WFU in the news: Aug. 5-11, 2024

FEATURED NEWS

Deforestation harms climate less than other types of Amazon degradation, study finds
By Jake Spring | Reuters
A new study underscores the damage being done to the forest by fires after a drought that has made the region a tinderbox. The techniques used in the research give an unprecedented level of detail on forest degradation in the region of Brazil where destruction is most rampant, according to lead author Ovidiu Csillik, a remote-sensing specialist and professor in Wake Forest’s Environment and Sustainability Studies Program. “When countries report their forest and carbon changes, they mostly rely on deforestation because it’s much easier to see and quantify,” said Csillik, formerly of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology. “But we’ve found that forest degradation is actually more important in terms of carbon loss.” – 8/05/2024

A Mongabay story by Justin Catanosa on the study ran Aug. 9.

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

EPA staff move to safeguard work amid worries of Trump’s return
By Gabe Castro-Root, Stephen Lee | Bloomberg Environment
The Biden administration has already taken the most effective, albeit limited, steps it can to shield its work from a future president, said Stan Meiburg, executive director of Wake Forest’s Sabin Family Center for Environment and Sustainability and a longtime EPA staffer. But those steps take time and may face hurdles from the recent Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which makes it harder for an administration to overturn a regulation based on its policy preferences, said Meiburg. – 8/09/2024

Is the US on the verge of recession?
The Independent Review
Economics professor Robert Whaples, editor of “Is Social Justice Just?”, talks with Ave Maria Radio about the recent stock market drop and its implications, including which indicators kill economic expansion and why unemployment is increasing. In a separate interview, “US debt hits the $35 trillion,” Whaples discusses what the growing debt means for an economy with an aging population and fewer workers. – 8/06/2024

How China’s Communist Party is building political schools, and influence, in Africa
Yahoo Finance
Politics and international affairs professor Lina Benabdallah said Beijing wants to build leadership or party schools to reinforce ideological affinities where they exist between the Communist Party and African political parties. “These leadership schools also create an opportunity for the Chinese governance model to become more influential abroad by helping develop curricula, train staff and so on,” Benabdallah said. She said that for African nations, China’s willingness to financially endorse these schools was a lucrative opportunity. – 8/08/2024

REGIONAL & TRADE

37 N.C. hospitals have joined Gov. Cooper’s medical debt initiative. Will others follow?
By Michelle Crouch | North Carolina Health News
At least 37 of the state’s 99 hospitals have so far signed up for a new state program that promises them extra federal money if they agree to wipe out low-income patients’ old medical debt. Law professor Mark Hall said if not enough hospitals participate, the state may need to look at changing its approach. “Could signing up for this program be something considered during the Certificate of Need process? They are offering carrots. Maybe after the first year, (the state) might have to consider whether they need a bit of a stick to help them along.” – 8/09/2024

WFU School of Medicine receives $3.2M to study financial hardship intervention in adolescent and young adult cancer survivors
Atrium Health
To help address the risk of financial hardship to this group, researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have been awarded a five-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, to test a multilevel intervention in community-based oncology practices in the NCI’s Community Oncology Research Program, a national network that brings cancer clinical trials and care delivery studies to communities. – 8/12/2024

LOCAL

HanesBrands sells off outlet store portfolio, keeps Thruway site
By Richard Craver | Winston-Salem Journal
HanesBrands Inc. has sold its portfolio of Hanes and Maidenform outlet stores as part of its pivotal post-Champion back-to-basics reset. The divesting of the outlet store portfolio is “another example of how Hanesbrands is narrowing its focus,” said marketing professor Roger Beahm. “It’s not just horizontally through the sale of Champion, but vertically by now divesting itself of its retail outlet business.” – 8/08/2024

Staged reading, ‘Turning 15,’ echoes the belief that ‘a voteless people is a hopeless people’
By David Winship | WS Chronicle
In conjunction with the program, Democracy North Carolina held a voter registration drive as part of “Finding Holy Ground: Performing Visions of Race and Justice in America, a collaboration between N.C. Black Rep, Wake Forest School of Divinity and Wake the Arts.  – 8/09/2024

Wake Forest University: Face to Face starts selling single-event tickets
WXII-TV (Winston Salem, NC)
It’s time to get your tickets to Wake Forest University’s Face to Face Speaker Forum! The upcoming season includes Peyton Manning, Anderson Cooper, Jesmyn Ward, David Brooks, and John Legend, and season subscriptions will continue to be available. – 8/07/2024

WAKE FOREST NEWS

Wake Forest’s Educating Character Initiative announces $15.6M in grants to 29 institutions
By Cheryl V. Walker | Wake Forest News
Thanks to the support of Lilly Endowment Inc. and Wake Forest University, the Educating Character Initiative (ECI) has awarded $15.6 million in Institutional Impact Grants to 24 projects among 29 colleges and universities seeking to undertake a substantial and sustained effort to educate character in undergraduate populations across their institutions. These three-year grants range from $100,000 to $1 million. – 8/07/2024

Grant announcements appeared in The Montgomery Independent (Auburn University), The Bristol Herald Courier (King University), Catholic News Agency (Catholic University of America) among others.