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ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ young alumna Kristine Silverstri served as a guest writer this week for Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, who published on his newspaper blog Silvestri's account of contracting malaria when she visited Ghana in late 2008.

Three staff members were honored May 28 in McCrary Theatre during ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ's annual Staff Appreciation Day. Jeff Brenner was named Physical Plant Staff Member of the Year, Bernice Foust was named Office Staff Member of the Year and Mary Wise was named Administrative Staff Member of the Year.

Following the 2001 terror attacks and a push for security of government information, constitutional protection for published works grew exponentially, making access to records, including traditionally public documents, more difficult for journalists. "Access Denied," a new DVD co-produced by the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Program for Documentary Production, chronicles that trend and offers additional tips and resources for reporters.

The United Church of Chapel Hill is celebrating its centennial anniversary, and on May 23, 2010, the church unveiled a bronze plaque listing all of its former pastors, including ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ president emeritus J. Earl Danieley.

Efforts of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ volunteers at Homecoming 2009 bore fruit in Haiti this spring as meal packages distributed by the Stop Hunger Now project fed hundreds of residents left homeless from a January earthquake that killed a quarter million people.

A university senior and his family want to raise awareness of suicide prevention strategies as they compete for a $50,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project, and he needs the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ community’s help with online voting for the Hold Hope Initiative in memory of his brother.

Fourteen ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ alumni in the Class of 2010 will re-enter the classroom this fall as educators with Teach for America, a national nonprofit that recruits recent college graduates to help erase what it describes as educational inequity found in many urban and rural low-income communities.

Hundreds of students, and nearly as many professors and administrators, mingled Wednesday afternoon on the green outside Moseley Center in the annual Senior Class Picnic for Graduates, Faculty and Staff. The informal event gives seniors a moment to relax over pork barbecue and grilled chicken with the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ educators who guided them through four years of study.

Ross Wade, assistant director of career services for the School of Communications, on May 21 co-presented at the North Carolina Association of Colleges and Employers annual conference on "The Power of Storytelling: Utilizing stories to enhance career programming and marketing efforts."