Duke in the News: Jan. 17, 2003

DUKE FUND-RAISER TOPS ELITE $2 BILLION MARK Charlotte Observer, Jan. 17 -- Duke University has become the fifth American university -- and the first outside the Northeast and California -- to raise more than $2 billion in a single fund-raising campaign. ... Full story --Also, News & Observer: Duke Reaches Lofty Goal Full story Herald-Sun: Duke at $2B Goal & Counting Full story Orange County (Calif.) Register: Duke University Fund-Raiser Tops $2B Full story

BUSH ENTERS THE FRAY OVER MALPRACTICE New York Times, Jan. 17 -- Lawmakers could do more to reduce malpractice insurance premiums by improving the structure of the insurance marketplace, said Frank A. Sloan, an economics professor at Duke University who specializes in health policy and management. (Free registration required.) ...Full story

NICOTINE ENHANCES MEMORY, STUDY FINDS (Toronto) Globe & Mail, Jan. 17 -- While sucking on a cigarette definitely is bad for your health, numerous non-smokers may find themselves some day being prescribed nicotine patches to combat Alzheimer's disease. In a soon-to-be-published study, scientists at Duke University will describe how they tested the patches on senior men and women to counter deteriorating memories. ... Full story

CANADIAN SEALS HIT BY THINNING ICE COVER - REPORT Reuters News, Jan. 16 -- An activist group opposed to the coastal seal hunt has issued a report -- written with three members of Duke University's Marine Laboratory -- saying climate change means the ice cover in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the province of Newfoundland had been much smaller than average in six of the last seven years. ... Full story --Also, CBC News: Melting Ice on East Coast Threatens Seals: Report Full story

TOO MUCH TO LOSE IN HEALTH DISPUTE (Durham, N.C.) Herald-Sun, Jan. 17 -- Editorial about how Duke University Health System and the State Employees Health Plan need to work out a solution to the impasse they've reached on a health plan proposal to reduce the amount it pays the hospital for some services. ...Full story

WAR AND THE POLITICS OF COUNTRY MUSIC WUNC-FM, Jan. 17 -- A local report during Morning Edition featured a preview of "Forgotten Soldier Boy: War and the Politics of Country Music," an illustrated lecture to be given later today at Duke by cultural critic David Whisnant. It's part of "The Arts in Times of War" series sponsored by the Institute of the Arts and the Franklin Humanities Institute. (Story not online; Web site provided.) ...Web site

SUIT VS. STUDENT AT DUKE FRAT CHARGES RAPE (Durham, N.C.) Herald-Sun, Jan. 17 -- Using an obscure and almost unheard of common-law legal mechanism, a former Duke University student is suing another student and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity on grounds of "civil seduction" and assault. ...Full story

ALUM RETURNS AS FEATURED SPEAKER AT TOLERANCE CONFERENCE Chattanoogan.com, Jan. 17 -- Duke alum Nedra Campbell came home to Chattanooga as the featured speaker for the 2003 Tolerance Conference at the Chattanooga African American Museum. She returned as an author of the just-published guide to the American legal system, "More Justice, More Peace." ...Full story

NEW SHAW LEADER LONGER PREPARED FOR JOB (Raleigh) News & Observer, Jan. 16 -- Shaw University trustees offered Clarence Newsome, the first black student to give a Duke commencement address and a former Duke faculty member, the presidency Tuesday. Newsome currently serves on Duke's board of trustees. ... Full story

PARLOR CONCERT TO FEATURE FAMILY (Durham, N.C.) Herald-Sun, Jan. 17 -- Jonathan Bagg, a member of Duke University's music faculty, and his teenage children will kick off this year's Parlor Concerts on Sunday, with a performance of chamber music at the historic Burnside residence in Hillsborough. ...Full story

UNUSUAL ALLIANCE FORMING TO REIN IN COLLEGE SPORTS New York Times, Jan. 17 -- An alliance of university professors and the boards of major universities, frequent adversaries whose merger is akin to the Hatfields and the McCoys joining forces, could represent the most serious attempt yet to take on the modern American monolith of intercollegiate athletics. ... Full story