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The Dunbar School Alumni Association Inc. recently awarded $4,000 in Heritage Scholarships to nine descendants of former students, teachers or administrators of Dunbar School.

Selection criteria include academic performance, school and community involvement, volunteer service and financial need. Approval requires proof that a relative is a current financial member of the association.

First time recipients are Devan Corpening, Gioia Hackett, Kristen Johnson and Vanessa Smith.

Devan Corpening is the daughter of Dock and Martina Corpening and the granddaughter of Dunbar School graduate Kathleen Corpening. An honor graduate of East Rowan High School, Devan Corpening is a freshman at Winston-Salem State University where she is pursuing a degree in biology. Her future plans include seeking a medical degree focusing on pediatric care.

Gioia Hackett is the granddaughter of Dunbar School graduate Olean Massey Hall and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jimmie Hackett Jr. The Charlotte native is a junior at East Carolina University where she is studying graphic design and photography. Gioia Hackett said that her participation in ECUs competitive School of Art and Design has taught her the importance of time management. Her future plans include working on a national campaign to promote wellness.

Kristen Johnson has a history of service and participation in her school, church and community. An honor graduate of Panther Creek High School in Cary, Johnson is a freshman at N.C. A&T State University where she plans to major in political science and biology. Her future plans include becoming an attorney who specializes in green energy or green tech. Johnson is the daughter of Dr. Earl and Ophelia Johnson and the granddaughter of alumni president Benjamin Davis and Suzette Davis.

Vanessa Smith is a student at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Conn., where she is pursuing a degree in psychology. Smith feels that a degree in psychology will enable her to effectively serve as a therapist to children and single mothers struggling with raising their children and building a stable foundation in which to live along with others and feel complete. She is the daughter of Dunbar School graduate and alumni member Jackie White Smith.

Four recipients received the scholarship for the second time: Lathan Charleston, Tony Hillian, Allison Parker and Kara Walker.

Lathan Charleston is a junior criminal justice major at North Carolina Central University. His future plans include pursuing a career in law enforcement at the local, state and possibly national levels. He hopes his professional skills and training will enable him to build programs designed to engage youth in wholesome activities that will keep them off the streets. Charleston is the son of Angy and Josiah Charleston Jr. and the grandson of alumni members Ford and Patricia Sifford.

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Dunbar Alumni Scholarships awarded

HAMILTON, N.J. - Gov. Chris Christie said he has no plans to scale back , or slow down , a planned merger involving three of New Jersey's public universities, despite vocal opposition from people with ties to Rutgers University's Camden campus.

Christie said Tuesday the merger is an all-or-nothing plan that he expects to move forward as soon as July 1. He said he won't consider pleas from students, faculty and alumni that Rutgers-Camden, including its well-regarded law school, retain its name.

"It all happens or none of it happens," Christie said Tuesday, after touring a Catholic charter school in Hamilton and chatting with high school students there. "This is not a divisible plan. It is a well thought out, coordinated plan to create three centers of excellence for higher education in New Jersey. "

The governor's proposal to realign higher education calls for Rowan University to take over Rutgers-Camden and for parts of the scandal-tainted University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey to be merged into Rutgers. Rowan, whose new medical school will open this fall, would gain law and business schools, and with them, status as the state's second major research university. Rutgers would take over the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the School of Public Health.

The remaining parts of UMDNJ would be renamed. UMDNJ spent years mired in scandal related to no- or low-show jobs provided in exchange for steering patients or taxpayer money to the school, billing irregularities and employees accepting favors from contractors. As a U.S. attorney, Christie oversaw high-profile criminal prosecutions that resulted.

It's unclear legally whether Christie can accomplish the plan by executive order or if it requires legislative approval. Also unclear is whether the plan needs approval from Rutgers' Board of Governors and Rowan's Board of Trustees.

There is no official cost estimate. Christie said a preliminary estimate of $40 million to complete the Rutgers-UMDNJ portion of the merger would not be a deterrent.

The Legislature held a public hearing on the plan Monday on Rowan's main campus in Glassboro. Of the 50 or so people who testified, most were affiliated with Rutgers-Camden and opposed the merger.

Wendell Pritchett, chancellor of Rutgers-Camden, summed up the strength of the opposition this way: "It's extremely rare that people in academia agree on anything. Every single person I have interacted with , students, faculty, staff, alums , everyone opposes this merger."

Pritchett said there are less costly opportunities for the two schools to collaborate on research, but Christie on Tuesday shot down any hybrid of his plan, like a research consortium.

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Christie: University merger will happen this year

Senior students at more than 130 medical schools across the United States learned where they would spend the next three to seven years of their career Friday.

With red envelopes in hand, seniors at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center joined more than 35,000 of their fellow medical students from all corners of the nation at 11 a.m. to learn their fate a time known as Match Day.

Its always a great celebration because they spend all this time working on their applications and they finally find out where theyve been accepted, said Dr. Steven Berk, dean of the Health Sciences Centers School of Medicine.

According to the National Resident Matching Program, more than 95 percent of U.S. medical school seniors the highest rate in 30 years were matched to residency positions.

These individuals make up the nearly 16,000 U.S. medical students who learned where they will spend their years in residency training.The number of applicants in this years Main Residency Match rose by 642, for a total of 38,377 participants, according to the NRMP.

There are currently 129 students at Tech waiting to graduate from medical school, Berk said, and will continue their residencies at their selected destinations.

He said students had to have their application materials submitted by November and they spend months visiting hospitals across the country. Applicants submit a list of their desired workplaces in order of preference, and each institution submits a list of medical students they are interested in hiring.

Afterward, Berk said a computer matches the students with their medical residencies.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the National Residency Match Program uses a computer algorithm, which is designed to produce results for students in order to fill the thousands of training positions available at teaching hospitals in the United States.

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TTUHSC students matched to various residency programs

Are worries over funding for Penn State University ringing alarm bells in Carlisle?

Officials at revenue-strapped schools, including Penn State, are battling proposed cuts in state funding. They told legislators they could be forced to close branch campuses.

Penn State could see funding cut by 30 percent under Gov. Tom Corbetts proposed budget. Its state funds were slashed 19 percent last year. Meanwhile, Penn State could be weighing the viability of its 19 branch campuses, medical college and Dickinson School of Law campuses in State College and Carlisle.

It raises the question. Is the law campus in Carlisle, which Penn State threatened to close in 2003 and has just 50 first-year students compared with 130 at the law campus in State College, again vulnerable?

No, school leaders say. Dickinson Law is stronger than ever. It might feel cuts, but there are no plans to close the Carlisle campus.

Dickinson Law is doing very well, but like Penn States other colleges and campuses, the school has to find ways to do more with less in these times of increasingly scarce resources, university spokeswoman Lisa Powers said.

Dickinson Laws budget is separate from the university spending plan, although it receives about $5 million annually from Penn State. The 2010-11 law school budget was $28.6 million. Powers said money from the university helps cover costs associated with having a second law campus.

Dean Philip McConnaughay said the school is better poised for success than it has been in decades.

It is breaking ground in student body diversity and drawing more and higher-caliber applicants. Some of the worlds top law scholars have joined the faculty. It has gained national recognition for programs.

I do not foresee any significant budgetary issues that could affect or in any way diminish our ongoing two-location operation, McConnaughay said.

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Penn State Dickinson School of Law not threatened by funding cuts

Greensboro, NC -- The Junior Class of Vandalia Christian Schoolhosted a fundraiser to help fellow classmate Will Zimmerman and his family pay medical bills.

Will was diagnosed with AML Leukemia in August of 2011 at the age of 16. Before his diagnoses, Will was a member of both the soccer and basketball teams. For the past six months, Will has undergone five rounds of chemotherapy which has racked up a pretty large medical bill.

To help Will and his family,his fellow classmates have been raising money by selling "Team Will" t-shirts and wrist bands.

As part of their fundraising efforts, the school hosted a "Team Will" shoot-a-thon and basketball game Saturday night.

Participants of the shoot-a-thon were asked to find people to sponsor them. Shooters had 100 attempts to make a basket, and sponsors agreed to donate $1.00 for every basket made, all donations going to help the Zimmerman family.

The school also hosted a basketball game between the VCS Varsity Boys and VCS Alumni-Teachers-Coaches to help raise money.

The event raised $7,000 to help the Zimmerman family with medical expenses.

If you would like to help "Team Will" or find out about future events to help the Zimmerman family you may contact the school at (336) 379-8380.

WFMY News 2

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'Shooting For Will', Students Hold Fundraiser To Help Fellow Student

(03-16) 16:50 PDT Hershey, Pa. (AP) --

Penn State has started implementing new guidelines borne of recommendations by former FBI director Louis Freeh that it hopes will improve the protocols involved in identifying and reporting child sex abuse.

The steps outlined to university trustees Friday by school President Rodney Erickson focused on areas such as the prompt reporting of allegations and a new compliance offer. They were initially put forward by Freeh, who's heading the trustees' internal investigation into a child sex abuse scandal involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

The details came amid what proved to be another busy legal day in the case against Sandusky. The school's lawyer said that a number of Penn State employees had received subpoenas from the state attorney general's office, while Sandusky's lawyer told a judge he needs psychological reports, juvenile arrest records and other documents about his client's accusers to prepare for trial.

Erickson said he knows the names of some of the staffers who received subpoenas. He declined to release their names but said at least a half-dozen people got them, ranging from senior officials to low-level staffers. He said he wasn't subpoenaed, and trustees chair Karen Peetz said she hadn't heard of trustees being subpoenaed, either.

The school wasn't officially notified of the subpoenas; instead leaders found out after recipients contacted the school's general counsel. They were advised to get their own lawyers, Peetz said.

"We expected it, knowing that there was an (investigation) going on. ... No one was alarmed," Peetz said. "We expect this will take some time to play out."

The university, embroiled in the scandal since Sandusky's arrest Nov. 5, is trying to move forward while still dealing with the legal implications that keep refocusing attention on the past. Some vocal alumni remain angry with the board's actions in the frantic week that followed Sandusky's arrest, including the ouster of the late Hall of Fame football coach Joe Paterno and then-school President Graham Spanier.

Peetz said people related to the school have been dealing with "an enormously emotional issue."

"As people get their heads around it in their own individual way, what we're hoping is that we can move forward together," she said.

Continued here:
Penn State implements ex-FBI boss' recommendations

"I'm outraged and embarrassed by the leadership of my university," said Wendy Silverwood, a 1982 graduate who lives in West Chester. "They had legal and moral responsibility to act when this occurred decades ago."

Silverwood, who wore the letter "I" in "resign," said she and others want answers from the board, and "want to know where the leadership of the university was when this went down."

The meeting here in the state's sweetest city revealed the depth of emotion that continues to surround the sudden firing of Paterno on November 9. Board members have received hate mail and even death threats.

As the meeting came to order Friday, Peetz said she was "awestruck" by the commitment of students, faculty and staff to the school, calling them "an example for others to follow." She credited school President Rodney Erickson as a leader who "took over at a time when we needed him most," and her fellow board members as people who selflessly donate hours of time to the school.

Former Penn State and Pittsburgh Steelers star Franco Harris sat with his arms folded as routine presentations went on and on, at one point raising his hand to try to ask a question. He wasn't called on, and later left the meeting, trailed by reporters.

"This board doesn't have any leadership qualities," Harris said. "This board of trustees has hurt Penn State."

Harris said he had wanted to ask the question, "Which police department should Paterno have called?" The university regulations don't specify, he said, questioning how Paterno could then be held responsible for failing to notify police.

Harris was upset that by the time he left the meeting, more than an hour after it began, no one among the leadership had mentioned Paterno's death.Reporters asked, did he think that was disrespectful?

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Angered alumni demand resignations of Penn State board

HERSHEY, Pa. - The new chairwoman of Pennsylvania State University's governing board on Friday recommitted the leadership to seek justice for victims of sexual abuse, and transparency and change in school operations.

But angry alumni came here carrying their own message for Karen Peetz and her colleagues: Step down. Now.

One group here at the board of trustees meeting wore blue-and-white T-shirts that together spelled out, "R-E-S-I-G-N." In interviews, they said the board that dismissed football coach Joe Paterno and president Graham B. Spanier for failure of leadership, amid allegations of child molestation by a former assistant coach, was itself responsible for gross failure of oversight.

"I'm outraged and embarrassed by the leadership of my university," said Wendy Silverwood, a 1982 graduate who lives in West Chester. "They had legal and moral responsibility to act when this occurred decades ago."

Silverwood, who wore the letter "I" in "resign," said she and others want answers from the board and "want to know where the leadership of the university was when this went down."

The meeting here in the state's sweetest city revealed the depth of emotion that continues to surround the sudden firing of Paterno in November. Board members have received hate mail and even death threats.

As the meeting came to order Friday, Peetz said she was "awestruck" by the commitment of students, faculty, and staff to the school, calling them "an example for others to follow." She credited school president Rodney Erickson as a leader who "took over at a time when we needed him most," and her fellow board members as people who selflessly donate hours of time to the school.

Former Penn State and Pittsburgh Steelers star Franco Harris sat with his arms folded as routine presentations went on and on, at one point raising his hand to try to ask a question. He wasn't called on, and later left the meeting, trailed by reporters.

"This board doesn't have any leadership qualities," Harris said. "This board of trustees has hurt Penn State."

Harris said he had wanted to ask the question, "Which police department should Paterno have called?" The university regulations do not specify, he said, questioning how Paterno could then be held responsible for failing to notify police.

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Penn State board meets, still feels the heat

The Hill School is pleased to announce that David Paton, M.D., F.A.C.S., a member of the class of 1948, has been named the recipient of the 2012 Sixth Form Leadership Award. Dr. Paton will become the 14th recipient of the Schools Sixth Form Leadership Award, which is presented annually to an individual who has proven to be an exemplary leader and true role model for Hill students. This years award presentation will take place on Thursday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the theatre of the Center For The Arts. The event will kick off The Hills Career and Leadership Summit, a two-day event with activities involving career exploration and networking for fifth and sixth form students, alumni, parents, and friends of the School.

Dr. Paton is an internationally recognized academic ophthalmologist, now retired. He also is a humanitarian and founder of several non-profit organizations dedicated to providing much needed preventative eye care and treatment to the citizens of developing countries. He is the founder of and former medical director of Project ORBIS International, the worlds only Flying Eye Hospital and mobile teaching hospital.

Dr. Paton will become the 14th recipient of the Schools Sixth Form Leadership Award which is presented annually to an individual who has proven to be an exemplary leader and true role model for Hill students. This years award presentation will take place on Thursday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the theatre of the Center For The Arts. The event will kick off The Hills Career and Leadership Summit, a two-day event with activities involving career exploration and networking for fifth and sixth form students, alumni, parents, and friends of the School.

Dr. Paton is a 1952 graduate of Princeton University and 1956 graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. After completing a medical internship at Cornell University Medical Colleges New York Hospital, he spent two years in ophthalmology research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. He completed his five-year residency in ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins Hospitals Wilmer Institute. He traveled overseas to Jerusalem, Jordan for his fourth year of his training. Inspired by his father, the late Dr. R. Townley Paton, also an ophthalmologist and founder of the worlds first eye bank in 1944, Dr. Paton established one of the earliest eye banks in the Middle East. He was decorated for his efforts by King Hussein of Jordan.

Dr. Patons past faculty appointment sites have included The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, where in addition to his work in ophthalmology he served for four years as dean of admissions for The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; Baylor College of Medicine in Houston where he also served as chairman and director of the colleges Cullen Eye Institute; and Cornell University Medical Center in New York, where he was a professor and served as chairman of the department of ophthalmology at the Catholic Medical Center of Brooklyn and Queens, which was affiliated with Cornell.

A former Markle Scholar in Academic Medicine, Dr. Paton is past chairman of the American Board of Ophthalmology and former secretary of continuing education and vice president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). He is the author and/or editor of a number of textbooks and the first author of 160 published original medical papers; his clinical work has favored corneal and cataract surgery.

Dr. Paton has received numerous accolades primarily as a result of his role as the founder and medical director of Project ORBIS, which since its creation has carried out more than 1,000 programs in 88 countries, enhanced the skills of more than 288,000 eye health care personnel, and helped provide quality eye care treatment to more than 15 million people. He is the recipient of two honorary degrees: Princeton Universitys Class of 1952s Distinguished Classmate Award for Career Achievement (1992), and Johns Hopkins School of Medicines Distinguished Medical Alumnus Award.

He also has been recognized by the French Legion of Honor and received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Ronald Reagan in 1987. Dr. Paton served for eight years on the medical advisory board of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He also served on the advisory board of the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

His most recent and active professional participations involve the East Hampton Healthcare Foundation, the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, some medical consultancies, and non-governmental organizations related to eye care abroad, including One World Sight Project and World Eye Organization. He has also written a provocative memoir, Second Sight: Views from an Eye Doctors Odyssey, which details, in part, the delight of participating in the evolutionary status of global eye care and the infringements upon medicine by law and business.

Dr. Paton is the father of one son, David Townley Paton. He resides on the South Fork of Long Island, N.Y. with his wife, Diane Johnston Paton. Continued...

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Hill School to honor Dr. David Paton