Friday, March 20, 2009

Quick hits: Zoo loses Hope, Wesleyan has a new prez

Zoo's gorilla euthanized

"One of the N.C. Zoo's most celebrated residents, the female gorilla Hope, was euthanized Thursday because of a variety of medical problems that had caused her quality of life to decline," according to the News & Observer.

"Hope was 35.

"She became famous in 1989 as the mother of Kwanza, the first and only gorilla born at the N.C. Zoo. The birth attracted national media attention.

"Hope arrived at the zoo in May 1984 after the National Institutes of Health discontinued a gorilla behavioral research program in Louisiana.

"In recent years she had surgery for abdominal abscesses, was being treated for high blood pressure and, most recently, had become almost completely blind. According to a statement from the zoo, chief veterinarian Mike Loomis said Hope also appeared to be suffering from severe headaches. ..."



N.C. Wesleyan chooses new president

"N.C. Wesleyan College has a new president," according to media reports.

"James A. Gray III is a longtime fundraiser who most recently served as associate dean for external affairs at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School. He also served previously as associate dean for marketing and communications at Duke's Fuqua School of Business.

"Gray, a UNC-CH graduate and a Morehead Scholar, was selected after a search that generated more than 130 candidates from 32 states, according to the university. ..."

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