RetroSense Therapeutics, LLC, a Wayne State University start-up biotechnology company, has received the Luis Villalobos Award from the Angel Capital Association (ACA), the world's leading professional association for angel investors. Zhuo-Hua Pan, Ph.D., scientific director of the Ligon Research Center of Vision at the Kresge Eye Institute, the Edward T. and Ellen K. Dryer Endowed Professor in Vision and Blindness Research in the Department of Ophthalmology, and professor of anatomy and cell biology in Wayne State University's School of Medicine, along with colleagues at Salus University in Pennsylvania, developed the breakthrough optogenetic approaches to restore vision through the use of a light-sensitive protein from green algae to confer new light sensitivity in the retinas in which rod and cone photoreceptors have degenerated. As one of the advantages, the optogenetic approaches have the potential to treat all forms of blindness due to the death of photoceptors, independent of causative gene or mutation. "RetroSense Therapeutics received their nomination because advanced gene therapy is a difficult field for angel investors or underfunded entrepreneurs," said Stephen M. Lanier, vice president for Research at Wayne State University. "The founders of RetroSense and Dr. Pan have stayed focused on their important work to restore sight. Their work is extraordinary for optogenetics, a field that assumes a long and costly clinical process. They are most deserving of this prestigious recognition."

The McGregor Memorial Conference Center, a Modernist masterpiece located at Detroit's Wayne State University, was among five sites added to the nation's list of historic landmarks today by the National Park Service. Designed by renowned Japanese-American Minoru Yamasaki, who also designed the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the two-story steel-frame and concrete folded slab McGregor Memorial Conference Center was built in an evolving International style, which eventually gave Yamasaki a worldwide reputation. Completed in 1958, the conference center - financed by the McGregor Foundation and one of four structures designed by Yamasaki at Wayne State - includes meeting rooms and reception space overlooking a lobby featuring free-standing columns and partitions highlighted with teakwood. With a refurbished reflecting pond and sculpture garden nearby, the conference center remains the university's primary conference facility. In 2013, the Free Press called it "jewel-like" and "a touchstone of greatness."

Wayne State University's Dispute Resolution Consortium will present the Urban Public Policy Resolution Conference, "Renewal and Reconciliation in Urban Contexts," May 11-12 in Wayne State's Student Center Building Ballroom. The conference will discuss the latest approaches and concepts of professional conflict resolution practice in dealing with intractable policy disputes related to cities and metropolitan areas and present best practice professional techniques that have been applied locally, nationally and internationally to promote effective and appropriate mediation, negotiation, dialogue and restorative practices. Keynote speakers will be Detroit federal bankruptcy mediators Judge Gerald Rosen and Eugene Driker. "Persistent disagreements over public policy often hold up progress toward rebuilding and strengthening our cities. These range from transportation to resources to human relations. This conference will present techniques and methods that have proven effective in breaking these stalemates," said Frederic Pearson, director of Wayne State's Center for Peace and Conflict Studies. "After reviewing some of these methods during the conference, we will also offer two how-to workshops in the afternoon on May 12 to provide further training to participants."

The Wayne State University EcoCAR 3 team, comprised of select engineering students, is hard at work preparing for the EcoCAR 3 Final Competition to be held May 29-June 5, 2015. EcoCAR 3 is a new four-year collegiate engineering competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors (GM) that builds upon the 26-year history of the DOE's Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTC). The program seeks to develop the next generation of automotive engineers with unparalleled experience designing, building and promoting leading-edge automotive technologies. The WSU team represents Detroit and is the only university in Michigan participating in this competition. The team is made up of over 30 undergraduate and graduate students from engineering and communications disciplines.

Community and student leaders gathered Tuesday evening at Wayne State University for a candlelight vigil marking the one-year anniversary of Boko Haram militants kidnapping hundreds of schoolgirls in Nigeria. Hosted by the Detroit Coalition of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, the event called on participants to remember, pray for and raise their voices in defense of kidnapped Nigerian girls - and the estimated 800,000 Nigerian children who have since been victimized by the terror of turmoil in that nation. Alicia Nails, director of the Journalism Institute for Media Diversity, talked about the purpose of the vigil.

Community and student leaders plan to gather Tuesday at Wayne State University for a candlelight vigil marking the one-year anniversary of Boko Haram militants kidnapping hundreds of schoolgirls in Nigeria. Hosted by the Detroit Coalition of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, the 8 p.m. event is at Gullen Mall between the Student Center Building and the David Adamany Undergraduate Library. "Students and members of the Detroit community want to let the world know that - while it may no longer be breaking news - the plight of these young innocents is heart-breaking indeed. And we have not forgotten them," said event organizer Kim Trent, a member of Wayne State's Board of Governors and the Midwest region social action coordinator for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Her group and others, including the Detroit Branch of the NAACP and the National Congress of Black Women, Greater Detroit Chapter, have issued a "call to action," according to a press release. Vigil organizers plan "to remember, pray for and raise our voices in defense of kidnapped Nigerian girls - and the estimated 800,000 Nigerian children who have since been victimized by the terror of turmoil in that nation," the statement read.

Wayne State University is holding a Criminal Justice Career Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 14 at the Student Center Building ballroom. The job fair is open to current college students and graduates interested in careers with federal, state and local police departments, probation and correction agencies in Michigan, including counseling agencies and private companies.

Wayne State University bestowed its first-ever posthumous honorary doctorate degree on Liuzzo in a ceremony witnessed by four of her children, their children, her great-grandchildren and other relatives. Wayne State president M. Roy Wilson called the ceremony an extraordinarily important moment for the family and the university that Viola Liuzzo had attended. "Hopefully, this will help ease some of the pain and this will serve as vindication for their mother," he said. The effort to establish an honorary doctorate degree for Liuzzo was spearheaded by the University's Board of Governors member Kim Trent, who officiated the ceremony. "There is an African proverb that says as long as you speak my name, I shall live forever. Today, Viola Liuzzo, we speak your name," Trent said. "We speak your name and we tell your story because you inspire us and fortify us for the fights for social equality that lie ahead." The university also announced the establishment of a scholarship in the College of Nursing in Liuzzo's name and unveiled a plaque in the Law School courtyard in her memory.

Detroit Free Press writer Cassandra Spratling mentioned in her column about her "Countdown to 60" personal fitness journey - goals that she has chosen to pursue as she approaches her 60th birthday - that she will be pledging to join the ride planned by Wayne State University on Aug. 22. Wayne State's inaugural cycling event, called Baroudeur, offers various options up to a 100-mile century ride. The event also raises scholarship money for disadvantaged students. For more information and to register, go to baroudeur.wayne.edu/

Wayne State University pulled out the stops to welcome real estate magnate Stephen Ross "home" last week for the first time since he graduated from WSU's Law School 50 years ago. In his on-stage interview with Law School Dean Jocelyn Benson, Ross said he told Duggan: Start with jobs. "Unless it's a vacation environment, you're not going to grow without jobs. You don't start building until there are more jobs." "The way I look at real estate, it's what's good for the city, what really belongs there, not just maximizing dollars," he said. "That's why I think we win about 90 percent of the projects in public/private partnerships. There's responsibility that goes with a real estate developer. It's your legacy, doing what has benefit to the city."

Hard work has been a common thread in Ross' success stories. The 74-year-old is the founder and chairman of The Related Companies, one of the nation's largest privately held real estate firms. He's a major benefactor to the University of Michigan, and he's one of the largest donors in Michigan history. He's also owner of the Miami Dolphins and Sun Life Stadium, where the team plays. Ross told students the most important thing they need to know is to find something they are passionate about. "Find something you love so you don't feel like you're working," he said. "It takes time. It doesn't happen overnight. But if you enjoy what you're doing, time goes by too fast." A native Detroiter, Ross's trip back home was noted by Gov. Rick Snyder, who was on hand to welcome Ross back to Wayne State University's Law School.

A rally at Wayne State University provided a timely spotlight on the fight against sexual assault. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the university hosted its annual Take Back the Night Rally. Women and men marched to stop sexual assaults and take back the night, and with a string of unsolved rapes in the city on everyone's minds, the timing is critical. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy was the evening's keynote speaker. Worthy's mission to stop sexual assaults in Detroit is fueled by new laws she championed to get rape kits tested in a timely manner.

On Friday, slain civil rights activist, Viola Liuzzo, will get Wayne State University's first-ever honorary posthumous degree. On Saturday, there will be a celebration of what would have been Liuzzo's 90th birthday. Those are just two of the events in the coming days that will honor Liuzzo who drove to Selma by herself from her Detroit home after watching unarmed American citizens brutally beaten by state and local lawmen. After a subsequent march for voting rights, Klansmen ran her car off the road and killed her. Board of Governors member Kim Trent, who spearheaded the effort to have the university award the honorary degree to Liuzzo, said she is overwhelmed by the community-wide support to honor Liuzzo and her family. Liuzzo had been a student at Wayne State before she was killed. The nursing school is establishing a scholarship in her name. "She so deserves all of this and more," said Trent. "I'm just so excited by the way Detroit has acknowledged her sacrifice as something worthy of our sincere gratitude. "She could have had a comfortable life living in her privilege as a white housewife," Trent said. "She knew the risks because she saw how people were beaten on the Edmund Pettis bridge. She knew but she was willing to take that risk."

Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson announces the appointment of William Decatur as vice president for finance and business operations, treasurer and chief financial officer, effective May 29, 2015. He replaces Rick Nork, who is retiring this year. The vice president for finance and business operations is the chief financial and business officer of Wayne State University. Reporting to the president, the vice president is responsible for business and auxiliary operations, fiscal operations, investment, debt and risk management, facilities planning and management, human resources, procurement and strategic sourcing, and real estate. This position is a key strategic and managerial role at Wayne State University. The vice president also serves as treasurer of the university's Board of Governors and holds the same position on the board of the university's foundation. "I count it a privilege to join the leadership team and contribute toward the high academic and operational standards of Wayne State University," Decatur said.

Viola Gregg Liuzzo will be honored Friday with a posthumous doctor of laws degree by Wayne State University, but there are many other activities this week that will allow people to pay homage to the civil rights martyr. Liuzzo, a Detroit mother of five and Wayne State student, was murdered by the KKK in March 1965 in Selma, Alabama, where she was helping with voter registration after seeing TV news footage of violence on "Bloody Sunday" and hearing the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s call for help. While driving another volunteer home, the Detroiter was shot and killed in her own car as she drove on the Selma-Montgomery highway. The week of events kicks off Thursday with a screening at Wayne State of the 2004 documentary "Home of the Brave." The film depicts what happened to Liuzzo on that highway outside Selma, and it shows how her children have struggled for years to get the government to reveal what it knew about her murderers, one of whom was a paid FBI informant. On Friday, 1:30-3 p.m., a presentation of the posthumous honorary degree to Viola Liuzzo and special dedication of greenspace will take place, with a reception to follow. On Monday, 5:30-8:30 p.m., civil rights attorney Morris Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, will give the Dean A. Robb Annual Public Interest Lecture at the WSU Law School Partrich Auditorium.

While there are a lot of things a college coach can say to entice a potential recruit, Wayne State University women's golf head coach Mike Horn had a selling point that may have been challenging for competitors to match - the opportunity to make history. Although Wayne State, which competes at the NCAA Division II level, has had a men's golf program for many years, it didn't have a women's golf team. The opportunity to be part of Wayne State's first recruiting class was something Horn chose to point out when he was trying to assemble a team. "One of the big selling points was that you're going to be the first-ever Wayne State women's golfer - go down in history as the first-ever class," he said. "Hopefully in five, 10, 20 years, they come back and share that with their families and share that with the next generation of golfers." Those who want to see Wayne State's program succeed going forward may be encouraged by Horn's level of optimism, as he indicated that the program is putting "the steps in place to be successful." "Really optimistic," he said. "If I had to put a letter grade on it, I think in the first semester we were an A-, B+. I think going into this spring, we should build on that." Wayne State is scheduled to compete in the Tiffin Invitational in Tiffin, Ohio on April 12-13.

University Liggett School has been designated a Confucius Classroom by China's Confucius Institute to further support the school's Chinese language and culture offerings and activities. The partnership was made possible through the Confucius Institute at Wayne State University. Liggett is one of five schools statewide to be named a Confucius Classroom by WSU's Confucius Institute. The partnership includes a $10,000 grant to further enhance Liggett's Chinese courses and activities and allow students access to apply for summer travel programs through the Institute headquarters, or Hanban, the Chinese government's nonprofit entity for developing and promoting Chinese language and culture worldwide. Hanban also supports WSU's Confucius Institute and similar collegiate programs across the country. An official Confucius Classroom unveiling ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 8, at the school. Liggett Chinese students and staff will attend the ceremony along with several representatives from WSU's Confucius Institute.

In a "Countdown to Tigers' Opening Day" report WDIV-TV's Guy Gordon talks with Wayne State University Professor Ed Pappas, Department of Communication, about the Tigers' first championship in 1935. Pappas recalls that baseball was an outlet for downtrodden, depression-era Detroiters. "I don't think the Tigers ever had a team with that many players who went to the Hall of Fame," Pappas said. Of the people's reaction to the World Series championship, he said, "They went nuts. If you look at newspaper accounts, the celebration was endless." Detroit was America's city of champions in 1935-6; after the Tigers won, the Lions won their first football championship and the Red Wings won their first Stanley Cup.

In a feature story about the life of Viola Liuzzo, several events are noted on campus and around the Detroit area from April 9 through 14. Among the special events, on Friday, the Liuzzo family will attend a ceremony at Wayne State University where she will receive the school's first posthumous honorary doctorate of law degree.

Kim Trent, Wayne State University Board of Governors member, wrote a guest column about civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo from Detroit who was murdered by a member of the Ku Klux Klan in 1965 while using her car to shuttle a marcher back to Selma, Ala. Trent wrote: "Many historians have argued that her murder pricked the consciences of many members of Congress who passed the Voting Rights Act later that year. I am deeply proud of the important role Viola Liuzzo played in securing black voting rights. That is why I am so proud that Wayne State University will give her a posthumous honorary degree on Friday, one day before the 90th anniversary of her birth and 50 years after her murder. It will be the university's first posthumous honorary degree. Wayne State University is often called a university of opportunity. I am excited that we will soon count Liuzzo among our alumni. I can't think of a better example of our university's mission than a woman who gave her very life so all Americans could have access to opportunity."