Wayne State University and Oakland Community College have entered into an agreement that will allow OCC students who have received associate degrees in business administration to transfer up to 82 credit hours to WSU to complete their bachelor's degrees there. The agreement, which was announced Monday and covers OCC business administration students who received their degrees with or without accounting concentrations, is similar to ones already in place with Schoolcraft College and Macomb Community College, according to a news release. Students would have to earn 40 more credit hours to receive their bachelor's degrees. Linda Zaddach, assistant dean of undergraduate student services for the WSU School of Business, said the agreement will last for three years but that she is confident it is "something that will continue" for longer. Zaddach said similar discussions with Henry Ford College have recently begun and that she is in the process of reaching out to Washtenaw Community College to develop a similar agreement.

Actress S. Epatha Merkerson, best known for her long-running role as Lt. Anita Van Buren on the TV show "Law & Order," grew up in Detroit, noted her Wayne State University ties during an interview segment. She received a bachelor's of fine arts degree from Wayne State in 1976, and 33 years later received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater.

Hayley S. Thompson, Ph. D., associate professor, population studies and disparities research program at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, and department of oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, was recently awarded a $1.8 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which will be given over the next four years. The grant titled "eHealth Activity among African American and White Cancer Survivors" will study the use of Internet-based and mobile technologies by cancer survivors once their treatment has ended. The study will compare how African American and White cancer survivors access health resources electronically and the impact that has on their cancer survivorship. "There are more than 14 million cancer survivors in the United States today. By 2024, this number is expected to increase to 19 million," said Thompson. "While it is good news that more people are surviving cancer, many of these individuals face different health related issues. Working with eHealth technologies to help improve the cancer survivor's access to needed services could help address and prevent some of the overwhelming needs and stresses that cancer survivors experience, as well as assist in the ever-changing healthcare arena."

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has presented a National Preservation Honor Award to Wayne State University for its $1.8-million restoration of the reflecting pool and sculpture garden at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center. The project was one of 17 award winners to be honored by the National Trust during its 2014 PastForward National Preservation Conference in Savannah, Ga. Designed in the late 1950s by Detroit-based architect Minoru Yamasaki, the McGregor Pool was Yamasaki's first design to incorporate a reflecting pool and sculpture garden and is one of the few Yamasaki pools that still exist today. Over time, problems arose with the structural integrity of the pool and the university drained out the water, leaving the pool empty for many years. In 2011, the university embarked on a two-year $1.8-million restoration. "While each is unique, this year's outstanding Honor Award winners all reflect the importance of protecting our nation's cultural heritage," said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Hip-Hop artist B.o.B, along with Wayne State University's Achievement Group, helped support Wayne State students' drive to bring in can goods and share in Gleaners' effort to feed the needy. Every WSU student who participated in the canned goods drive received an up-close-and-personal photo with B.o.B along with an autographed poster. The Achievement group, an official student organization sponsor, was founded by Armond Harris and includes five members whose message is service and leadership among college men.

Forty business executives, college administrators and other professionals found out firsthand, for at least one night, what it's like to be homeless in Detroit. Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson and his wife, Jacqueline Wilson, were among those given a pair of cardboard boxes and a sleeping bag for their night on an outdoor basketball court on the grounds of Covenant House Michigan, a nonprofit that offers support to the thousands of young people who are homeless in Detroit. The "Sleep Out" Thursday night and early Friday was designed to raise money for Covenant House and awareness about youth homelessness.

In observance of November as Prematurity Awareness Month and World Prematurity Day (Nov. 17), Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center are encouraging area mothers-to-be to take advantage of a powerful and free nonprofit program that is helping mothers throughout Detroit deliver healthy full-term babies on or after their due date. Premature babies can face serious health challenges throughout their lives. The city's Make Your Date program provides a consistent approach among local health care providers in how they deliver support and care to expectant mothers to help them carry their babies to full term. The initiative was launched in May by Mayor Mike Duggan, Wayne State University, Detroit's leading health systems and other key partners. Researchers at the Perinatology Research Branch of the of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health, which is housed at Wayne State University and Hutzel Women's Hospital in the Detroit Medical Center, have made seminal discoveries in the prevention of preterm birth during the past 22 years.

Professor Jack Sobel, M.D., chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, has agreed to serve as interim dean of the Wayne State University School of Medicine while a national search is conducted to identify a replacement for Dean Valerie M. Parisi. His appointment is effective Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, according to a Nov. 20 letter from Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Margaret Winters. Sobel is a longtime member of the School of Medicine faculty with extensive experience in both clinical practice and medical administration.

More than 40 executives slept outside in cardboard boxes Thursday night as part of the "Sleep Out: Executive Edition" event, organized by Covenant House Michigan. Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson was among the executives participating in the overnight sleepover. He talks about his experience with WDIV reporter Lauren Podell. WWJ-AM noted during an early news segment that President Wilson and First Lady Jacqueline Wilson participated.

Clintondale High School (CHS) sophomore Courtney McCullum has two career goals: to become an actress and to work with infants as a neonatal doctor. McCullum is currently taking a biology class at CHS to help get her on a career path as a physician. She's also one of 32 students who signed up for the Wayne State University C2 Pipeline Program, College of Nursing afterschool program. The program is designed to expose students to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses after school. The program's objective is to assist students by helping them increase their English and math grades, and also introducing them to STEM-related fields, including crime scene investigation, anatomy-in-clay and alternative to transportation. Through the program, the students also work on getting along with others and use "empowerment improv" to deal with conflict resolution. The STEM program is funded as a 21st Program through the Michigan Department of Education. Grant money pays for staffing and also field trips, including a WSU visit that was planned at press time.

Wayne State University Law School Professor Stephen Calkins is a member of Ireland's new Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. Ireland's Competition Authority recently melded with its National Consumer Agency to form the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. Calkins has been on leave from Wayne Law since 2011 while serving as a member of the former Competition Authority and director of its Mergers Division. The Competition Authority, now joined with the consumer agency, is the Irish body responsible for enforcing Irish and European competition law in Ireland. "I'm now a member of the commission, and I'll start spending significant time on consumer issues in addition to competition ones," Calkins said. Before his appointment to the Irish agency, Calkins had been serving since 2008 as associate vice president for academic personnel at Wayne State, while also teaching a reduced load at Wayne Law.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a fired medical school professor that claimed Wayne State University bilked more than $169 million in research grant money from the U.S. government. The lawsuit was filed in October 2012 by Dr. Christian Kreipke accusing the university of having an "egregious and systematic scheme involving false claims presented for payment, and false documents submitted in order to get claims paid." Judge Avern Cohn filed his dismissal on Nov. 13. stating Kreipke's claims were vague and he made "blanket references" to the allegations. "Plaintiff pleads no specific facts showing the existence of an agreement or plan between UPG and WSU to defraud the government ... Plaintiff offers no support, other than generalized statements that the 'defendants' conspired with one another," Cohn wrote.

David E. Kirkland, bestselling author, activist, cultural critic, educator, researcher and Detroit native, will return to his hometown to deliver the keynote address during the Leonard Kaplan Education Collaborative for Critical Urban Studies' inaugural lecture and community response at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center. Hosted by the Wayne State University College of Education and the family of Professor Emeritus Leonard Kaplan, the event will celebrate the newly launched collaborative, as well as unite community leaders, teachers, students and parents for a discussion on the state of urban education. Kirkland, an associate professor of English and urban education at New York University, will speak about the complexities of teaching and learning in urban settings.

Irvin D. Reid, director of the Forum on Contemporary Issues in Society (FOCIS), was a guest on the Frank Beckmann Show discussing this week's special FOCIS programs. On Monday, FOCIS presented "Democracy in Far Away Places: Namibia and Afghanistan," featuring Martin Andjaba, ambassador of the Republic of Namibia to the USA. Also featured this week on Tuesday was Sakena Yacoobi, examining "The Challenges of Democracy and the Education of Women in Afghanistan. Yacoobi co-founded Creating Hope International and is founder and CEO of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL).

Wayne State University has appointed Erik Nordberg as the director of the Walter P. Reuther Library and Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs. With more than 20 years of archival experience, Nordberg comes to Wayne State from the Michigan Humanities Council in Lansing., where he served as executive director. "We're very excited to welcome Erik Nordberg back to Wayne State," said Sandra Yee, dean of the Wayne State University Library System. "His archival experience and interest in industrial, labor and metro Detroit history will fit in perfectly with the mission of the Reuther Library and be a great asset to Wayne State." Nordberg looks forward to collaborating with campus partners and promoting Wayne State through the Reuther Library. "As part of the Library System, it's wonderful to work among people with a shared interest in libraries and archives," said Nordberg. "But I'm also very excited to work with students and faculty - even if they aren't history majors, there's still so much the Reuther can add to their studies and research."

Michigan universities are a major draw to international college students, according to a new report. The Institute for International Education's annual Open Doors report ranks the state of Michigan has having the ninth-largest population of international college students, nearly 30,000. During the 2013-2014 academic year, more than 7,000 international students were taking classes at both Michigan State University (7,704) and the University of Michigan (7,273). Thousands more were enrolled at Wayne State (2,372), Western Michigan (1,831) and Eastern Michigan (1,020) universities. About a third of the students come to Michigan from China; many others are from India, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea.

For the first time since statins have been regularly used, a large study has found that another type of cholesterol-lowering drug can protect people from heart attacks and strokes. The finding can help millions at high risk of heart attacks who cannot tolerate statins or do not respond to them sufficiently. And it helps clarify the role of LDL cholesterol, the dangerous form. Some had argued that statins reduced heart attack risk not just by lowering LDL levels but also by reducing inflammation. The new study indicates that the crucial factor is LDL, and the lower the levels, the better. At the same time, and by sheer coincidence, two other groups of researchers reported genetic studies that supported the trial's conclusions. One, led by Dr. Brian A. Ference of Wayne State University School of Medicine found that gene mutations mimicking the effect of ezetimibe and ones mimicking the effect of statins had the same effect on heart disease risk for a given reduction in cholesterol. The implication, he said, is that "lowering cholesterol with ezetimibe, or a statin, or both, should each lower the risk of heart disease by about the same amount."

A group of metro Detroit business leaders will spend the night outside this Thursday to support homeless youth. The executive sleep out is hosted by Covenant House Michigan. Melissa Golpe from Covenant House and Jacqueline Wilson, the first lady of Wayne State University joined 7 Action News This Morning to talk about the event.

A recent study of statistical data shows an alarming new trend. More than half of calls made to the United States poison control centers regarding energy drinks - such as Red Bull and Monster - are in response to children under the age of six; some actually suffering from serious adverse reactions like seizure and heart problems. This new study further confirms that notion that young children should never drink energy drinks under any circumstances. Study author, pediatrician Dr. Steven Lipshultz is the pediatrician-in-chief at Children's Hospital of Michigan. He is also chairman of pediatrics at Wayne State University. "Exposure to energy drinks is a continuing health problem," Lipshultz argues. "You normally think of teens and young adults as most likely to drink them, but we found that about half of the calls to the national poison control data system for caffeinated energy drinks related to unintentional exposure for children less than 6."

Rick Kaplan, former president for CNN - U.S. and MSNBC and winner of 47 Emmys and dozens of other journalism awards, will speak Wednesday, Nov. 19, at Wayne State University. Kaplan, whose experience in TV news spans 40 years of in-depth reporting and producing, will present "The Role of the Media in the 2014 Elections" from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the Bernath Auditorium of the David Adamany Undergraduate Library. Kaplan and Jack Lessenberry, longtime journalist, area head of the journalism faculty at Wayne State and senior political analyst for Michigan Radio, also will discuss Kaplan's historic career and the future of broadcast journalism. The event is co-sponsored by the Wayne Law Sports and Entertainment Law Society.