Melba Joyce Boyd, distinguished professor and chair of Africana Studies at Wayne State University, wrote an article about "Crusader for Justice: Federal Judge Damon J. Keith," by Peter J. Hammer and Trevor W. Coleman (Wayne State University Press, 2013). The book chronicles the life of Judge Damon J. Keith. "Written from the perspective of Judge Keith, the narrative is primarily taken from countless interviews of Keith by the authors, and complemented by contextual research and insight derived from persons who have lived and worked in close proximity to Judge Keith. The impetus of the book emanates from Keith's activities as a preeminent attorney and political activist, and how these ultimately led to his appointment as a Federal judge to the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and then to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit."

President Barack Obama will speak at Wayne State University Saturday in the final weekend ahead of Election Day to stump for Democratic candidates. Obama is visiting Michigan to campaign for U.S. Senate nominee Gary Peters and gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer. The ticketed event is free and open to the public, according to a news release from the Michigan Democratic Party. Tickets will be available on a first come, first serve basis beginning at 5 p.m. on Wednesday at Michigan Democratic Party Coordinated Offices across metro Detroit. The event will be held at Wayne State's Matthaei Physical Education Center. Doors for the event open at 4 p.m.

Appreciating a challenge, particularly a multifaceted one, has gone a long way toward keeping Eugene and Elaine Driker busy in recent years. Eugene Driker, a founding partner at Detroit-based Barris, Sott, Denn & Driker PLLC, said he has especially enjoyed tackling the many challenges facing Wayne State University, where he has served on the Board of Governors for 12 years. "The WSU student body (members) are not generally the children of privilege, and that was so when I was there also. My parents were immigrants, and around that time Wayne was $100 a semester, so for many of us, that's where you went to college," he said. "But Wayne has so many attractive features that make it unique, not the least of which being in the middle of Midtown Detroit, and taking part in revitalizing community and in research that generates jobs and opportunity." Driker also chairs the Wayne State University Foundation Board of Directors and is a trustee for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Elaine Driker said the couple was elated to learn Wayne State had nominated them for the Romney award, but that their various volunteer efforts are an award in themselves.

When Eugene Applebaum was a child, he received a scholarship to attend summer camp. That experience helped lead to a determination to give back. And, for decades, Applebaum, founder of Arbor Drugs Inc., and his wife, Marcia, have done so. Applebaum launched his first drugstore, Civic Drugs, in Dearborn in 1963. Eleven years later, he brought it and five other drugstores together to form Arbor. Applebaum took the chain public in 1986, and it grew to more than 200 stores before being sold to CVS Inc. in 1998. After the sale, he created Bloomfield Hills-based Arbor Investments Group, which oversees his real estate and financial ventures. The Applebaums' philanthropy has encompassed health care, education and Jewish causes. Their list of beneficiaries is long, and includes Applebaum's alma mater, Wayne State University, where the pharmacy school is named for him.

In a story about philanthropic gifts between September 2013 through mid-October 2014, Wayne State University is noted with two major gifts. James Anderson and his wife, Patricia, gave $25 million earmarked for the College of Engineering to establish the James and Patricia Anderson Engineering Ventures Institute "to foster a culture of entrepreneurship by offering expert guidance and resources for faculty and students during the startup process." Mike and Marian Ilitch donated $8.5 million to create the Ilitch Chair for Surgical Innovation and establish a fund to support research. Wayne State has renamed the department the Michael and Marian Ilitch Department of Surgery. Around $1.5 million of the grant will fund the endowed chair.

Wayne State University is reviving the dormant Detroit Orientation Institute this week with a half-day seminar and bus tour through several city neighborhoods and commercial districts. The program, launched in 1991 after a recommendation in the Detroit Strategic Plan prepared by Detroit Renaissance and then-Mayor Coleman Young, formerly offered an intensive three-day course on the city and its assets but has been idled since 2013. The university plans a relaunch Wednesday with "Immerse Detroit" from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The event includes a bus tour through Detroit's Midtown and downtown districts, the riverfront, West Village, the Heidelberg Project, Eastern Market, the Avenue of Fashion and Palmer Park. Speakers include Dan Carmody of Eastern Market Corp., Josh Elling of the Jefferson East Business Association, Linda Walter of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' Outdoor Adventure Center, Kim Tandy of the city's Department of Neighborhoods, and Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press.

The struggles endured and achievements earned through the civil rights movement are unforgettable lessons that offer a blueprint for modern battles over social issues such as voter suppression and economic inequality, veteran activist Julian Bond said Thursday at Wayne State University. "In its successes, it has much to teach us today," the former NAACP chairman told a large crowd during the Wayne State Law School's sixth Damon J. Keith Biennial Lecture. The presentation, "Under Color of Law," was part of the series presented by the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights. It aimed to educate the public with insight from a major figure in the civil rights movement.

WDET's Amy Miller spoke with Fred Pearson, director of Wayne State University's Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, and Dr. Andrew Kanter, assistant professor of clinical informatics and clinical epidemiology at Columbia University. Kanter, who was the keynote speaker at The Eugene Perrin Memorial Lecture in Health Sciences, maintains that the threat of nuclear disaster through weapons of mass destruction is as real as it was in the 1980's. His lecture was titled "Averting Planetary Destruction: Nuclear and Environmental Challenges and Hope for a Sustainable Future."

A group of four Detroit colleges and universities will share a $21.2 million federal grant to develop a program to steer more undergraduate students from underrepresented and economically disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue careers in biomedical research. Marygrove College, University of Detroit Mercy, Wayne County Community College District and Wayne State University will split the grant, which is for the next five years. "What is being announced today is great for Detroit and Detroit's institutions," Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson said. "The ultimate goal is to get students into biomedical programs and doing research." The local cooperative effort is part of a broader national effort, called Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity. The group is looking to have at least 75 percent of the students involved in the project to graduate with baccalaureate degrees in biomedical science or related fields and to have 50 percent of those graduates enroll into biomedical research doctoral programs. They will do so by developing common curriculum featuring mentored research. Wayne State is the research partner. It will mentor faculty from the other institutions in research skills, provide research-training opportunities and provide REBUILDetroit scholars with skill development in grant applications, graduate school preparedness and networking opportunities. It will also accelerate programs to help students get into and through doctoral programs.

Crain's reporter Amy Haimerl identified a handful of the city's hidden gems including Wayne State University's McGregor Memorial Conference Center. Designed by Detroit architect Minoru Yamasaki, the conference center is on the National Register of Historic Places. Haimerl noted that Yamasaki also designed the university's Prentis Building and DeRoy Auditorium Complex.

No Zebras & More brought its program to Wayne State University to stop bystander mentality in college students. Thompson was one of four cast members who performed the company's program at Wayne State. The university offered the program to its students for free to help educate them about sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking and harassment. "No Zebras. No Excuses." said it's the first program of its kind to focus on bystander mentality and how to address the impact of intervention in situations of sexual aggression. They aim to teach students to speak up, take a stand and keep others safe.

Wayne State University's Law School will freeze tuition next year and give a scholarship to every incoming student in a move designed to make a law degree more affordable, while boosting enrollment. In total, the tuition freeze and additional scholarship money will amount to the equivalent of a 14 percent tuition cut for all incoming students. The move will keep annual tuition costs at $28,138 through at least the 2015-16 school year.

Wayne State University's Law School will freeze tuition next year and give a scholarship to every incoming student in a move designed to make a law degree more affordable, while boosting enrollment. In total, the tuition freeze and additional scholarship money will amount to the equivalent of a 14 percent tuition cut for all incoming students. "For us, it is really important to ensure that everyone has access to quality legal education," law school Dean Jocelyn Benson told the Free Press in an exclusive interview. "Not only do we want to make sure everyone has access to legal education, but also help with the rising student debt." The scholarships for WSU law students will be a mixture of both merit-based and need-based aid, Benson said. The scholarships are being paid for by private donations - largely from alumni, Benson said.

Lots of people seem to be lining up these days to give the Motor City a jumpstart. Among the latest: Wayne State University alumnus James A. Anderson and his wife Patricia, who recently gave $25 million to the College of Engineering at Wayne State University. The $25 million gift will establish the James and Patricia Anderson Engineering Ventures Institute at the Wayne State University College of Engineering. The institute will provide students with mentors (some of them from Urban Science) who will teach them critical entrepreneurial skills such as securing patents. The gift will also endow chairs and several graduate scholarships.

The M-1 Rail project along Woodward Avenue entered a new phase Saturday with the pouring of the first concrete along the tracks between John R and Clifford streets. Construction workers will pour some 900 cubic yards of concrete around the previously-installed track in a process that should be complete just before the Thanksgiving Day parade along Woodward. The system with 12 stops is expected to have 1.8 million riders in its first year of operation, rising to 3 million by 2035. The first shovels went into the ground on Woodward in late July; crews began welding track in September. The 3.1-mile line from downtown to Midtown is to be completed in late 2016. On Sept. 9, the project was awarded a $12.2 million federal grant to help build a vehicle maintenance facility, improve pedestrian access and include a fiber optic duct bank that will support broadband upgrades to increase Internet access at Wayne State University and other educational institutions.

The Wayne State University Athletic Department invites veterans and veterans associations to attend their home football Salute to the Veterans and Troops Game at noon Saturday, Nov. 15, at Tom Adams Field. The Wayne State Warriors will play Hillsdale College. Veterans receive free admission and parking. Family members must purchase tickets.

Detroit has reached a settlement with its last major holdout creditor in bankruptcy court. Bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Corporation (FGIC) holds $1.1 billion in Detroit debt. By signing onto the plan of adjustment Detroit has proposed to restructure its debts, it's removed another hurdle slowing down the city's exit from bankruptcy. This deal should shorten the remainder of the trial and push Detroit closer to exiting bankruptcy, according to Wayne State University law professor Laura Bartell. "It just makes it much easier if [FGIC is] on board," Bartell said. Bartell suggests it also removes another potential hurdle down the road, should Judge Steven Rhodes approve the plan of adjustment: "FGIC was really the only creditor left with deep enough pockets to pursue an appeal," she said.

On Thursday, Nov. 20, metro Detroit business leaders will spend the night outside in solidarity in an effort to raise funds and bring attention to the plight of homeless youth in Detroit and across the nation. The Sleep Out: Executive Edition, hosted by Covenant House Michigan (CHM), presented by the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, and sponsored by Delta Air Lines among others, is part of a nationwide event taking place in 15 cities at Covenant House sites across North America. For the first time in Detroit, men and women from the business community will come together to raise awareness and funds to support Covenant House's life-changing work helping young people leave the streets and begin new lives. "I'm thrilled to play a role in this remarkable and very powerful event," said Jacqueline Wilson, Wayne State University first lady, founder of WSU's Helping Individuals Go Higher (HIGH) Program and co-chair of 2014 CHM Sleep Out: Executive Edition. "Wayne State's longtime partnership with Covenant House is a wonderful example of its unwavering commitment to addressing and eradicating homelessness within our community."

The public health and medical students at Wayne State University are learning to become future doctors and researchers every day of the week, except for Tuesday mornings. As part of the federally-funded Bridges to Equity program, designed to implement educational programming and engage medical and public health students with community-based projects, WSU students provide health education to Detroit Public Schools students every Tuesday at Meet Up & Eat Up with the Lions and Ford at Detroit's Eastern Market. "Our students are very excited to share the things they are learning in graduate school with young people," said Wayne State University School of Medicine MPH Practicum director Dana Rice. "They are learning how to communicate to a younger audience, and ultimately they are giving back to the next generation of Detroiters. I honestly think they gain as much from their participation as the kids do."

Best-selling author Dave Eggers has written 10 books, edited dozens of others, and founded a literary journal. Yet one of his proudest accomplishments has more to do with the writing of others than his own. Eggers is the founder of 826 National, a network of after-school tutoring centers tucked behind whimsical retail storefronts in places like San Francisco, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor and Chicago. On Tuesday, Nov. 4, Eggers will be in Detroit to give a talk titled "Buccaneers, Robots, Yetis and Other Agents of Social Change" as a part of the Richard C. Van Dusen Urban Leadership Forum at Wayne State University. The 6 p.m. event will be held at Wayne State's Community Arts Auditorium.