More than 500 organizations were represented during the Lovin' the D event held Saturday on the campus of Wayne State University. The resource fair offered medical and dental exams, entertainment and other freebies to the community.

Charlie Cavell, a recent graduate from Wayne State University, was a guest on Destination 313 to discuss his non-profit Pay It Forward. The initiative helps young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 living in Detroit or living below the poverty line find internships.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure®'s 2012 research program takes aim at early and late stage breast disease while seeking answers in early detection, cancer prevention, and socioeconomic issues that often make breast cancer outcomes worse in minority and medically under-served women. Komen yesterday announced $58 million in new research funding for 2012 including $888,000 to Michelle Cote, Ph.D., of Wayne State University, to study markers to identify African American women at the highest risk for developing breast cancer.

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses will present the Flame of Excellence Award to Margaret L. Campbell, a nationally known expert in hospital-based palliative care and end-of-life issues. Campbell has nearly 40 years of nursing experience, with 28 years of clinical and administrative work in hospice and palliative care nursing. She currently serves as director of nursing research, Palliative Care and Advanced Practice Nursing at Detroit Receiving Hospital, where she has managed palliative care practice since 1988. She is also on the faculty at Wayne State University's College of Nursing.

Amid dwindling population and revenue, Detroit is trying to encourage people to move out of rundown neighborhoods that are largely vacant, yet drain the city of its resources. That means many of the services that once were available to residents in those areas are no longer an option. City officials announced they are refocusing dollars on steady neighborhoods that have little blight and a high number of owner-occupied homes. Lyke Thompson, director of Wayne State University's Center for Urban Studies, said the city's targeting approach is a good thing. "You really need to focus those dollars if you want to have any impact at all," Thompson said. "There's not enough to do everything for every neighborhood."

A three-judge panel could overturn the Board of State Canvassers April vote that denied certification of more than 200,000 signatures collected to repeal Public Act 4, the state's emergency manager law. At the center of the case, Stand Up For Democracy v. Secretary of State, is the accuracy of the type size used on the petitions circulated during an eight-month period. Wayne State University Law Professor Robert Sedler says the constitutional nature of Stand Up For Democracy v. Secretary of State may serve to erase any explicit political partisanship. Although he agrees there is some truth to the notion that "judges never forget who brought them to the dance," Sedler says, in this case, judges will be influenced by ideology more than political leanings. "It's my opinion that an appeals court is not likely to seize upon a technical issue and throw the whole thing out," Sedler told the Michigan Citizen. "I don't think this is a close case, based on the law. The affect of the constitutional issue should be to uphold the ballot initiative."

Middle and high school students will get an opportunity to sample Chinese culture and language this July in a two-week "China Corps Summer Institute" hosted by the Berkley Public Schools. Wayne State University's Confucius Institute will provide the session teachers, who are fluent in language and cultural issues. "The students generally are uninitiated into Chinese language and culture. The classes are a way to introduce non-heritage people to Chinese and establish a better inter-cultural understanding," said Confucius Institute Director John Bender. The camp will be offered 8-11:15 a.m. daily July 9-20, at Anderson Middle School.

In a letter to the editor, Margaret Williams, interim dean and professor of management in Wayne State's School of Business Administration, responds to Crain's publisher Mary Kramer's May 14 column: "Colleges need more funds, but with conditions." Williams agrees with Kramer and Business Leaders for Michigan that our state should provide more support for public universities. However, she writes: "My concerns are with the way Ms. Kramer characterizes the work of faculty, and one item in Ms. Kramer's list of "strings" that should be attached to more state funding for higher education."

In an op-ed, Thomas Friedman writes that we must preserve the "magic combination of cutting-edge higher education, government-funded research and immigration of high-I.Q. risk-takers." He notes that the budget-cutting in California, as an example, is slowly reducing what was once one of the crown jewels of American education - the University of California system - to a shadow of its old self. Friedman writes: "As one community leader in Seattle remarked to me, governments basically do three things: Medicate, educate and incarcerate. And various federal and state mandates outlaw cuts in medicating and incarcerating, so much of the money is coming out of educating." Friedman concludes: "Investment in our collective institutions and opportunities is the only way to mitigate the staggering income inequalities that can arise from a world where Facebook employees can become billionaires overnight, while the universities that produce them are asked to slash billions overnight."

Michigan's University Research Corridor (URC) institutions continue to competitively rank among the top research innovation clusters in the nation in producing the high-tech, high-demand talent required for the 21st century, according to a recent benchmarking report. The annual report commissioned by the URC, shows the URC's member institutions - Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University - remain competitive as research hubs and as economic engines when compared with university consortia across the United States, said Jeff Mason, executive director for the URC. Allan Gilmour, president of Wayne State University, said the report highlights that the three universities are on the right path. "Our URC institutions have a lot to be proud of. Our combined research and economic impact continue to help Michigan move in the right direction. We must continue to work and innovate for the long term success of our state."

Wayne State University's Institute of Gerontology worries about a growing trend in the number of Americans being wrongfully assumed -- even medically misdiagnosed -- with Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia and perhaps the most feared disease of old age. "It's a real problem. If you're older and you get a label of Alzheimer's -- even a hint that you have Alzheimer's -- there's no more critical thinking about it. You're written off by a lot of people," said Peter Lichtenberg, head of the institute and a clinical psychologist who has testified in several probate cases in which a person's mental capacity was at issue. Lichtenberg said his concerns about misdiagnosis in no way lessen the enormity of Alzheimer's impact. "I don't know how vast a problem it is, but I see it too often," Lichtenberg said.

WJBK Fox 2, 5/16 "Ladies Night Out Health Crawl" Wayne State University Executive Chef Guilio Fattore offered a cooking demonstration during a Fox 2 segment highlighting tonight's "Ladies Night Out Health Crawl. The free event, hosted by WSU's School of Medicine and the University Physician Group in celebration of National Women's Health Week (May 13-19), is set for 6 to 8 p.m. at Scott Hall.

The nonprofit Detroit Sports Commission has launched its first membership benefits program, offering ticket discounts and other benefits. Other perks for "D-Sports Nation" program members will include pre-sale opportunities, invitations to member-only events and preferred volunteer opportunities with advance registration rights. Participating so far are the Detroit Red Wings, Olympia Entertainment, Dick's Sporting Goods, and the athletic departments of Wayne State University, Oakland University and University of Detroit Mercy.

Mike Smith, Walter P. Reuther Library archivist, is the recipient of the 2012 Leonard N. Simons Award, conferred to individuals in the community who have made outstanding contributions to preserving, celebrating and sharing Michigan's Jewish history. Smith has been a partner in the Jewish community's preservation and maintenance of its vast collection of archival documents, which is housed in Wayne State University's Reuther Library. He has served as consultant, educator, mentor and adviser to the staff of the Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives. A photo of Smith is included. (subscriber access only - pg. 20)

On Friday, May 11, Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel B. Poneman traveled to Detroit to speak to labor and environmental advocacy groups at the BlueGreen Alliance's Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference, tour Diversified Chemical Technologies, Inc. headquarters, and speak with students at Wayne State University' College of Engineering. Wayne State features interdisciplinary programs in fields such as biomedical engineering, entrepreneurial engineering, alternative energy, electric-drive vehicles, and smart sensors. While at WSU, Poneman spoke about the Administration's work on keeping interest rates on student loans low, the importance of STEM education, and how young researchers, entrepreneurs, and thinkers will create the great science and technology breakthroughs in the years to come. He noted that STEM workers drive American innovation and competitiveness and are at the heart of how America can win the clean energy race. He also encouraged students to stay engaged and vocal about the energy issues that interest them.

A select group of Midtown residents gathered last week for an exercise in understanding, using fake money and role-playing to gain insight on the real-world catastrophe their city is facing. The event was organized by Wayne State's Forum on Contemporary Issues in Society, with help from two local organizations, the Citizens Research Council and Publius.org. Former Detroit City Council member Sheila Cockrel, a faculty member at Wayne State Honors College, and Irvin D. Reid, Wayne State's president emeritus and a member of the Detroit financial review team appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder, were organizers of the event.

Though participation in the work force for young people remains near historic lows, many new graduates of Michigan universities feel optimistic about their job prospects. A sampling of students from Wayne State and Michigan State universities revealed many have jobs lined up, especially those in engineering and technical fields. Kirstin Barton, 23, graduated this month from Wayne State in marketing and found a job in her field. Barton, who took six years to earn her bachelor's degree, said she considers herself lucky because it appears the job market has improved compared with a couple of years ago when friends were struggling to find work after graduation. Silkya Puckett, 24, of Ypsilanti, who graduated from Wayne State with a bachelor's in psychology, is hopeful about the future. She'll take summer classes and volunteer before applying to graduate school.

ESPN Sport Science, the TV series featuring Wayne State University Professor of Biomedical Engineering Cynthia Bir, won one of the two Sports Emmy Awards for which it was nominated this year. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced the winners at the 33rd annual Sports Emmys at Lincoln Center in New York City. The Sport Science team won for Outstanding Graphic Design; it also had been nominated for Outstanding New Approaches. The show previously won Emmys for Outstanding Graphic Design in 2008, 2009 and 2011. In 2009 the series also won for Outstanding New Approaches in Sports Programming. "It is nice to be a part of a show, representing Wayne State University, that consistently wins an Emmy every year," Bir said. A photo is included.

Michigan is home to a variety of ethnic media outlets: the Jewish News, the Latino Press, the Michigan Chronicle among them. Hayg Oshagan, a professor at Wayne State University, looked at the outlets and had a vision: What would happen if they were brought together? So, in 2005, he met with editors from the News, Press and Chronicle - and the Korean Weekly and the Arab American News. Together, they are now New Michigan Media. Oshagan's goal was to make issues and concerns of ethnic and minority communities more visible to the surrounding community - to make minority communities more visible to one another and to promote their contributions to the region. "Minority interests have been largely ignored by mainstream media," said Oshagan. "The collaboration aims to change the existing narrative by bringing to light issues as a group - and making people see the economic, social, moral argument of immigration to this nation and region." A photo of Oshagan is included.

The Detroit Athletic Club named Catherine Leix its Michigan College Female Athlete of the Year during a ceremony held at the DAC Monday night. The former Flint Southwestern grad and standout Wayne State University swimmer was chosen as this year's recipient over nominees from every other college in the state. "It's a great honor," said Leix, who earned the award based on her athletic performance, academics and work in the community. "I had no idea that I had even been nominated by my school and then got a letter inviting me. I assumed it was just an invitation because I had been nominated but then found out I won and was just blown away by it." Photos of Leix are included.