GlaxoSmithKline Faculty Fellows - Program Update

Our Fellows successfully placed several op-eds in North Carolina newspapers this past month, helping to raise awareness of important issues facing our state.  Martin Doyle (class of 2008) and Todd BenDor (2009), both of UNC-Chapel Hill, warned that increased infrastructure spending would create significant environmental damage if unaccompanied by increased mitigation efforts.  Such action would not only help restore wetlands but also create jobs. 

For his part, Fellow Greg Weeks of UNC-Charlotte called for reform of the nation’s 287(g) immigration program.  According to Weeks, the program is designed to meet an important need but has not been implemented properly in North Carolina and elsewhere.  Finally, Graduate Fellow Holly Fowler of NC State University wrote about pending demographic changes, including the anticipated growth in both the youth and elderly populations.  The population changes in each of these groups will pose important—and different—public policy challenges for North Carolina.