iiililliuldiliiiillililihililiililihilliiiililil
WILS 08/20/35 **C
WILSON LIBRARY
67/
a^U
N C COLLECTION - UNC--CH
P O BOX 8090
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2015
94 - NUMBER 47
TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 50 CENTS
U. of Missouri facing
wage crisis after racial
issues, upheaval
By Summer Ballentine
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - With changes afoot, the Univer-
; of Missouri is facing an image crisis after days of protests
;r concerns about the administration’s handling of racial is-
$ and subsequent leadership resignations.
Upset and embarrassed, confused graduates are calling the
mni association to vent and ask questions about what’s hap-
led. State lawmakers who represent Columbia say state
ding for the university likely will be under closer scrutiny
s year. Worried parents have told the school they’re con
ned about their sons and daughters.
University of Missouri spokeswoman Mary Jo Banken says
re’s no denying that the school went through “a really unset-
ig time - and it’s probably going to be somewhat unsettling
a while.”
As the school deals with its tarnished reputation, the Uni-
sity of Missouri System has hired the son of U.S. Sen. Roy
int as a lobbyist, and about 20,000 newly accepted students
The Durham Business & Professional Chain (The Chain) recognized nine outstanding entrepreneurs at its
November 2015 Business Awards Luncheon. Awards presented included the New Business Award, the Business
Achievement Award and the Business Longevity Award. 2015 Durham Business & Professional Chain Award
ees fro left to right are: Mrs. Bertha Higgs,, Dr. Amy Farrar, Ms. Alexandria Marrow. Roy Alston, Ed and Mrs.
Genevia Fulbright and Ms. Maggie Singletary Lewis. Se story and pictures on page 7
o would start in the fall have been sent letters assuring them
t campus is safe.
Banken said the focus has turned to communicating what
ps are being taken to address student concerns, including
development of diversity training for administrators, fac-
/ and students and the new administrative position of vice
incellor for inclusion, diversity and equity.
‘Yes, we do care about the image, that’s important,” Banken
d. “But more importantly it’s doing what needs to be done,
1 doing the right thing and then talking about it openly. 1
ik then as a result of that, our image will improve.”
Tensions at Mizzou came to a head earlier this month in re-
>nse to numerous reports of racist incidents and administra-
s’ perceived lack of response. A graduate student launched
lunger strike, and the football team threatened a boycott,
idents camped in tents by Traditions Plaza - at the heart of
npus - for days, calling for System President Tim Wolfe to
1 down or be removed from office.
iVolfe and Columbia campus Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin
lounced their resignations Nov. 9.
‘My entire staff was doing nothing but answering the phone
day,” Banken said.
Lawmakers are bracing for the fallout during the 2016 ses-
n, which begins in January. Columbia Republicans Sen.
Rosa Parks statue restored; her hands touched many visitors
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The artist who put his bronze sculpture of Rosa Parks in the Rosa
Parks Museum 15 years ago has given the piece a makeover.
The bronze statue wore down and lost some color due to touching and interaction over the years,
The Montgomery Advertiser reported.
The statue received the most wear around her hands, sculptor Erik Blome said. That’s because
people want to connect with the civil rights figure as they pose for pictures with her, he said.
“People are holding her hand as they sit next to her,” he said.
The sculpture depicts Parks sitting on a bus seat, hands settled on the purse in her lap.
“Most of my sculptures don’t wear out quite like that from interaction,” Blome told the Mont
gomery newspaper. “Most people just look at sculptures and mostly touch them here and there.”
After Blome restored the sculpture Nov. 19, it was moved to a new spot in the museum’s front
atrium.
Stanchions now protect the sculpture from further wear, said Museum Scheduler Donna Beisel.
“It’s in a more noticeable spot so visitors can see her in this place of prominence as soon as they come
in,” Beisel said. “We have the stanchions that will rope her off just to protect the finish.”
While Parks’ shine has been restored in advance of the 60th anniversary of the bus boycott, Beisel
acknowledged that the decision to keep Parks out ofhands’ reach may upset some.
“I think people who have been here before and sat with her in the past will be a little upset,” Beisel
said. “We’ll probably have some people upset that they can’t get their picture taken.”
The bus boycott began after Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery city
bus.
MRS. ROSA PARKS
rt Schaefer, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Com-
tee, and Rep. Caleb Rowden both say funding for the uni-
sity likely will face greater scrutiny.
Schaefer said in an earlier interview with The Associated
ss that his job to push for the university’s interests among
colleagues “has gotten a lot harder after the events of the
tweek.”
‘We’re all pretty disappointed in how this makes our state and our
’ship university look,” said state Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, a Shell
ob Republican and vice chairman of the House Budget Commit-
which determines state funding for public higher education in-
The heavy media coverage left an imprint on the minds of alumni,
,to the point that about 25 members left the Mizzou Alumni Asso-
ion, Executive Director Todd McCubbin said. He tells graduates
o call and are grappling with what has happened that, “Mizzou is
what they’ve been seeing on the news.” ‘
‘But it’s also not sunny and 75 (degrees) on the Quad every day,”
said. “We’re somewhere in the middle.”
Tyan Rink, who graduated from Mizzou in 1995 and was in Co-
ibia on Nov. 20 for a reunion, said he hopes what’s happened at
university can motivate other schools to change.
‘This is a bigger problem than just Mizzou,” Rink said.
Other universities - such as Yale, where students protested fol-
'ing a professor’s response to a university email warning about
lally insensitive Halloween costumes - also are dealing with racial
tes, Banken said. She said the school also is “gratified” by march
and rallies at other universities to show unity with the Columbia
se, she said.
‘We don’t mind being the center of attention for a while,” Banken
1, “if it leads tp something better.”
In governor s race,
Spaulding highlights
Cooper decision
RALEIGH (AP) - A Dem
ocratic candidate for North
Carolina governor wants to
draw more attention to At
torney General Roy Cooper’s
decision not to retry a white
police officer in the fatal
shooting of an unarmed black
man.
Ken Spaulding of Durham
released an online video Nov.
19 critical of Cooper, who is
also seeking the Democratic
gubernatorial nomination in
March.
Cooper’s office declined
in August to retry Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Officer Ran
dall Kerrick after a hung jury.
Eight of the 12 jurors had
backed Kerrick’s
SPAULDING
acquittal. Cooper says prosecu
tors agreed a retrial would not
lead to a different result.
Spaulding has said it was
wrong for Cooper to interfere
with the proper administration of
justice in the case.
The video features footage
from Cooper’s gubernatorial an
nouncement and news reports
about the 2013 shooting of Jona
than Ferrell.
Dr. George Koob at NCCU Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute with NCCU and UNC faculty and
“dents.
NCCU, UNC Awarded $7.5
Million to Study Alcohol Ef
fects
National Institutes of Health director visits NCCU re
search laboratories and gives special presentation.
North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and the University of
North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine have been awarded $7.5
million to examine factors causing alcohol-related health disparities
in African-Americans.
The grant from National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcohol
ism (NIAAA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded $6
million to NCCU and $1.5 million to the Bowles Center for Alcohol
Studies, a research center at UNC School of Medicine.
The grant covers a five-year period and provides a boost to an
ongoing collaboration between the institutions as they examine al
cohol-related pathologies, which are more prevalent among African-
Americans.
Dr. George Koob, director of the NIH/National Institute on Alco
hol Abuse and Alcoholism, visited NCCU’s Julius L. Chambers Bio
medical/Biotechnology Research Institute (BBRI) and the Bioman
ufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE)
research labs on Nov. 18.
During his visit, Koob discussed the cooperative agreement and
its benefits with research professionals from NCCU and UNC.
“The partnership gives aspiring scientists an opportunity to ex
amine the effects of alcohol and to receive training in the field of
alcohol pathologies,” said Koob. “Students will conduct research to
produce breakthroughs in science to increase better health and fewer
effects of diseases in communities.”
Researchers from both institutions are studying the molecular
mechanisms of fetal alcohol pathology, alcoholic liver disease, and
alcohol-related cancers, including breast cancer. The investigators
also will examine adolescent binge drinking and the effects of alco
hol and marijuana on brain stem cells and neurotoxicity.
Gregory Cole, Ph.D., chair of Biological and Biomedical Sci
ences at NCCU, and Fulton Crews, Ph.D., director of UNC’s Bowles
Center, are lead investigators on the project.
“The UNC-NCCU partnership has been critical in establishing
alcohol research as a focus at NCCU, providing new and exciting
opportunities for students and faculty and creating beneficial col
laborations with UNC Bowles Center faculty,” Cole said.
The joint research initiative opens UNC research laboratories,
core facilities and libraries to faculty and students at NCCU, allow
ing them to work with some of the world’s leading alcohol research
ers, Crews said.
NCCU’s Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute and Bio-
manufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise and
are strongly focused on research, particularly in the areas of drug
discovery and manufacturing technology. These institutes combine
highly credentialed faculty with state-of-the-art equipment and
industry-modeled labs to create unsurpassed research and learning
environments. Students conduct multidisciplinary and inter-institu
tional studies focused on health issues that disproportionately affect
minority and underserved populations. The programs are designed to
prepare students for careers in the biomedical sciences.