ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ

The ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Board of Trustees voted Oct. 22 to designate a 56-acre undeveloped tract north of University Drive as the ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Forest, a dedicated land preserve and natural area. The action protects the largest remaining intact forest in the Town of ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ and safeguards thousands of species of plants, animals and other organisms.

This month, ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ students from Dave Gammon's Science Without Borders class presented museum-style science demos to approximately 100 fourth-graders from ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ Elementary School.

Associate prfessor Kathy Gallucci presented her paper, "A Chromatid Is Not a Homologue," at the National Association of Biology Teachers Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minn., on Nov. 4, 2010.

ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ's Center for Environmental Studies hosted a Wild Feline Husbandry and Conservation Workshop on Nov. 6, 2010.

David Vandermast, assistant professor of biology and environmental studies, and Monica Poteat' 10, published "On the scarcity of red spruce (Picea rubens) and Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) in the beech gaps of Great Smoky Mountains National Park," in the Journal of the North Carolina Academy of Science.

Environmental Studies assistant professor Josh Kapfer recently co-authored a manuscript published in the Journal of Zoology titled "Modeling the relationship between habitat preferences and home-range size: a case study on a large mobile colubrid snake from North America."

ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ leaders on Monday formally announced the names of four distinguished professors named to endowed professorships. Eric Fink, Roland Smith, Brant Touchette and Catherine McNeela were recognized during the opening ceremony for Planning Week 2010.

Dave Gammon, assistant professor of biology, wrote a series of six editorial columns for the (Burlington, N.C.) Times-News July 11-16, 2010.

Occasionally, an important science topic attracts so much attention and controversy from the public that regular folks have difficulty sorting out real vs. junk science.