Wayne State University Board of Governors member Danialle Karmanos will resign from the board on Feb. 1, the school announced today. She began her eight-year term on Jan. 1, 2011. She said in a statement she was resigning to spend more time with her family. She is the mother of four boys, all under the age of four. "I know this was a difficult decision for her and I respect her decision," said incoming Board Chair Debbie Dingell. "She wants to do what is best for both her alma mater and her family. I will deeply miss her on the board, where we all work together for the best of this university." "Governor Karmanos brought a unique perspective to the board," said WSU President Allan Gilmour. "Her creativity and passion will be missed."

The Michigan Area Health Education Center (M-AHEC), a program of Wayne State University, has selected the Greater Detroit Area Health Council (GDAHC) to manage its Southeast Regional Center. In this capacity, GDAHC will identify community needs, implement initiatives introducing K-12 students to health careers, coordinate training and development programs for health sciences students and professionals, and assist with fund development in nine counties: Genesee, Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne. "This collaboration will facilitate the development of programs, practices and partnerships that will positively impact the delivery of primary care services in communities throughout Michigan," said Valerie M. Parisi, M.D., dean of the Wayne State University School of Medicine and co-principal investigator of the MI-AHEC grant. "In a very competitive selection process, the Greater Detroit Area Health Council demonstrated a strong commitment to and clear understanding of the mission, vision and goals of the Michigan AHEC program," said Barbara K. Redman, dean of the Wayne State University College of Nursing and co-principal investigator of the MI-AHEC grant. "GDAHC has demonstrated an ability to leverage its relationships, resources and reputation to improve access to care. We are confident this experience will help us accomplish our objectives as we work to meet the needs of underserved populations in southeastern Michigan and throughout the state."

Book titles were recently released, and the winners will be celebrated with an April 27 event at the Library of Michigan. Among the criteria: Books must have some Michigan connection such as author, setting or theme and have been published during the preceding year. A panel of 14 judges reviewed more than 200 books this year. Among the works selected were three published by Wayne State University Press: "The Amphibians and Reptiles of Michigan," by J. Alan Holman; "Detroit's Historic Places of Worship," compiled and edited by Marla O. Collum, Barbara E. Krueger and Dorothy Kostuch, photographs by Dirk Bakker with a forward by John Gallagher; and "Michigan's Historic Railroad Stations," by Michael Hodges.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has decided to allow women to serve in military combat roles, reversing a 1994 policy that excluded women from serving in combat units. Kingsley Browne, professor at Wayne State University Law School and author of "Co-ed Combat: The New Evidence That Women Shouldn't Fight the Nation's Wars," calls the decision "misguided." "The fact that the decision precedes the assessment phase is putting the cart before horse," he says. "The Marine Corps has done rigorous testing but haven't gotten very far because they haven't gotten many women volunteers." Browne argues that because women are not physically built like men, attempts to integrate them may lead to lowered standards overall. Additionally, he believes women in combat units may negatively change the dynamics, creating conditions of sexual competition and sexual harassment.

A feasibility study on establishing a bike sharing system in Detroit is now under way, and Wayne State University and other backers are asking the public to weigh in on where to locate rental kiosks. Wayne State and a group of businesses and nonprofit groups - including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan - began talking about a bike sharing program in Detroit last year as a way to complement limited transportation options.

Michigan's three largest public universities surpassed $2 billion in combined annual research and development spending, and together have created 600,000 alumni earning nearly one-sixth of all wage and salary income in the state, a new economic impact report finds. The report, to be released today from East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group LLC, found total R&D spending grew about $100 million in the 2010-11 academic year from a year earlier and more than $631 million since the 2006-07 academic year. In 2011, it exceeded $2 billion for the first time. The corridor, an alliance of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University, also had a combined direct and indirect impact of $15.5 billion on Michigan's economy, $2.6 billion more than four years earlier, the report said. In addition, just under 600,000 of their alumni earned about $29 billion in income that year, of which $5.2 billion was "incremental" income gained over and above what they would presumably earn without their education.

Hundreds of Detroit Public Schools alumni returned to DPS buildings for the district's first MLK Day of Service. Eighty-four volunteers from Wayne State University's football team, community members and parents descended on DPS elementary, middle and high schools for community projects such as turning a classroom into a computer lab, painting a mural on a school wall and cleaning debris from a nearby house.

In honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Wayne State University is giving back to the community through the Adopt-A-Classroom program. The university donated $1,000 grants to five Detroit area schools, including a 12th grade classroom at Old Redford Academy.

In 2012 a group of Wayne State University School of Medicine Students partnered with Neighborhood Service Organization (NSO) to found a Detroit chapter of Street Medicine, a Pittsburg-based medical organization serving the street population. Craig Fahle sat down with NSO Community Outreach Specialist Philip Ramsey, Tumani Center Nurse Practitioner Dean Carpenter, NSO Homeless Services Unit Director Risarg "Reggie" Huff and Jonathan Wong of Street Medicine Detroit to discuss their work with 20,000 homeless people in the city.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood on Friday came to town with a $25 million check to help fund construction of the rail system, which would run along M-1, Woodward Ave., between Detroit's downtown and New Center, linking downtown and the cultural, medical and educational center a few miles north. The streetcar line is expected to include 11 stations, with connections to Campus Martius, Comerica Park, the Detroit Medical Center area, and Wayne State University. The plan calls for six cars, traveling from 6 a.m. - 10 p.m., at 12 mph. LaHood was joined by Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, Gov. Rick Snyder, U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and others at a morning announcement on the WSU campus.

The federal government is giving tens of millions of dollars to Detroit for a new inner-city rail line. And government officials predict the investment will bring badly-needed jobs to the entire Metro Detroit region. WDET's Quinn Klinefelter was at the announcement and talked about it with WDET's Travis Wright. Craig Fahle received calls from listeners about the newly announced funding and project.

The Detroit auto show features alternative energy as Cadillac, Nissan and Mercedes display new electric or hybrid vehicles affirming advocates' hopes for a battery-powered future. Despite the display of electric enthusiasm, some noted that the electric car is still far from mainstream. "The good news is battery costs [are expected] to be lower by 50 percent within the next couple years," Simon Ng, director of the National Biofuels Energy Laboratory at Wayne State University, told Midwest Energy News. But "there are issues of durability, safety, and replacement cost of battery; and that will take a few more years of intense research and development."

During a Dateline Detroit segment, WDIV medical expert Dr. Frank McGeorge visits Wayne State University's bioengineering center to explore current research in automotive safety. King Yang, professor of biomedical engineering and director of the bioengineering center, talked about the use of automotive sensors that provide safety features in such devices as seat belts and air bags.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will make "a major funding announcement" at 9:30 a.m. Friday that's expected to be $25 million for the private-public Woodward Avenue streetcar project. His office said this afternoon that he'll make the funding announcement at Wayne State University's Welcome Center, but did not disclose a specific amount or specify the project. However, two of the streetcar project's key backers, Penske Corp. Chairman Roger Penske and Kresge Foundation CEO Rip Rapson, are scheduled to be there. The statement referred to "transit options in downtown Detroit and the surrounding region," but LaHood has repeatedly promised $25 million in federal funding for the project, known as M1 Rail, if its backers satisfied his concerns about the line's operational plan and funding. Scheduled to join LaHood for the announcement are Gov. Rick Snyder, U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, U.S. Reps. John Dingell and Gary Peters, Detroit Mayor David Bing, Wayne State President Allan Gilmour and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff.

Channel 7's Dave LewAllen featured a story for a Detroit 2020 segment on safety in Midtown and Wayne State University. LewAllen talked with Wayne State Police Chief Anthony Holt about the University's technology and extensive 24/7 monitoring system in place that features video cameras located throughout the campus. Dispatchers are able to observe activities on campus to ensure safety for students, staff and visitors. Holt says the technology used by the police department has assisted in their efforts. He says there has been a 42 percent reduction in major crime categories - and he predicts that this year the Midtown area will be approaching a 50 percent reduction. The police department also employs a community policing strategy that includes bi-weekly meetings with agencies at various levels to determine crime "hot spots" enabling them to target areas in Midtown. "We're a part of the bigger community, so we take that responsibility," Holt added.

After more than a year of public meetings and discussions, a "Framework" has been drafted for Detroit Future City, also known as the Detroit Works Project. Wayne State University Professor of Law Peter Hammer; Professor and Chair of the WSU Department of Urban Studies and Planning Robin Boyle; and WSU Professor of Law John Mogk talked with Craig Fahle about the plan. Is the plan comprehensive enough? How feasible is it? What really stands out, and what might need more work?

Researchers from the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University have been showing how their combined efforts have contributed to some of the technological advances on display at this week's Detroit auto show. The schools and their researchers have contributed to improvements in safety, performance and fuel economy with more than $300 million in auto-related research projects over a five-year period, officials with the state's University Research Corridor (URC) partnership said. During a tour of the North American International Auto Show, Wayne State University engineering professor Jerry Ku said the gap between academic and industry research has narrowed in recent years. "We are very, very aligned. Same direction," said Ku, whose research deals in part with electric vehicle battery packs. Ku said vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf electric car, the Chevrolet Volt plug-in and Toyota's Prius hybrids also serve as inspiration when coming up with ways to teach about the latest industry advances. He said students are asked to look at how the technology for such vehicles is developed and selected.

Since its inception in 2008, The New Economy Initiative (NEI) has sought to leverage $100 million pooled from 10 leading philanthropic organizations and businesses to reshape and redefine the economic landscape of Detroit and Southeast Michigan. This unique collaboration has been propelling a transformation of the area's economy - with emphasis on reclaiming its entrepreneurial and innovation-driven roots - while also tackling its top-down, heavy-industry/automotive culture. Conceived in 2008 by Wayne State University Professor Hayg Oshagan as a way to harness the individual voices of ethnic and minority media into a strong collective, New Michigan Media's founding members - The Michigan Chronicle, The Arab American News, The Latino Press, The Jewish News and Michigan Korean Weekly - have established common ground on an array of domestic issues, many relating to entrepreneurship, immigration and small business development.

Wayne State University is advocating for revival in its annual roundup of vocabulary on the brink of obsolescence - the Word Warriors Top 10 list. The Wayne Warriors team, who've been likened to a linguistic search-and-rescue team, describe 2013's picks as some of the English language's most expressive but neglected terms. "We want people to take full advantage of the extraordinary richness of the English language," says Jerry Herron, professor of English at Wayne State. "The world of our experience is only as interesting as our capability to communicate it, to describe it." Herron loves the utility of these words, noting that they allow people to be more intentional with their language. "It's like (lending a jack) to a guy who's trying to change a tire with a pair of pliers," says Herron. "A word that precisely describes a part of your experience, and brings it back in vivid ways, is useful, not pretentious."

Advaita Corp., a spinout company from Wayne State University, was selected to participate in the National Institutes of Health's Commercialization Assistance Program. CAP is a specialized technical-assistance program that helps promising life-science companies accomplish their commercialization goals and transition their SBIR/STTR into the marketplace. The 18-month program provides individual mentoring and consulting sessions, training workshops, and access to domain experts that enhance the commercialization profile and readiness of participating companies. Advaita was founded in 2005 by Sorin Draghici, professor of computer science in Wayne State's College of Engineering.