Briefs
USPS is most trusted, says study
The premier privacy trust study in America has
cited the U.S. Postal Service as sixth among 200 of
the "Most Trusted Companies for Privacy."
For the fifth year in a row. the U .S . Postal Service
has been recognized by the Ponemon Institute for its
best practices in safeguarding U.S. consumers' per
sonal information among private sector companies.
This year, the Postal Service moved up one position
from last year's listing.
"Over our 230-year history, the U.S. Postal
Serv ice has placed a very high premium upon the
security of the mail." said Delores Killette, USPS
vice president and Consumer Advocate. "We jealous
ly guard the valued trust and respect we've painstak
ingly earned from our customers," she added.
The study asked more than 6.000 adult-aged U.S.
consumers w hich companies they thought w ere most
trustworthy in handling their personal information
responsibly. Of the 706 companies consumers cited,
211 businesses ma3e it to the final list of most trust
ed. Number six on that list is the U.S. Postal Service.
"Consumers want to do business with brands they
believe they can trust," said Dr. Larry Ponemon,
chairman and founder. Ponemon Institute. "We
believe our study is a strong indication of which
brands have best earned that trust."
The Institute has also cited the Postal Service as
the "Most Trusted Government Agency" for four
years in a row. Increasing its privacy trust score every
year since the survey began four years ago. the Postal
Service has been recognized as the government
agency that is best able to keep consumers' informa
tion safe and secure. Those scores are expected to be
released early next year.
Green picked for national council
Forsyth Technical Community College Dr. Gary
M. Green has been chosen to serve on the Education
Council for the Manufacturing Institute.
Ihe* newly-tormed
Council is made up of 25 edu
cators from across the coun
try, representing K-12
schools, community and tech
nical colleges, as well as four
year colleges and universities.
The Council will focus on cre
ating new educational pro
grams to help American work
ers Dreoare for the higher skill
Dr. Green levels required in manufactur
ing jobs today. By expanding
and enhancing the abilities of the workforce, the
Council's efforts are intended to help American com
panies successfully compete in world markets.
The Manufacturing Institute created the Council
to develop initiatives to close the skills' gap that is
developing as a result of retiring baby boomers, to
aid young people and transitioning workers find new
careers in the manufacturing sector, and to ensure
that U.S. manufacturers can lead the world in innova
tion, productivity and excellence.
UNC Charlotte earns
coveted teaching designation
UNC Charlotte has been selected for a presti
gious 2008 Community Engagement elective clas
sification by the Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of Teaching.
The designation recognizes institutions that
have internalized and sustained their commitment
to collaborate with communities through teaching,
research, and outreach.
"From the beginning, this University has had a
rich history of community involvement," said
Owen Furuseth, Associate Provost for
Metropolitan Studies and Extended Academic
Programs at UNC Charlotte. "We now work with
private corporations to expand the reach of our
engagement while also deepening our existing rela
tionships."
UNC Charlotte is joined by Appalachian State
University, East Carolina University, North
Carolina Central University, UNC Greensboro,
UNC Wilmington, UNC Pembroke, and Western
Carolina University among the 119 institutions
honored with the classification this year.
FedEx and UNCF
Scholarship Initiative
FAIRFAX, Va. - FedEx Corp. has awarded a
$331,800 grant to UNCF-the United Negro
College Fund to establish the FedEx/UNCF
Scholarship Initiative.
The new program targets deserving minority
students by providing scholarship opportunities for
high school seniors entering historically black col
leges and universities (HBCUs), including the 39
UNCF member schools. The program also supports
UNCF's "HBCU Empower Me Tour," featuring
actor/author Hill Harper of "CSI: NY." The pro
gram motivates young people to achieve academic
excellence and exercise personal responsibility by
helping them focus on building financial knowl
edge and assets so they can chart their own destiny.
The FedEx/UNCF Initiative will award five,
four- year scholarships for each of the 2009, 2010,
and 201 1 academic years and support the efforts of
UNCF's awareness programs impacting high
school and college students. FedEx has been an
active participant in this year's HBCU Empower
Me Tour, which began in September at Howard
University and will continue through May.
Business school to get facelift
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The School of Business and
Economics at Winston-Salem
State University is slated for a
facelift.
Constructed in 1984, the R.
J. Reynolds Center's $408,567
renovation will be made possi
ble by a U.S. Department of
Education Title III grant,
which helps schools better
serve the needs of their stu
dents.
School of Business and
Economics Dean Jessica
Bailey applied for the compet
itive grant. She says the reno
vations are greatly needed.
"This activity will involve
the renovation of the main lec
ture hall, selected classrooms,
hallways, stairways, and the
bathrooms in the building,"
said Bailey.
The building was construct
ed with a $3.1 million dollar
gift from the State of North
Carolina, R. J. Reynolds
Tobacco Company and other
donors.
As the School of Business
and Economics prepares for
the ten-year reaffirmation of
its accreditation in 2010, it
faces the reality of a building
in need of repair and renova
tion. A consultant's report in
2006 pointed to the need to
invigorate the physical envi
ronment of the school in order
to meet reaffirmation stan
dards.
The renovations are sched
uled for Spring 2009.
The R. J. Reynolds Center was built in 1984.
Q ""
Who Says People Don't
Get Second Chances?
Deferred Prosecution Program is providing some with fresh start
Artrese
Ziglar
Guest
Columnist
This is the latest in a series of
monthly articles by members of
the Winston-Salem Bar
Association, an organization
made up of mostly African
American lawyers. ?
One day, Chris and his friends
decided to have some fun by
going through neighborhoods and
knocking down people's mailbox
es. The friend in the passenger
seat took a baseball bat and dam
aged about 20 mailboxes in a local
area. Police soon arrested all three
boys and charged them with
injury to real property, a misde
meanor. Even though Chris had
not destroyed any of the mailbox
es. under the law, he may still be
convicted based on his assistance
to his friend who did knock the
mailboxes down. Chris does not
have a criminal record and he
does not want to get one now for
something he regrets.
While Chris is a fictional char
acter, this kind of situation hap
pens more often than not.
A person is influenced by a bad
friend, is in the wrong place at the
wrong time, or simply makes a
bad decision, and is now charged
with a crime. Fortunately, our
legislature understands that no
one is perfect and offers an option
to avoid a criminal conviction for
most misdemeanors and lower
class felonies. It is called deferred
prosecution.
North Carolina General
Statute Section 15A-1341 permits
what is known as the "Deferred
Prosecution Program."
This program allows a first time
offender to admit responsibility,
but also prove his/her good con
duct to the court. In return, the
a
court will show leniency and the
charge will be dismissed.
Under the program, a person
must complete certain conditions
within a specific period of time,
which is usually six months. The
conditions most often consist of
community service, payment of
fines and fees, no other criminal
charges, and, in certain circum
stances. completion of treatment
at a local facility. If all precondi
tions are met within the allotted
See Second Chances on A9
Future tech- whiz earns perfect GPA
BY BRITTANY HANEY
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
GREENSBORO - Karlen
Marshall, a computer science
major at North Carolina A&T
State University, was recently
named the university's highest
ranking student. Marshall
earned a perfect grade point
average and was recognized for
her hard work at N.C. A&T's
2008 Fall Commencement Dec.
13 at the Greensboro Coliseum.
The Portsmouth, Va., native
said she began focusing on
earning all A's after her first
semester at the institution.
"I made a 4.0 during the
first semester of my freshman
year. After viewing my grades,
I was very surprised." she said.
"I felt like I had to keep work
ing hard to make the same
grades every semester. If I
would 've gotten a 3.0, 1 think I
would have settled. When I got
all A's, I felt motivated to keep
my grades and continue striving
for success."
Her dedication and work
ethic quickly impressed her
professors, classmates and
administrators.
"God is so good," said Dr.
Vernon Dozier, chairperson of
the computer science depart
ment. "Karlen has truly been a
blessing to our department. She
has worked extremely hard over
her academic career here at
A&T. We, in the computer sci
ence department, are proud of
her accomplishments and praise
God that she will become a part
of our graduate program in the
spring "
Marshall has a wide range of
accomplishments. After com
pleting rigorous courses in her
See GPA on A*
Chancellor Stanley F. Battle presents Karlen Marshall with her
degree during the recent graduation ceremony.
Blake Morani
Legal services
for the poor
aided by grant
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The Wake Forest
University School of Law
will use a grant that it has
received from the Legal Aid
Society of Northwest North
Carolina to support programs
and initiatiyes that benefit
people in low income com
munities.
The Society's gift of
$465,605 will create the
Legal Aid Society Endowed
Fund at the law school.
The Legal Aid Society of
Northwest North Carolina,
the state's first legal aid soci
ety. sold its building in 2007
and wanted to give the pro
ceeds to the law school,
according to the Board
President Cal Adams, who
works at Womble Carlyle
Sandridge & Rice.
"We wanted to keep the c.
money in the community and
we've always had a very
close relationship and strong
connection with the Law
School," Adams said. "We're
excited about what Dean
(Blake) Morant is trying to
do with the pro bono clinical
programs. It seemed to be the
perfect fit."
Morant says that the
school will put the gift to
good use.
"We are thrilled that the
Legal Aid Society has chosen
to contribute to the Wake
Forest School of Law in such
a magnanimous way," said
Dean Morant. "This gener
ous gift will expand the Law
School's ability to provide
legal services to the poor."
Legal Aid Society Board
Member Bill Spry, who prac
ticed law in Winston-Salem
for nearly two decades, said
the goal of the board was to
see the money go to provid
ing legal services to those
who can least afford it.
"We wanted the money to
continue in some way to
serve the mandate of the
Legal Aid Society," Spry
said. "We hope the Law
School can use the money to
fund clinics to provide legal
aid to the poor."