All articles tagged with #unc chapel hill
Miguel Enrique Salguero-Olivares faces trial in Durham for the 2012 murder of UNC student Faith Hedgepeth. Prosecutors rely on DNA found on a rum bottle and a handwritten note, while the defense highlights missing evidence and procedural errors. The case was solved in 2021 via genetic genealogy after years of unsolved investigation.
Michael Jordan has committed $10 million to the UNC School of Social Work, the largest gift in the school's history. The donation, announced on October 5, 2026, honors his mother, Deloris P. Jordan, and funds new scholarships, research initiatives, and global programs. The gift coincides with the launch of a new undergraduate degree and aims to address a shortage of social workers in North Carolina.
Michael Jordan has donated $10 million to the UNC School of Social Work, the largest gift in the school's history. The donation honors his mother, Deloris Jordan, and funds new scholarships and global initiatives.
Jury selection began on September 28, 2026, in Durham County for the murder trial of Miguel Salguero-Olivares, who is accused of killing UNC student Faith Hedgepeth in 2012. The case, which took nearly a decade to solve, involves DNA evidence and charges of murder, rape, and burglary. The trial is expected to last several weeks, with significant pretrial rulings limiting defense arguments regarding third-party guilt.
The murder trial for Miguel Salguero-Olivares, accused of killing UNC student Faith Hedgepeth in 2012, is set to begin on September 28. A final pretrial hearing on Monday will address a state motion to restrict defense arguments suggesting another suspect. Salguero-Olivares faces charges including first-degree murder, rape, and burglary, having been arrested in 2021 based on DNA evidence.
Tailei Qi, the former UNC graduate student who shot and killed his academic advisor Zijie Yan in August 2023, was found not guilty by reason of insanity on Friday. An Orange County judge accepted the testimony of two forensic psychiatrists who agreed that Qi suffered from untreated schizophrenia and did not understand the wrongfulness of his actions at the time of the shooting. Following the ruling, Qi was returned to involuntary commitment at Central Regional Hospital, where he will remain indefinitely under annual review. The case concluded roughly 37 months after the incident, which had shaken the university community and led to a memorial for Yan in 2025.
Black students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill describe a traumatic incident where an intruder used racial slurs against them during a watch party. Rep. Valerie Foushee condemned the act, demanding accountability and improved safety measures from university officials.
A 45-year-old man from Raleigh, identified as Keegan Carlisle Wilson, disrupted a Black student watch party at UNC’s Greenlaw Hall on Monday night by yelling racial slurs, taking food, and creating flames with an aerosol can. UNC Police detained him 17 minutes after a 9:21 p.m. call, and he was hospitalized for mental distress. He faces charges for disorderly conduct, vandalism, and aggravated assault, and will be banned from campus. Student groups and officials condemned the incident, with Rep. Valerie Foushee demanding accountability. The university did not issue an Alert Carolina, citing no ongoing threat, but provided resources to affected students.
A 45-year-old man was detained after entering a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill building and yelling racial slurs at Black students during a watch party. The suspect, identified as Keegan Carlisle Wilson, was hospitalized for mental distress and faces charges including aggravated assault. Student groups are demanding answers on how he accessed the locked venue.
UNC-Chapel Hill researchers are developing a light-activated drug-delivery system that confines potent cancer medications to tumor sites, aiming to reduce damage to healthy tissue and long-term side effects while moving toward clinical testing.
The Pentagon has realigned its military education partnerships, cancelling fellowships at Ivy League schools and naming UNC-Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech as the new hosts for the 10-month Senior Service College Fellowship, with more universities expected to join soon.
Renowned UNC-Chapel Hill coronavirus researcher Ralph Baric will retire in June. His work helped advance COVID-19 vaccines and related diagnostics, contributing to the Moderna vaccine and other treatments, but also drew scrutiny over the virus’s origins and gain-of-function research. The retirement was announced by Gillings School leaders via email, with no reason given, as Baric’s career–including debates about Wuhan Institute of Virology connections and past funding concerns–continues to be reassessed.
Country star Eric Church delivered UNC-Chapel Hill’s 2026 commencement address at Kenan Stadium, turning the speech into a guitar-led moment that used a six-string metaphor to frame faith, family, heart, ambition, resilience, and community, followed by a live performance of “Carolina” for the graduates.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Board of Trustees, after a delay and lack of public explanation, approved tenure for 33 faculty members, ending a contentious period that sparked faculty concerns and broader debates about the future of tenure in higher education amid financial and political pressures.
Researchers at UNC Chapel Hill have made a groundbreaking discovery about the way the protein which causes Alzheimer’s forms, offering hope for a potential cure. The discovery could lead to the development of a drug that untwists the proteins, allowing the body to break them down and potentially prevent or reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s. This research brings hope to the millions of Americans living with Alzheimer’s, including Carter Grine, who is currently undergoing treatments to manage his symptoms and is hopeful for the progress in laboratory stages.