WWJ's Paul Snyder reported that Math Corps, an academic enrichment and mentoring program for Detroit students in grades 6-12 at Wayne State University, received a generous yet anonymous leadership gift of $1M. Math Corps Founder Steve Kahn said the funds will provide support for summer camps and Saturday programs.

Strapping weights around the wrist and ankles during a daily jog, run or walk, is popular among millions of Americans. But some fitness experts say that using them might do you more harm than good. In March of 2002, the Division of HPR-Exercise Science at Wayne State University conducted a study that dealt with the effects of these weights on muscular fitness, body composition profile, and even their psychological effect. What the researchers found was that those who used the weights didn't get much benefit from them in terms of muscular fitness. As for energy expended, health experts say wrist weights may increase the amount of calories burned during an aerobic exercise. However, they also caution that these weights increase the workload on your joints.

Hayg Oshagan, director of media arts and studies at Wayne State University, was a guest on Michigan Radio's "Seeking Change" series. Oshagan spoke about the lack of coverage in mainstream media of ethnic issues and the creation of Detroit New Media.

George Galster, Wayne State University professor of urban affairs, was a guest on The Craig Fahle Show with guest host Jeff Meyers. Galster talked about a growing trend in real estate of younger professionals choosing to rent instead of buying.

Elected officials across the country are finding new ways to change their relationships with unions by suspending collective bargaining rights and declaring bankruptcy. In Michigan, another strategy - declaring a fiscal emergency - has allowed cities and states to cut union pay and change job conditions without any bargaining. Michigan's new policy allows a financial emergency manager to impose new contracts with unions. It is essentially a way for cities and states to avoid bargaining with unions, said Marick Masters, labor professor at Wayne State University. "The state is giving additional power through emergency managers to handle finances outside of bankruptcy court," he said. "That has caused a lot of parties in the state to be very, very concerned about the effect on the rights of citizens."

Wayne State University's Student Veterans Organization (SVO) is hosting its 2nd Annual Golfing for Veterans fundraiser on August 18th to support veteran students at the university. The group says that an alarming 87 percent of veterans who return to college never graduate. So the organization's goal is to raise the veteran graduation rate to 100 percent at WSU. SVO is holding the golfing fundraiser to provide assistance to various non-profits and veteran outreach programs. The funding will go towards services for veterans in college and in the surrounding community including the Student Veteran Resources Center on Wayne State's campus.

An article highlighting the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, which runs through Aug. 12 at Jackson's George E. Potter Center, notes that the festival employs nearly 25 actors, many linked by the past or present to Wayne State University's Hilberry Theatre program. Recent graduate Alan Ball (MFA 2011) takes the title role in Richard III this year. The Shakespeare Festival typically offers two plays by the Bard and another from what managing director Bart Williams (MFA '96) calls "the classical canon." This year, that's Pygmalion by G.B. Shaw. A photo of Ball is included.

Craig Fahle Show guest host, Jay Scott Smith, spoke with Wayne State University Journalism Professor, Alicia Nails, about how plagiarism is becoming more common among students and even professional journalists.

Several experts comment in a column examining the impact of violence in the media on perpetrators of mass murders, from James Holmes ("Dark Knight" movie theatre massacre) to Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (Columbine tragedy). Most entertainment industry analysts and psychiatrists rejected the suggestion that a movie can cause someone to become a murderer. Emanuel Tanay, a clinical psychiatrist at Wayne State University who has written about the pathology of murderers, said Holmes' self-professed identification with the Joker could be a sign of a deeper delusion. "Many present-day movies are really a promotion of violence, though some people are more vulnerable than others -- especially those who have a mental illness. This is bizarre psychotic behavior. That much is clear. What's the underlying delusion or system? That we may or may not find out," Tanay said.

Medford native Wayne Raskind, professor and founding director of the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at Arizona State University, has been appointed dean of Wayne State University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences effective Aug. 15. Raskind succeeds Robert Thomas, who is retiring. A photo of Raskind is included.

Neuroscientists from Wayne State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are taking a deeper look into how the brain mechanisms for memory retrieval differ between adults and children. While the memory systems are the same in many ways, the researchers have learned that crucial functions with relevance to learning and education differ. The team's findings were published on July 17, 2012, in the Journal of Neuroscience. According to lead author Noa Ofen, assistant professor in WSU's Institute of Gerontology and Department of Pediatrics, cognitive ability, including the ability to learn and remember new information, dramatically changes between childhood and adulthood. This ability parallels with dramatic changes that occur in the structure and function of the brain during these periods. "Our results suggest that cortical regions related to attentional or strategic control show the greatest developmental changes for memory retrieval," said Ofen. Ofen and her research team plan to continue research in this area, focused on modeling brain network connectivity, and applying these methods to study abnormal brain development.

M.L. Liebler, poet laureate, author, and a professor in the departments of English, American Studies and Labor Studies at Wayne State University, penned a commentary about his recent visit to Afghanistan at the invitation by the U.S. State Department. He has done cultural and educational work for the State Department several times before, in Israel during wartime, the West Bank and post-Soviet Russia. In his piece he explores why we are in Afghanistan and provides a retrospective look of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. "Like Norman Mailer, I often asked, "Why are we in Vietnam?" Just as many people in America now, in the 21st Century, keep asking, "Why are we in Afghanistan?," Liebler wrote. Excerpts are included from his post-Vietnam era poem "Declaration Day," and a photo of Liebler with U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

Wayne State University received a three-year, $993,994 grant from the U.S. Health and Resources Services Administration to expand opportunities in nursing education to students from underrepresented minority groups. The money will fund scholarship programs for 146 students in nursing programs.

Wayne State University President Allan Gilmour wrote about the discovery of the Higgs boson particle, and the role of research universities in advancing new knowledge, new products, and technologies that change our life. Wayne State University physicists - along with physicists around the world - played a role in the discovery. The Wayne State team, led by Paul Karchin and Robert Harr of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, contributed to the project at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois, in Geneva, and on our campus.

Midtown Detroit's population grew to 14,550 from 10,900 from 2000 to 2010, according to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. The area's 5,884 housing units in 127 buildings are 95 percent occupied, and more are being built, according to Midtown Detroit Inc., a nonprofit planning and economic development organization. Nearby Wayne State University's 54 police officers share patrols and investigations in midtown with Detroit police. The result has been a 38 percent decline in major crime from 2008 to 2011, said Captain Emery Burk.

The students of the Michigan Creative Film Alliance (MiCFA) have launched their first major fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, an online funding platform for creative projects. Their goal is to raise at least $12,500 by Sunday, July 29, to fund location production costs associated with their 2012 production, "Downriver." Each summer, the MiCFA brings together top students and recent graduates from the film-related programs at Wayne State University, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. These students share their expertise as members of a production team dedicated to making a high-quality film, employing real-world professional standards and practices.

The Wayne State University College of Nursing has received a grant of nearly $3.4 million from the 21st Century Community Learning Center, funded by the Michigan Department of Education. The grant funds an after-school and summer enrichment program to prepare 1,250 high school students for admission to college and careers in health care. During each year of the five-year grant, the C2 (College and Career-Ready) pipeline project will offer 50 students at each of five public high schools a 38-week program to improve academic achievement, enhance preparation for college and encourage interest in health careers. "We sought this grant to help alleviate the uneven distribution of health care professionals in Michigan," said Barbara K. Redman, dean of the College of Nursing. "The goal is to encourage students from medically underserved areas to choose health careers and gain the academic skills necessary for college so they can eventually work as health professionals in the communities where they live. C2 Pipeline reflects Wayne State University's commitment to the urban communities it serves, and the College of Nursing's focus on preparing a highly trained health workforce for the future."

Zipcar, a car share program, has found a strong market in Detroit following its launch at Wayne State University last fall. "We're always trying to give students more options to get around Detroit," says Jeremy Whiting, Wayne State's Transportation Coordinator at the University's Parking and Transportation Department, which manages the University's Zipcar program, among other initiatives. "We wanted to be responsive to the demand, and car sharing ties into our efforts around sustainability." Whiting also points to other Wayne State programs like carpooling through SEMCOG's website, the Midtown Connection shuttle service between DMC, Henry Ford and Wayne State, and the new, Zimride, a national program which matches drivers to riders and even tracks miles and CO2 saved in each transaction.

While Michigan environmental programs are slowly reducing toxins in lakes and rivers, human consumption of contaminated fish continues. A Wayne State University researcher believes the issue needs more attention in order to reduce human health risks. Donna Kashian, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), said the problem is especially significant in distressed urban environments, where efforts to change behaviors often confront deep-seated cultural preferences and people's own interpretation of risk. To meet those challenges, she and fellow WSU researchers Andrea Sankar, professor of anthropology, CLAS, and Mark Luborsky, director of aging and health disparities research at the Institute of Gerontology and professor of anthropology and gerontology, have undertaken what they call "Improving Community Awareness for Detroit River Fish Consumption Advisories." This health intervention program is supported by a $99,600 grant from the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation.

Wayne State University President Allan Gilmour spoke to his Chief of Staff, Michael Wright, about lessons he's learned related to failure and work. Gilmour's story was recorded in Detroit, last week as part of StoryCorps, America's largest oral history project.