6 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006 Bus takes science on the road BY NICOLE DUNCAN STAFF WRITER A hefty gift from the N.C. General Assembly during the past budget cycle has helped ensure the fate of DESTINY. UNC’s DESTINY Traveling Science Learning Program, which brings science education oppor tunities to state high schools, received $500,000 from the state legislature. This week and during the semes ter, DESTINY science education specialists are traveling across the state in two buses Destiny and Discovery —with state-of-the-art lab equipment for students to gain firsthand experience. The program was created in 2000 and has grown to offer 13 different labs that concentrate on a variety of current issues in science such as evo lution, genetics and forensics. DESTINY also focuses some of its labs on topics covered in the End-of-Course Tests. “We’re constantly trying to upgrade,” said Lisa Pierce, a DESTINY science education spe cialist who travels around the state in the DESTINY buses. One of the buses visited Avery County High School in western North Carolina on Tuesday to per form the “From Finches to Fishes” N.C. Hillel joins entrepreneurial push BY ELIZABETH BEAVERS STAFF WRITER Future CEOs now can pick between two CEIs. N.C. Hillel an on-campus Jewish organization recently cre ated a pilot program known as the Campus Entrepreneurs Institute, offering another option in addition to the already existing Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative. John Kasarda, director of the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative, said the purpose of the program— which originated in 2003 is to promote entrepreneurship across campus. The original CEI offers first-year seminars that relate entrepreneur ship to fields such as biology, reli gion and art. The program also includes the Carolina Challenge, a student-led competition that awards $50,000 to the student or 'M i *po.*o> ’ is w * r% fv^ ’**~ u ;' :; -;fe V'":''\^^Vs.^?> : ?"• ,rjo r* VST W* 0 B -Art* ■ imb <; PcHBB ■•) £ .**-> c.. yvi rjr. jr o< a? *nM HHpBS t *^ >l |g fQ| vOwiaii>yivMKS |S im t <**• J nas* tun'••s w o.V,| J; JJPJs '■**’• • •** enhanced water that's natural, low-calorie and packed with nutrients. ■ ■ ■ GLACEAU a vitaminwater it works lab with Kay Campany’s and Pam Scarborough’s biology classes. Campany is a veteran of the DESTINY labs this is her third year in the program. “Each one I keep saying, ‘this is the best one,’ and I’ve got to quit saying that because they’re all just fantastic,” she said. Teachers aren’t the only ones excited when the DESTINY bus arrives. Campany said class atten dance is 100 percent on DESTINY days. Pierce said that it takes a lot to get students interested in science, but that DESTINY is effective. “They’re high-school kids. They’d rather talk about their prom dates than DNA,” said Pierce, who was a biology teacher before joining the program. Teachers and DESTINY officials said that working with sophisticat ed lab equipment opens students’ eyes to science careers. “I’ve heard a lot of stories about students who didn’t even consider science as a career,” said Claire Bury, public relations manager for DESTINY. “And now just to have an opportunity to take place in a wet lab in the bus, it really changes their minds.” Without DESTINY’S help, many high schools in North Carolina could team that develops the best com mercial or social venture. Kasarda said the Princeton Review and Forbes.com consis tently rank the program as one of the best in the country. The program focuses on non business majors. He estimated that the program involves 400 to 500 students, including 120 participants in the entrepreneurial minor. The new minor, which was established last year, enrolls stu dents of varying majors. N.C. Hillel’s program, bearing the same acronym, takes a less for mal approach to student involve ment with entrepreneurship. The pilot program is part of a nationwide effort led by Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. Valerie Kolko, N.C. Hillel’s direc ilk iis IgL ‘‘'iff] COURTESY OF NANCY DONALDSON Lee County High School students engage in a scientific experiment in November while aboard a UNC DESTINY science learning bus. not afford to perform these labs. “A lot of the schools have out dated textbooks and they’re trying to teach, but they don’t have the resources,” Pierce said. The program is funded by orga nizations such as GlaxoSmithKline, and NASA, as well as the state. The funding from the N.C. leg islature will ensure that DESTINY can continue to offer labs to classes tor of statewide programs, said that the purpose of this student-driven program is to empower individual students to develop their own ini tiatives on campus through peer to-peer engagement. Kolko said 10 students are implementing projects through the program. They must find 60 students not involved with Hillel to participate in their programs. Sophomore Andrew Coonin is one of the students involved in N.C. Hillel’s CEI. He said he wants to complete a Jewish theater project, which will showcase plays with underlying Jewish themes. He said the institute is differ ent from other Hillel programs because it gives students a chance to explore Judaism without attend ing religious services. News such as Campany’s. “That speaks a lot for our state that they value teachers and stu dents,” Campany said. The next stop for the DESTINY buses is Ashe County High School today, followed by Wilkes Central High School on Thursday. Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu. Coonin said he believes N.C. Hillel’s CEI offers a relationship based opportunity that the other CEI might not provide. “It’s not so much about personal entrepreneurship but community entrepreneurship.” Kolko said that N.C. Hillel offi cials were unaware of the other CEI and that N.C. Hillel is “not looking to step on anyone’s toes.” She said she wants to learn from the other program. Kasarda said he isn’t looking at N.C. Hillel’s CEI as competition either. He said the new program indi cates a growing interest in entre preneurship across UNC’s campus which is exactly what his CEI wants to accomplish. Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu. r Jrm wBSKSm Hk- jH Want to Launch a Business or Nonprofit? We can help. UNC’s Launching the Venture program has helped dozens of UNC faculty, staff and students launch new ventures of all kinds. The year-long program guides you through the process. ► Evaluate the market potential of your ideas ► Plan to launch those with the potential to succeed Application Deadline Extended to Monday, Oct. 2 for the 2006-2007 program Learn more and apply at www.unc.edu/cei/launch Launching the Venture is a program of the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative, co-directed by UNC Kenan-Flagler and Office of Technology Development. 1 UNC 4bi CAROLINA ENTREPRENEURIAL INITIATIVE Turning ideas into Enterprises www.unc.edu/cei • cei@unc.edu Education in need of reforms, Spellings says Affordability is next big challenge BY JEFF SOPLOP STAFF WRITER U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings advocated sig nificant reforms for the U.S. higher education system Tuesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Her speech was broadcast and webcast at 1 p.m. on CSPAN and the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site. Spellings spoke about the find ings of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, which she formed in 2005 to develop a national plan for reforming post secondary education. Throughout the past year, the commission has interviewed stu dents, administrators and politi cians about many facets of higher education. The commission’s report noted that although the United States enjoys great success in higher edu cation, many other countries fol lowed suit and now educate more of their citizens to more advanced levels. The report states, “We remained so far ahead of our competitors for so long, however, that we began to take our postsecondary superior ity for granted. The results of this inattention, though little known to many of our fellow citizens, are sobering.” Spellings observed that while higher education in the United States appears fine, considerable education problems must be dis cussed. These issues include rapid rises in tuition prices, a poor record of college students graduating on time and overwhelming levels of debt accumulated by students. Both the report and Spellings emphasized that reforming higher education should be a national pri ority because the demand for well educated citizens is increasingly important in a competitive, highly QJfjr iotiy (Ear Mrrl Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said higher educa tion reform is a priority. global economy. To fix these problems Spellings outlined her action plan to better prepare students, starting with high standards and accountability' in public schools. Spellings said the No Child Left Behind Act, a federal education program, has improved primary education. But she said that high schools have not been able to replicate this success. “A million kids drop out every single year,” she said. “And those who do graduate often aren’t prepared for college.” Affordability is the next chal lenge facing higher education, Spellings said. In the past five years tuition at four-year colleges has increased by 40 percent. “Higher education’s escalating sticker price has many parents fac ing the tough choice whether to save for college or their own retire ment,” she said. Rising tuition costs also are creating a barrier to higher edu cation for lower-income students, Spellings said. “For low-income, mostly minor ity students, college is becoming virtually unattainable.” Spellings stressed the impor tance of implementing reforms to the nation’s higher education sys tem. “For the sake of our students and our future, this is one test we must not fail.” Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.