Natural Resources and Textiles Colleges Co-Host Global Health Special Event

Posted on October 24, 2011 by

Speaker: Elizabeth Scharpf, CEO, Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE)
Date: Wed., Oct. 26 at 5:00 p.m.
Location: College of Textiles, Rm. 2207 (parking available adjacent to the building)
RSVP: ncstateglobalhealth@gmail.com by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24

NCSU Global Health Initiatives in the Office of International Affairs, along with the College of Textiles and the Department of Forest Biomaterials in the College of Natural Resources, invite you to a special event featuring Elizabeth Scharpf, a noted social entrepreneur and CEO of Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE). The topic of her presentation will be: The Period Problem: Challenges and Opportunities in the Creation of Market-Based Solutions for Low-Resource Settings

Ms. Scharpf will also address the ways in which she has worked with University students and faculty to co-develop solutions. There will be refreshments in the College of Textiles Atrium following the presentation. For more information on Elizabeth and SHE, please read below. Faculty are invited to a drop-in with Elizabeth in Withers 331 on Oct. 26 from 10:30 – 11:30 (please RSVP). Elizabeth will have limited availability to meet individually with faculty or student groups between 2 – 4 p.m., location TBD. Please contact Marian McCord at ncstateglobalhealth@gmail.com to request a meeting.

Demonstration: 1 p.m. Biltmore Hall – Pulp and Paper Labs

Researchers in the Department of Forest Biomaterials will demonstrate the processes they have been working on with SHE for more than a year.
The service project takes locally-available banana stem fiber and turns it into a surprisingly-absorbent fluff material that seems suitable for the
manufacture of hygienic devices. Two simple steps turn the coarse, twine-like stem material into a woolly mass. The simplicity of the process means that the local people can start up a cottage manufacturing facility and make their own hygiene devices. For more information on the Demonstration contact Dr. Med Byrd at med_byrd@ncsu.edu.

About SHE
Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE) is a social venture using market-based approaches to address social problems in developing countries. Its first initiative, she28, is addressing girls’ and women’s lack of access to affordable sanitary pads when they menstruate causing them to miss school and/or work–up to 50 days per year. she28 helps women start their own businesses distribute and eventually manufacture affordable, eco-friendly sanitary pads by sourcing local, inexpensive, raw materials (e.g., banana fibers), establishing manufacturing systems, and leveraging existing distribution networks. Echoing Green, one of the premier seed funders of social enterprises, named SHE one of the 20 most innovative social ventures worldwide (out of 1,500 applicants). Harvard Business School named SHE founder, Elizabeth Scharpf, its first Social Enterprise Fellow. President Clinton recognized SHE for its accomplishments at the Clinton Global Initiative. In October 2010, Elizabeth won the Curry Stone Design Prize, a $100,000 grant started by UK architect, Clifford Curry, and his wife, H. Delight Stone, and awarded annually to a designer making a global impact in the education, water, health, food, social justice, energy or peace promotion field.

About Elizabeth Scharpf
Founder and Chief Instigating Officer of SHE
Elizabeth is an entrepreneur who has spent most of her professional career starting up ventures or advising businesses on growth strategies in the health care industry. She has spent time as a strategic management consultant at Cambridge Pharma Consultancy as well as stints at the Clinton Foundation and the World Bank in Asia and East Africa, respectively. Elizabeth has an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MPA in international development from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a BA from the University of Notre Dame. Despite all the academic acronyms, she thinks her best education has come from talking with those sitting next to her on buses around the world.

Calvo to Deliver NC State 2011 Borlaug Lecture

Posted on October 19, 2011 by

Dr. Julio César Calvo Alvarado, the Rector (President) of Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica, will deliver the 2011 Borlaug Distinguished Lecture on Global Service to Society and Environment at NC State University. The event is open to the campus community and will be followed by a reception and an open circle discussion with President Calvo.

TOPIC: Costa Rica: In the Path of Environmental Sustainability. Lessons Learned.
WHEN: 3:30pm on Monday October 31, 2011
WHERE: Talley Student Center Ballroom, NC State University Campus.

DOWNLOAD THE FLYER

Additional opportunities to interact with Dr. Calvo

“Forestry Development in Costa Rica” – an open campus disciplinary seminar with Dr. Clavo willl be held from 10:15-11:30 am in Room 1214, Jordan Hall Addition.
College of Natural Resources Roundtable with Dr. Calvo for CNR students and faculty on Tuesday, November 1st from 2:00-3:30pm in Room 4024 Biltmore Hall (The Hines Room).

About Dr Calvo and TEC

Dr. Calvo is President of Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica (TEC), a national autonomous institution, with ca. 6500 students. TEC has undergraduate and graduate programs in a comprehensive array of disciplines: Business, Natural and Social Science and Humanities, and engineering in Agricultural, Forest, Electromechanical, Computer, Construction, Industrial, Design, Production, and Materials Sciences.

Dr. Calvo received his Ph.D in 1991 from Dept. of Forestry at NC State, working under the direction of Professor emeritus James Gregory. He has received Fulbright-LASPAU and NSF Fellowships, and been honored by SIGMA XI, and Agriculture and Forestry Honor Societies. In 1982 he earned an M.S. from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry-Syracuse, and in 1978 his first degree in Forest Engineering from TEC. Professor Calvo works in forest hydrology, natural resources, forest ecology and remote sensing. Previously he was Chairman of the TEC School of Forestry 1983-1987, and again from 2007-2011. From 1997-2002 he was Executive Director of the Tropical Science Center, Costa Rica, and responsible for a Biological Reserves Network, including the Monteverde Cloud Forest Station.

The Noman E. Borlaug Distinguished Lecture on Global Service to Society and the Environment is co-sponsored annually by the College of Natural Resources (CNR) and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at NC State University.

A Summer of Civil Rights and Unrest

Posted on August 25, 2011 by

Sameer Abdel-Khalek, senior in environmental technology, took this photo of injured protesters in Tahrir Square while documenting the struggle in Egypt June 28. Photo courtesy of Sameer Abdel-Khalek.

Sameer Abdel-Khalek took this photo of injured protesters in Tahrir Square while documenting the struggle in Egypt June 28. Photo courtesy of Sameer Abdel-Khalek and The Technician

Sameer Abdel-Khalek, a senior in environmental technology and management at NC State University, knows people around the world are having internal revolutions; so along with three friends he spent this summer traveling through Egypt and Tunisia to uncover the “hidden” stories of the protests of the Arab Spring.

It was quite an experience that is leading to poetry featured on WUNC, a prospective book and photo exhibition and more.

“People are having internal revolutions, regardless of race, age or religion,” Abdel-Khalek said. “With these issues, they say ‘They aren’t ready for democracy.’ Nobody is ready for democracy, you experience it and embark on it and try it out. I am honored to have taken part in that in Cairo and Tunis.”

Learn more about Abdel-Khalek’s travels as well as that of other students who spent the summer experiencing the struggle for civil rights.

Adapted from THE TECHNICIAN ONLINE – 8/16/2011 – By Mark Herring, Features Editor

Read the complete article in The Technician

Listen to the NC Public Radio Podcast – Poetic Portraits of a Revolution: Home Sweet Home
Visit the PPR2011 Blog

Henderson Honored for Revolutionizing Leisure Studies Research

Posted on August 25, 2011 by

Dr. Karla Henderson accepts an honorary doctorate from the University of Waterloo in 2011

Karla Henderson poses with (left to right) Prem Watsa, chancellor of the University of Waterloo, and Feridun Hamdullahpur, president of the University of Waterloo.

According to the University of Waterloo in Canada – Dr. Karla Henderson, a professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management at North Carolina State University, is widely regarded as the dominant scholar in examining leisure and gender and leisure and people on the margins of society.

This summer, Waterloo awarded Henderson an honorary doctor of science degree in recognition of her many contributions as scholar, advocate, academic leader and community builder.

During Waterloo’s convocation ceremony, Henderson addressed graduates of the Faculties of Applied Health Sciences and Environment.

Henderson has a lengthy relationship with Waterloo’s recreation and leisure studies department. A leading researcher – Henderson has published more than a dozen books, four dozen book chapters and about 150 peer-reviewed papers, has held leadership positions in professional organizations and has received numerous prestigious awards for both teaching and research. She teaches primarily graduate courses in recreation and leisure theory and qualitative research methods in the Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management at North Carolina State University .

About Waterloo
The University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada’s Technology Triangle, is one of Canada’s leading comprehensive universities and is known for the largest post-secondary co-operative education program in the world, supports enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery.

More About Dr. Henderson

Read the Waterloo Press Release

Experiential Learning At Its Best, In Greece!

Posted on August 15, 2011 by

Partnering with local schools to exchange recreation and cultural experiences,

Putting hearts and hands to work at the Antonis Environmental Park,

Attending the Special Olympics in Athens and meeting the U.S. volleyball team,

Seeing history in the making during street protests in the streets of Athens.

Those are just a few of the experiences shared recently by 15 NC State University students while completing PRT 491: History of Leisure/Visitor and Destination Management.

According to Janell Moretz, a lecurer in the Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management, the students focused on the history of leisure from its historical origins to how democracy changed the Greek culture and influenced leisure in modern society around the world.

Through excursions and cultural immersion experiences, the students learned how Ancient Greece gave rise to the concept of leisure, spectator sports, festivals, theater and tourism, saw historical sites and modern architecture, explored how the 2004 Olympic venue

development changed the landscape of Greece, examined how tourism affects community development and culture, and made friends throughout Greece and the nearby isles – gaining a comprehensive understanding of Greece’s culture and its people – all in 20 days!

After their return the students completed a reflection exercise which included developing comprehensive storyboards showcasing images and observations from the course experiences. “The students were able to express what they learned in their storyboard projects,” according to Moretz, “It was gratifying to learn how much the cultural exchanges, service learning and trip abroad enhanced their understanding of leisure, recreation and the Greek Culture. I’m look forward to sharing these experiences with more students on our next journey in 2012!

View 2 Student Storyboards – Lindsay Anderson Jason Batt
Learn more about NC State Study Abroad