@work on the economy:

 

 

 

New Doctor of Nursing Practice Programs Healthy for

North Carolina

 

 

 

As health care becomes an even more important part of our economy, health care workers with the right skills are critical to our success. Nurses are an important part of that equation, and going forward, the sector is demanding more nurses with a new level of education: the doctorate of nursing practice, or DNP.

 

As part of the new strategic plan, UNC is moving quickly to develop new DNP programs:   Western Carolina and five other UNC schools (ECU, UNCC, UNC-CH, UNCG, WSSU) have gotten the green-light to offer DNP’s, a move that will help produce the next generation of qualified healthcare leaders and instructors, ensuring that North Carolina’s citizens can continue to lead healthy and productive lives.

 

Western Carolina’s DNP program will be offered jointly with UNCC, with face-to-face courses taught at UNCC and at WCU’s new instructional site at Biltmore Park Town Square in Asheville.

 

The DNP program should be especially beneficial western North Carolina, which has often had gaps in access to quality health care. According to Shawn Collins, interim associate director for WCU’s graduate nursing program, more DNPs should help fill part of that gap. “The DNP will prepare students to practice at the highest level of clinical nursing and to provide leadership in our dynamic health care systems,” Collins said. “Graduates of the program will be able to analyze systems of care and provide high-level leadership to improve patient safety and quality of care and to implement evidence-based culturally competent care practices.”

 

The new program will offer specialties in family nurse practitioner, nurse anesthesiology and nursing administration. The DNP will begin next fall as a post-master’s program, giving students who have completed requirements for a master of science in nursing degree the option of continuing for another two years of study to receive a doctor of nursing practice degree, and will begin admitting students for the full three-year post baccalaureate program in 2016.  Slightly less than half the course work will be offered online.

 

Read More:

 

http://thereporter.wcu.edu/2013/02/wcu-to-launch-doctor-of-nursing-program/

 

http://news-prod.wcu.edu/2013/02/doctor-of-nursing-practice-gets-ok/

 

  

@work in the community:

 

 

UNCSA Graduate Scores Super Bowl Victory

 

 

 

What does the UNC School of the Arts have to do with the Super Bowl? This year, Mark Freiburger, a 2005 graduate UNCSA, directed the number one 30-second Super Bowl ad in the country according to USA Today Ad Meter. Freiburger won the Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” contest for directing “Fashionista Daddy,” a commercial in which a little girl persuades her father to leave a game-day gathering to play “Princess Fashion Show.” After his friends catch him  in a pink dress, tiara, and makeup, they are enticed – by the promise of Doritos – into playing as well.

 

The 30-second video was shot in Los Angeles, where Freiburger currently lives and works, with help from cinematographer Matt Skala (UNCSA) and video editor Chris Crutchfield (NCSU) for around $300, a fraction of the estimated $4 million that it cost to buy 30-seconds of Super Bowl airtime. “Everyone in front of and behind the camera were friends,” Freiburger said. “We didn’t pay anyone. It only cost about $300 to rent dresses and buy Doritos.”

 

In addition to the $25,000 prize for being a finalist in the Crash the Super Bowl competition and the opportunity to work with on the upcoming ‘Transformers 4’ movie with director Michael Bay, Freiburger has garnered quite a bit of attention from Hollywood.  “A few production companies are courting me to sign up as a director in their stable. A lot of feature guys do that; it’s a great way to make money between movies. I’m getting meetings for much bigger jobs on the features side,” said Freidburger.

 

“I’ve really enjoyed my time doing (independent films), but they don’t reach the kind of audience that having a Super Bowl commercial can reach. “ Said Freiburger, “You can make a 90-minute, meditative drama that makes people cry or a 30-second piece that makes everyone laugh. If 100 million people see it, that makes all the difference.”

 

Read more:

 

 http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/02/08/3842194/doritos-ad-gets-charlotte-director.html#storylink=cpy

 

http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/article_59904e66-637e-11e2-bb6e-0019bb30f31a.html

 

@work in the world:

 

 

                                                  UNC's 42 Indian partner institutions

 

 

 

Encouraging Signs for UNC-India Collaboration

 

 

With trade between North Carolina and India increasing from just over $1 billion dollars in 2010 to $1.28 billion dollars in 2011—a 20% increase— the future of India and North Carolina are increasingly interrelated, and it is more important than ever for UNC and India to work together. “If we are going to be successful as a state in the 21^st century, North Carolina – and North Carolinians – must better understand the largest democracy in the world” said UNC President Tom Ross. More than 100 people hailing from campuses across the UNC system—and cities throughout India— answered the call for collaboration and gathered on January 30^th to share their work and their thoughts on how the University of North Carolina and India can develop the talent and ideas that can help solve the challenges of the future. Here is some of what they had to say. 

 

Continue to build and strengthen institutional partnerships: Currently, UNC schools have 41 partnerships with non-profits, universities, and government agencies across India. As a system, UNC needs to continue to build deep institutional partnerships. “The environment today is pregnant for institutional partnership—through student and faculty exchange, research, and collaboration.” –Hari Nath, Member of the UNC Board of Governors

 

Support collaborative research: Since 2005, more than 40 UNC faculty have coauthored research publications with authors at Indian institutions in the fields of agriculture, business, computer science, engineering, medicine and physics. UNC needs to support faculty collaboration among its faculty here and partners in India.“We have already established research partnerships with numerous governments, academic institutions and NGOs; however, India is still one of the strategic countries for our school and we will continue to seek new opportunities there.” - Dr. Rohit Ramaswamy, UNC-CH Gillings School of Public Health.

 

Recruit and retain talented Indian Students to NC: Between 2003 and 2012, the number of students from India increased from 900 on 10 UNC campuses to 1,418 on 15 UNC campuses. These students represent a huge economic and cultural boon to the state, as they are more likely to stay here than non-international out-of-state students, and start companies at a proportionally higher rate. We need to work harder to make them feel welcome: “UNC needs to concentrate on how to better welcome Indian students. Providing airport pick-ups and temporary accommodation can be critical during the first few weeks of the transition.” -Prasanna Naik, President of MAITTRI Indian student organization at NCSU    

        

Help Indian institutions build capacity at home: There are more than 26,000 Indian institutes of higher learning, yet the highest rated Indian school (according to the Times Higher Education Rankings) is the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, which ranks 238^th in the world.  The Indian government is actively seeking ways to improve its faculty’s teaching skills and to develop new curricula that emphasize critical thinking and entrepreneurship. UNC is well-equipped to help the Indian government with this task. “60% of population is in age cohort of 15-59 years. This represents a huge economic opportunity for India— where we can either reap benefits of upgrading their skills or pay the consequences of failing to do so.” -Minister Govind Mohan, Embassy of India, Washington, D.C.

 

Increase UNC student study abroad to India: In the last academic year (11-12) 30 students studied abroad in India. This number represents less than half of 1% of all UNC study abroad activity. By contrast, 49% of study abroad students went to Western Europe. UNC needs to find ways to make it possible for more students to gain exposure to India. “One of the biggest obstacles for students is cost. We need to figure out ways to make studying abroad in India more affordable for students” -Oriana Yost, NCSU student and India study abroad participant.

 

Continue to develop innovative ways to expose UNC students to Indian language and culture: There are a number of exciting connected classroom initiatives taking place at UNC campuses. Virtual Hindi-Urdu language classes are currently offered at four UNC campuses (ASU, NCSU, UNCC, UNC-CH). Using small class sizes and smart boards, Hindi-Urdu and other India-related courses could be affordably expanded to more campuses. Virtual learning also shows promise to help create an unprecedented degree of classroom-connectivity between UNC students and Faculty and their Indian counterparts.  In academic year 2011-2012, 135 ECU students participated in jointly-taught virtual courses with students and faculty in India using videoconferencing technology. “We see that the friendships between the students participating in these classes continue through social media even outside of class, creating valuable connectivity between North Carolina and India that could serve as the basis of future partnerships.” -Leslie Pagleiri, College of Technology and Computer Science, ECU

 

To follow up on the Summit, UNC will form teams to work on further ideas, with the idea of producing a strategic plan for engagement with India by July 2013.

 

The conference was sponsored in part by the generous support of The Ganga Bai and Pyare Nath Narhari Foundation as well as Asha and Sajjan Agarwal. 

  

Fact of the Month

 

 

In academic year 2011-2012, more than 750 students enrolled in 18 non-language courses with an Indian or South Asian focus. At two of our campuses, 312 students took 18 Hindi-Urdu language courses

 

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