounts, text messages, correspondences, notes and audio and video recordings shared between or presented to Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas, members of the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission.

Greenville City Attorney Dave Holec, to whom the request was addressed, would not say on Wednesday if or when the request would be satisfied.

“I have not yet received a letter requesting any public records and will need to review the filing prior to providing comment,” Holec said.

Martin said he anticipates filing litigation soon.

“I do not have a timeframe, but it is certainly on the horizon,” Martin said.

Contact Wesley Brown at 252-329-9579 or wbrown@reflector.com. Follow him on Twitter @CityWatchdog.

via The Daily Reflector.

Ana “Silvia” Baró

Obituary

Ana “Silvia” Baró, 84, passed away Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. Funeral Mass will be held Friday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Peter’s Catholic Church. Burial will follow in Pinewood Memorial Park.

Ana Silvia was born in Santiago, Cuba on June 28, 1928. She was the daughter of the late Alberto and Cristina Baró. Silvia lived her early years in Cuba where she graduated from the Universidad de Havana. Silvia came to the United States in 1962 with her husband, José, and their five children. They lived in Miami for several years, traveled to Great Falls, Mont. for a year before arriving in Greenville in 1965. She made her home in Greenville for the last 47 years. Her husband, José, taught at East Carolina University in the Foreign Language Department where she also taught periodically.

She was preceded in death by her husband, José; and a daughter, Cristina.

She is survived by her daughters, Ana Silvia Salter, of Cape Carteret, Maria Baró, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Gloria Baró, of the home; son, José Baró and wife, Susan, of Greenville. Silvia was blessed with nine grandchildren whom she dearly loved, William, Morgan, and Davis Salter, all of Cape Carteret, Teresa and husband, Justin Woolverton, José Baró IV, and Ian Baró, all of Greenville, Melyssa Baró and John Michael Baró, of Raleigh, and Ana Lisa Baró, of Durham.

The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the church.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Peter’s Catholic Church, 2700 E. 4th Street, Greenville, NC 27858.

Online condolences at www.wilkersonfuneralhome.com.

Arrangements by Wilkerson Funeral Home & Crematory, Greenville.

Published in The Daily Reflector on October 25, 2012

via Ana “Silvia” Baró Obituary: View Ana Baró’s Obituary by The Daily Reflector.

A car travels across a newly installed speed bump on Contanche Street in downtown Greenville on Tuesday afternoon. (Rhett Butler/The Daily Reflector)

By Wesley Brown

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Commuters making their way through the city on Tuesday may have noticed downtown Greenville has a new look.

As part of a new traffic-calming strategy designed to improve vehicle congestion and pedestrian safety, 10 speed cushions were installed in pairs at five locations between Cotanche, Fifth and Reade streets — one for each direction of travel.

On Thursday, angled parking spaces next to Sup Dogs on Reade Street will be converted to parallel spaces to make room for a pedestrian walkway. By the weekend, curb delineators are expected to be added at key entry points within the downtown area’s inner core to narrow traffic lanes, slow car travel and provide drivers greater visibility of pedestrians.

“Everything is cause and effect,” City Traffic Engineer Rik DiCesare said on Tuesday.

DiCesare said the four blocks between Reade Circle and Fifth and Cotanche streets have been identified as a test corridor for the $2,600 pilot project proposed by the city’s Public Works Department.

City administrators hope to expand the project to $12,900 in improvements at 13 locations between Evans, Fourth and Reade streets, according to a memo from Interim Public Works Director Scott Godefroy.

The plan to lessen speed and “corral” pedestrians downtown — especially near closing time on Reade Street — comes after a monthlong investigation in which field engineers observed high-volume traffic zones, said DiCesare, who spearheaded the study.

After analyzing the area, concerns about injury were high, DiCesare said.

The review found that cars were speeding past businesses, intersections leading in and out of downtown were prone to congestion, and pedestrians were spilling into roadways.

All of the problems, DiCesare said, could be solved by Trafficop Speed Cushions and a system of curb delineators called the FG300. DiCesare compared the FG300 to picket fences — describing them as a 4-foot line of reflective pegs.

The additions have received positive reviews across the state in cities like Winston-Salem, DiCesare said, but have garnered some concern for a lack of “aesthetic appeal” and bumpy rides.

DiCesare said all measures — including speed cushions, which are thin, elevated strips of recycled rubber anchored to the road — can be relocated as needed.

The Greenville Police Department has endorsed the speed cushions and offered law enforcement funds to pay for the addition. Studies show the cushions can reduce traffic by as much as 25 percent.

“From what I have seen so far, it has definitely slowed down traffic and appears to have made businesses on Reade and Cotanche more safe, but the proof will be in the study we plan to conduct, with input from police, at the end of project to see how it calmed traffic,” DiCesare said.

No timetable has been set for the post-project analysis.

Contact Wesley Brown at 252-329-9579 or wbrown@reflector.com. Follow him on Twitter @CityWatchdog.

via The Daily Reflector.

By Jane Stancill – jstancill@newsobserver.com

CHAPEL HILL — A UNC system strategy group is struggling with the imprecise task of figuring out how many more college graduates the state needs to meet the workforce needs of tomorrow.

But more important than the number of new degree holders may be the quality of the education they receive, experts told the UNC Advisory Committee on Strategic Directions.

National and state surveys of employers show that they want workers who are good communicators, effective collaborators and creative problem solvers. Employers generally say they can train employees to do the tasks they need; what they want are people who can learn and adapt easily.

“It’s all about lifelong learning,” said Keith Crisco, state commerce secretary, who serves on the panel.

Madhu Beriwal, president and CEO of a IEM, a firm specializing in emergency management and homeland security, moved her company to North Carolina in 2009, she said, because she saw that education, business and government seemed to collaborate well here.

She said her company screens a potential worker based on the hard skills outlined on the résumé, but the true test is the candidate’s soft skills.

“It really comes down to the ability to think, the ability to form solutions, the ability to work,” she said.

Written and oral communication skills are key, she added. “If they have not learned to write in 16 years of instruction, we can’t teach them that,” Beriwal said. “We give them a writing test. If they fail, that’s it. We’re done.”

Dan Gitterman, a public policy professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, said a four-year college degree should be about more than imparting knowledge. Students must also learn skills, including the ability to think critically and independently write, reason and communicate clearly. They must also learn how to apply their skills to real world environments such as job internships.

So, for example, universities should place more importance on writing centers, with individual tutoring.

“If we do it for athletes, we should do it for everybody,” Gitterman said.

Also, he said, faculty get no reward for helping students gain internship experience or networking skills, so it typically doesn’t happen. Students have to seek out the campus career office, which is typically a secondary university function. “We’ve got to work on this,” Gitterman said.

The panel debated the pros and cons of the current intense focus on so-called STEM education – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Beriwal suggested adding an “S” to the acronym to represent social sciences such as psychology and sociology. Those skills are needed in today’s workforce as never before. She cited the defense industry, where the battle against terror is about winning hearts and minds as much as high-tech weaponry.

The UNC committee is studying the workforce of the future in order to come up with a five-year plan for the university system. A blueprint from the panel is due early next year.

Part of the group’s task is to come up with degree attainment goals for the state’s population. That is a tricky estimation.

In 2010, 28 percent of North Carolina residents ages 25 to 64 had four-year degrees or higher.

Projecting the minimum entry-level education for the workforce in 2020, the state actually would only need 23 percent four-year degree holders. Another projection, based on trends on education and current jobs, would suggest the state needs 32 percent of its citizens to have four-year degrees. And yet another estimate, based on competing with the top five most educated states, would require about 41 percent of North Carolina residents to have college degrees.

But such projections are iffy at best in an environment of rapidly changing technology and an uncertain economic climate.

“You want to put your supply and demand pretty much in equilibrium,” said Jack Cecil, president of Biltmore Farms and a member of the committee.

Complicating the picture is that people who move to North Carolina tend to be more highly educated. In 2008-2009, North Carolina imported more college graduates than the UNC system produced. Among those born in North Carolina, 18.5 percent had at least a four-year degree, versus almost 35 percent of those born elsewhere.

The calculation must also take into account that many in the state have some college or an associate’s degree from a community college. The equation is not only about four-year degrees, said Bob Ingram, former executive with GlaxoSmithKline.

“Our future is knowledge-based workers,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that they all come out of a four-year university.”

Peter Hans, chairman of the UNC Board of Governors, pointed out that too many students choose the wrong path or drop out of college altogether. He suggested that UNC campuses publish more data majors and earnings of graduates so that students can make well-informed decisions.

“We all realize that higher education is more than the pursuit of job credentials,” he said. “Education is crucial to our culture and our democracy, not just our economy. But it isn’t an either-or choice. We can and should do both.”

Stancill: 919-829-4559

via UNC group looks at employers’ needs – News – NewsObserver.com.

North Carolina Maritime History Council Conference

HATTERAS — For the first time in 17 years, the North Carolina Maritime History Council Conference will be held in Hatteras. The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum will be hosting this year’s conference on October 25-27.

Talks and paper presentations will cover topics on Maritime Heritage, the role of the Coast Guard, U-Boats, Mystery Ships, the Corolla Shipwreck, Underwater Archaeology and the War of 1812. Friday afternoon tours will be held at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and life saving stations at Chicamacomico and Little Kinnakeet. Saturday afternoon optional tours o f Portsmouth Island, Ocracoke or the Pea Island Museum will be held.

Speakers include Anna Gibson Holloway, curator of the USS Monitor Center, Doug Stover of the National Park Service, David Alberg of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, historians William Thiesen and Peter Rasco, author Jim Bunch, archaeologists Joseph Hoyt and John Wagner, author Daniel M. Brown of East Carolina University, and David Moore of the N.C. Maritime Museum.

Friday night’s keynote speaker will be Outer Banks resident and popular author of Treasure Island: The Untold Story, John Amrhein, Jr. Outer Banks radio personality, cook book author and Outer Banks food expert, Sharon Peele Kennedy will cater Friday evening’s event with a period Hatteras Island meal.

The public is encouraged to attend. Registration can be completed online or at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum at 59200 Museum Drive in Hatteras on Thursday, Oct. 25, from 4:30 – 5 p.m.

The three North Carolina Maritime Museums are the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum located in Hatteras, the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort and the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Southport. All three Museums are part of the Division of State History Museums in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. For more information on North Carolina arts, history and culture, visit Cultural Resources online.

via North Carolina Maritime History Council Conference.

By Matt Caulder – mcaulder@newsobserver.com

DURHAM — The founding family of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University announced Wednesday a new pair of endowments totaling $5 million.

The Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family Fund for Acquisitions, in the amount of $4 million, will support purchases of modern and contemporary art.

The Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family Visiting Curatorship Fund, a $1 million endowment, will provide the funds to bring top scholars to Duke to organize special exhibitions and projects.

“The visionary gift continues the generous tradition of philanthropy by the Nasher/Haemisegger family in support of Duke’s museum,” Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead said. “We are grateful for this new commitment by Nancy and David, reflecting their deep understanding of the many ways the Nasher Museum enriches the Duke community, enhances the educational experience for our students, and extends Duke’s welcome to Durham and the region.”

The museum was named after Nancy Nasher’s late father, Raymond Nasher, a 1943 graduate of Duke, after he donated $10 million for its founding in 2005.

After her father died in 2007, Nancy Nasher and husband David Haemisegger gave $1 million to name the position of curator of contemporary art at the museum after her parents, Patsy and Raymond Nasher.

The latest endowments from the Nasher/Haemisegger family add up to more than $16 million in gifts total.

“This extraordinary gift is transformative for the Nasher Museum and marks a milestone in our development,” said Kimberly Rorschach, the museum’s Mary D.B.T. and James H. Semans Director.

Nancy Nasher is the incoming chair of the museum’s Board of Advisors; Haemisegger also serves on the board. Both serve on the board’s collection committee.

“Our family’s vision and passion for Duke to have one of the leading university art museums in the country has become a reality,” said Nasher, a 1979 graduate of Duke Law School.

She and her husband are co-owners and developers of NorthPark Center in Dallas, Texas.

via Couple donates $5M to Duke’s Nasher Museum of Art – News – NewsObserver.com.

Khrystine Malvoisin, 18, answers a question pertaining to “The Metamorphosis,” written by Franz Kafka, during Jim Neilson’s English class at the Northern Wake campus of Wake Tech Community College in Raleigh Oct. 23, 2012. Wake voters will decide whether the county can borrow $200 million in bonds for the fast-growing Wake Tech, now the state’s largest community college with more than 20,000 students. The money would be spent on three new buildings at the Northern Wake campus, an expansion at the Public Safety Education branch, repairs on the main campus and to start construction on a new RTP campus. (Shawn Rocco – srocco@newsobserver.com)
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/10/24/2433618/wake-tech-seeks-200-million-for.html#storylink=cpy

‘Guaranteed of filling’

Anthony Petty, a political science instructor, said it is rare when one of his introductory political science or American government classes doesn’t have a waiting list. Credit for those two classes automatically transfers to the state’s four-year universities as long as students earn a “C” or better.

“They’re pretty well guaranteed of filling,” he said of the classrooms, which seat 36.

The Northern Wake campus, near Interstate 540 off Louisburg Road, opened in 2007 and has bustled ever since. On Tuesday, students studied and ate lunch at outdoor tables. Their cafeteria seating area had been turned into an early voting polling place, and the parking lot scramble was worse than usual.

Even on normal days, students have been told to leave plenty of time to find a space there. Still, latecomers are the norm in most classes; they’re circling the parking lots.

“Parking is killing me,” said Lydia Thompson, a first-year student who was eating a sandwich between classes. “I have to get here 30 minutes before so I can ensure that I get a parking space.”

Kate Hatfield, a second-year student, learned her lesson last year. She was a little late to registration and couldn’t get into a math class she needed. Now, she has made it into an honors program and benefits from early registration.

Her secret for parking?

“I take 8 o’clock classes,” she said, “so when I get here there are still spots. If you get here in the morning, you don’t have to leave.”

If approved, the $200 million, plus another $10 million in cash from the county, would probably alleviate some of the parking pain. Construction plans include roughly 4,500 parking spaces at various campuses, plus repaving of 2,000 more.

The money would be spent during a four-year period starting in 2013. Some 500,000 square feet of new building space would be constructed, including the first three buildings of a campus in Research Triangle Park, a parking lot, roads and other infrastructure. That campus will have a focus on biotechnology and information technology, Scott said.

So far, the Wake Tech bond referendum has not encountered any organized opposition. The Wake County Taxpayers Association has so far not taken a stand on the borrowing.

Russell Capps of the taxpayer watchdog group said the association typically supports the community colleges. But, he said of the $200 million, “That’s a large sum of money.”

A ‘jobs’ campaign

About 60 companies have donated money for the $60,000 advertising campaign for the Wake Tech bond, including “Vote Yes” signs dotting the county.

Scott’s sales pitch includes the familiar mantra of all politicians in 2012 – jobs, jobs, jobs. For example, he said, if the 5,000 students on Wake Tech’s waiting list could get into classes and boost their earning power by $1,000 a month, that would translate to $5 million in added monthly income for Wake County citizens.

That’s $60 million a year.

The classroom construction would open doors to students seeking affordable education, upgraded skills and a better life, Scott said.

“Bottom line, it will allow us to serve about 20,000 more people, and that would be equivalent to over 5,000 full-time students,” Scott said. “It’s a no brainer, isn’t it?”

Stancill: 919-829-4559

via Wake Tech seeks $200 million for construction – Local/State – NewsObserver.com.

Charlotte Business Journal by Jennifer Thomas, Staff Writer

Date: Wednesday, October 24, 2012, 8:42am EDT

UNC Charlotte and other North Carolina schools have received funds from the National Science Foundation.

UNC Charlotte was one of 17 N.C. higher-education institutions to receive money from the National Science Foundation.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan announced the foundation had awarded more than $62 million for research related to science and engineering.

UNCC has received nearly $2.71 million for 10 different projects. Catawba College was awarded $1.44 million, while Davidson College received $199,930.

Details of those projects were not immediately available.

The science foundation funds support research and education in science and engineering through grants, contracts and cooperative agreements. It accounts for about 20 percent of federal support to academic institutions for basic research.

“Investments in research and (science, technology, engineering and math) education are key to ensuring our state and nation remain competitive in the 21st century global economy,” Hagan says.

via UNC Charlotte receives $2.7 million for research – Charlotte Business Journal.

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, October 25, 12:34 AM

DAVENPORT, Iowa — A jury found Wednesday that a conservative scholar who claims she was passed over for jobs at the University of Iowa law school because of liberal bias didn’t have her 1st Amendment rights violated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Shields did, however, call a mistrial on Teresa Wagner’s claim that she was denied equal protection as described in the 14th Amendment because the jury was deadlocked, District Judge Robert W. Pratt told The Associated Press late Wednesday night.

Pratt was the presiding judge in the case, but said he returned to Des Moines when the case went to the jury. In the federal judiciary, magistrate judges can try cases with consent of the parties.

The AP initially reported Shields declared a mistrial in court on Wednesday afternoon. The judge later determined that the initial information he gave in court was incorrect and that the jury had reached a verdict in one of the claims.

The actions came after three days of deliberation. Shields told jurors the move means the case will have to be retried or resolved some other way, such as a settlement.

“We’ll fight another day,” Wagner’s lawyer, Stephen Fieweger, said afterward. “This is not over.”

The mistrial came hours after Shields exhorted jurors to try to reach agreement and warned them not to act “as partisans.” Nonetheless, the jury sent a note Wednesday afternoon saying, “I do not see us ever agreeing.”

During a weeklong trial watched closely in higher education, Wagner claimed that the overwhelmingly liberal faculty refused to hire her because she is a Republican who had worked for social conservative groups that oppose abortion rights. She argued that the opposition to her appointment was led by Professor Randall Bezanson who, as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, helped draft the Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

Professors testified that while they were aware of Wagner’s political beliefs, they passed her over for jobs teaching legal analysis and writing because she flunked a job interview in January 2007. A string of professors testified that she botched questions about how she would teach legal analysis, a key component of the job.

But Wagner said that claim was fabricated to excuse the political motivations of the 50-member faculty, which included 46 registered Democrats. She said the faculty did not want an outspoken female opponent of abortion rights to join their ranks.

Her lawyer had asked for more than $400,000 in damages, including lost wages and pain and suffering for “burning her bridges” in Iowa City.

Conservatives who claimed they had long been passed over for jobs and promotions in higher education had hoped Wagner would prevail because of her evidence suggesting discrimination, which is difficult to prove. The evidence included what her lawyer called a “smoking gun email” in which an associate dean warned then-Dean Carolyn Jones that he worried professors were blocking Wagner’s hiring “because they so despise her politics (and especially her activism about it).”

Others in higher education warned that, if Wagner was successful, it would give the courts a bigger role in second-guessing decisions best left to the judgment of universities and likely lead to more litigation. Some also raised the prospect that universities could face government-mandated quotas requiring them to hire a certain percentage of professors of differing political beliefs.

The trial exposed tension among the Iowa faculty and questionable hiring practices, including the law school’s decision to erase a videotape of Wagner’s job interview shortly after she was turned down. The university also could not produce any written documents showing criticism of her interview at the time; the only documents made public were from professors praising her.

Fieweger said the trial had showed how hiring decisions were made by faculty vote with no clear rationale.

“It did shed light on that so that people can see that there has to be some type of reform,” he said. “There’s really a complete lack of transparency here.”

University spokesman Tom Moore said the school respected the trial’s outcome and will “continue to review our policies to ensure that all hiring and promotion practices at the university comply with the law.”

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

via Judge calls mistrial on conservative’s 14th Amendment claim in hiring at U. Iowa law – The Washington Post.

Posted at 01:36 PM ET, 10/24/2012

By Jenna Johnson

The American Association of University Women released a report today showing that one year after graduating college, men already made more money than women.

Overall, the pay gap was 18 percent. When adjusting for different career choices and other variables, the gap was 6.6 percent. (You can read more here: “One year out of college, women already paid less than men, report finds.”)

In addition to explaining the gap and possible reasons for it, the association’s researchers also gave a list of recommendations for narrowing and dissolving the gap. The researchers advocated for employers to increase transparency in their pay and evaluation systems, along with urging policy makers to strength and pass pay equity laws, protect Pell grant funding and protect students from questionable loans.

They noted: “A problem as long-standing and widespread as the pay gap, however, cannot be solved by the actions of individual women alone. Employers and the government have important roles to play.”

But they also laid out a number of things that students and others can do. Here are a few, which I pulled directly from chapter four of the report, “Graduating to a Pay Gap”:

High school and college students

* Educate yourself about typical salaries for various college majors. Consider future earnings when making the critical decision of college major. Your choice will affect the economic security of you and your family throughout your lifetime.

* If you must borrow money for college, educate yourself about the terms associated with public and private student loans. Exhaust your federal borrowing options before considering more risky private student loans.

*Attend a $tart $mart salary negotiation workshop at a campus near you.

Recent college graduates

* Consider future earnings when deciding which job to pursue. Like college major, occupation has a significant effect on earnings. Your paycheck affects many parts of your life, from quality of life to your health to your retirement savings. Choose your occupation carefully.

* Know what your skills are worth in the labor market. Be skeptical of salary offers and pay raises, and negotiate if you believe your contributions are worth more.

* Consider pursuing a job where you are represented by a union.

Parents and teachers

* Help your children and students understand the financial implications of various fields of study and work so they can make well-informed decisions.

Again, you can read the full report here: “Graduating to a Pay Gap.”

By Jenna Johnson | 01:36 PM ET, 10/24/2012

via Starting salaries: How can women catch up with the guys? – Campus Overload – The Washington Post.

Posted: October 25, 2012 – 12:47am

By BILL KACZOR

Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott’s higher education task force tentatively agreed Wednesday on recommendations that include basing tuition on the type of degree a student is seeking and letting “preeminent universities” set higher rates.

The seven-member panel rejected proposals for making it goal to reach the national average in state university funding — Florida ranks near the bottom — and giving the Board of Governors, which oversees the 12 public universities, lump-sum budgeting authority.

Instead, the Blue Ribbon Task Force on State Higher Education Reform settled on less specific language calling for more university spending and greater budgeting power for the board.

“Budgetary control … is critical to being able to really exercise that authority and to really get the attention of the universities and the presidents to BOG as the governing institution under the constitution,” said Joseph Caruncho, who’s also a board member.

The task force plans to finalize its recommendations to Scott and the Legislature next week although they’re not due until Nov. 15.

The panel also came out for giving the board a direct role in searching for and hiring university presidents. It now is limited to approving choices made by each university’s board of trustees, which task force members characterized as “rubber stamping.”

The Legislature now can raise base tuition rates while the board can approve additional increases for each school, but the total cannot exceed 15 percent in a given year.

Before setting up the task force, Scott vetoed a bill that would had allowed the top two research schools, the University of Florida and Florida State University, exceed that cap.

In his veto message, Scott asked for a more detailed plan to ensure students and taxpayers would get a return for the additional tuition expense.

The tentative recommendation says the board would designate pre-eminent universities that could charge higher tuition rates based on performance goals and metrics Scott himself suggested.

These include the percentages of graduates who find employment or continue their educations, graduates’ salaries and the number of degrees awarded in areas of strategic emphasis. Other criteria are the costs for and to each graduate.

Charging different tuition rates for various degree programs could be used to encourage students to enter those fields deemed to be of strategic importance to the state’s needs and economy by offering lower rates.

Then panel also tentatively agreed to recommend that tuition not be increased for the next three years, or until the state’s unemployment rate drops below 7 percent, for degrees in high-skill, high-demand or high-wage areas. The state’s unemployment rate was 8.7 percent in September.

Task force chairman Dale Brill, president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation, objected to setting a goal of reaching the national average for state university spending, calling it “arbitrary.”

State Rep. Bill Proctor, though, argued the state needs to stop embracing “a low-tuition philosophy” or else lower its expectations.

“How are we going to be positioned against the competition?” the St. Augustine Republican asked. “Are we going to ignore that competition and say we’ll just do the best we can with lowest funding we can afford, or are we going to say that we have expectations for our institutions that are going to require more funding?”

The panel then agreed to recommend state funding and tuition should be comparable to expectations.

The lump-sum budgeting proposal likewise gave way to a recommendation for simply expanding the board’s funding and/or budgetary control. The intent is let the board speak for the entire system when it comes to making budget requests to the Legislature to sidetrack lobbying by the universities for their pet projects.

Scott appointed Brill but other task force members were named by board and legislative leaders.

via Fla. panel calls for different tuition based on degree programs, higher rates for top schools | StAugustine.com.