WSU student faces charge of filing false report after rape claim A Wayne State University student is being charged with filing a false police report after she claimed she was sexually assaulted on campus. As required by law, school officials issued a campus notice Wednesday about the reported sexual assault in a parking lot south of the Matthaei Building. But after reviewing video surveillance and noting inconsistencies in her story, police again questioned the woman. She signed a statement admitting her story was false, police said. "We treat all reports seriously," Chief Tony Holt, the WSU police chief, said in a statement. "But false reports take officers away from legitimate calls. They also hurt our safety reputation, and Wayne State is a very safe campus - one of the safest in Michigan."

Wayne State's football team held its spring scrimmage last weekend. The Warriors are coming off their best season ever--12 wins and a trip to the NCAA Division II national championship game, which they lost to Pittsburg State [Kans.]. Coach Paul Winters was named the Division II Coach of the Year, and is entering his ninth season at WSU. WDET's Pat Batcheller talked with Winters about the spring game, and the outlook for the 2012 season. The Warriors are also the stars of their own television commercial, billed as Detroit's other winning football team.

Harold and Dorothy Dunne view life as an educational journey and a lengthy course in self-improvement. On May 7, Dorothy, 78, and Harold, 82, will take another step on that road of lifelong learning when they receive bachelor of arts degrees from Wayne State University. Dorothy will receive her bachelor of arts degree in theater with a minor in Spanish, while her husband Harold, 82, will receive his bachelor of arts in Spanish. Harold's degree is his third. He earned a bachelor of arts in sociology from WSU in 1979 and a juris doctor from the Wayne State University School of Law in 1983. Dorothy will be getting her first baccalaureate degree. Dorothy credits Wayne State's theater program. "It increased my knowledge and made me a better actor today," Dorothy said. "It gave me the knowledge of what goes on behind the stage, knowledge of costuming and building a stage." Wayne State's program was more in-depth than what she learned in community theater. "I'm knowledgeable enough now, and that had to do with the classes," Dorothy said. Photos of Harold and Dorothy Dunne are included.

The key to success for foster youth is this: someone to call, someone "who gets it," said Angelique Day, an assistant professor in Wayne State University's School of Social Work. Day, who founded Michigan State University's Foster Youth Alumni Services Program when she worked there, said she hopes to establish a similar support system at WSU. Nearly half the state's foster cases come out of Wayne County, and Day used financial-aid data to determine that 482 WSU undergrads are former foster youth. "We have a duty to care about this population," she said.

ESPN Sport Science will be taking Biomedical Engineering professor Cynthia Bir of Wayne State University to New York City once again. The popular show explaining the science of sports has once again been nominated in the Sports Emmy Awards for Outstanding Graphic Design and Outstanding New Approaches. Bir and her colleagues will find out if they have won at the 33rd annual Sports Emmys on April 30 when the winners will be announced at Lincoln Center.

The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) is investigating whether private health information pertaining to thousands of HIV-positive residents and their partners was improperly released, documents obtained by The American Independent (TAI) show. According to a spokesperson, the department does not currently believe an "unauthorized disclosure of health information" occurred, but the investigation is ongoing. TAI asked Lance Gable, professor at Wayne State University Law School who specializes in health issues, to review the documents obtained by TAI. "Whether the database in question contained sufficient information to violate [federal health information privacy laws] HIPAA [and] HITECH, and state laws related to preventing unauthorized disclosure of HIV information will depend on what information is actually in the database," Gable told TAI. "Removal of names does not necessarily mean that the data have been de-identified. A person may be identified through other data. However, until there is more information, I do not feel comfortable assessing whether the MDCH conclusion is reasonable or not."

Mike Smith, labor historian at Wayne State University's Walter P. Reuther Library, commented in a story about Nobel Peace laureate and labor activist Lech Walesa's recent visit to Chrysler. Walesa, former president of his native Poland, credited Chrysler's success with its willingness to work with union members. Smith has said Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne's blessing on Walesa's speech to workers contrasts with his harsh reputation among unions in Italy.

The Helen DeRoy Auditorium at Wayne State University was packed with high school students listening as American history professors discussed the Civil War. More than 1,300 Metro Detroit students participated in an Advanced Placement (AP) enrichment day, attending lectures by college professors who volunteered to teach subjects including calculus, biology, psychology, foreign languages and English literature. Marc Kruman, chair of the university's history department, who was lecturing on the causes of the Civil War, said AP high-school students come to college well prepared. "We provide two things to the students on this day," he said. "The first is intellectual enrichment on the eve of their AP exams and second, they've been taking college level classes in a high-school setting, so now they get two hours here to see what college is all about."

Wayne State University made the Metro Times "Best Local College" designation. "The state's only urban public research university has evolved into something more than the solid, affordable commuter school that it's been for seeming eons. Tack on the football team's first trip to the NCAA Division II National Championship last year and a refocused vision for academic achievement, and you see why the school is a winner with MT voters."

The Wayne State University College of Engineering and General Motors have joined forces to participate in a Department of Energy contest designed to help train the next generation of alternative energy automotive engineers. The contest, called EcoCAR2 - Plugging into the Future, is a $740 million effort spread over three years. Jeff Rednour, Wayne State's EcoCAR outreach team coordinator, said the participating schools will build and install an alternative fuel drivetrain into a 2013 Chevy Malibu. Dr. Jerry Ku, Wayne State's lead faculty advisor, said the school's team is designing a plug-in hybrid that will have two drivetrains. A traditional internal combustion engine, as well as a system with charger, battery and electric motor, is placed in the rear of the vehicle. "This provides students with hands-on experience and GM provides great mentoring help," Ku said. "The key to all this is collaboration." WSU Dean of Engineering Farshad Fotouhi, said he's proud that the University is involved in the contest and that Wayne State's alternative energy program is a leader across the country.

The AARP Multiculturalism and Aging Conference will be held April 27-28 at Wayne State University's Student Center Building. The free conference will focus on aging from a cultural perspective with town hall meetings on multiculturalism and retirement security; health screenings; workshops on arts and culture, finance, education, and health and wellness; a resource fair; cooking demonstrations and art exhibits.

"Marketplace" business reporter Adriene Hill talked with Wayne State University law professor Peter Henning about the Walmart bribery scandal. Shares of Walmart lost another 3 percent or so today -- that's another $3.5 billion from its total market value -- on concerns that a Mexican bribery investigation could end up costing the company a lot more. The New York Times reported over the weekend that Walmart bribed Mexican officials as it built its business down there. It's a little early to know what exactly the scandal will mean to Walmart. "We're in the top of the first inning here," says Henning. "The company is going to be incurring enormous costs for an internal investigation. Those kind of costs can run into the millions, perhaps even $100 million."

One of Wayne State University's newest buildings is now one of its greenest thanks for the Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center winning LEED Silver certification. The U.S. Green Building Council awards LEED certification, silver is one of the highest levels, for sustainability features. The Danto Engineering Development Center met specific requirements in five environmental categories, including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. "It just makes sense," says Deb Brazen, senior project manager for planning at Wayne State University. "We're a large urban campus and it's prudent for us to be aware of our impact on the environment." She adds that three more buildings on the Wayne State University campus are up for LEED certification and at least two of those are going for silver status or higher.

Dorothy Dunne has been studying for her final exams so she can don a cap and gown and get a diploma this spring from Wayne State University. Although thousands of other students will complete their studies at Michigan's colleges and universities in coming weeks, Dunne isn't the typical graduate: She is getting her first bachelor's degree at 78. Alongside her at WSU's May 7 commencement ceremony will be her 81-year-old husband, Harold Dunne, who is getting his third bachelor's degree. "I am absolutely elated," said Dorothy Dunne, a Livonia resident who majored in theater after acting for years in community theater, commercials and films. "I am so proud of myself. I truly didn't think I could do it." Joel Silvers, a WSU film professor who has known Dunne for 10 years, says he considers her one of the most interesting and cultured people he's ever met. "Although she is just now getting her degree, in my book, she has many degrees," Silvers said. "She is my professor. She has so much to teach. She has so much wisdom and so much life experience." Mary Cooney, a WSU lecturer in theater, says "she's an absolute role model for us all."

The Detroit Tigers relief pitcher, testifying in Detroit this evening before members of the National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence, said he was picked on as a child and is now working to stop bullying through the Detroit Tigers Foundation. Coke is one of several child advocates testifying before the task force, which was commissioned by Attorney General Eric Holder to examine children's exposure to violence through four national hearings. Task force members hear from experts and community members. The hearing in Detroit, which continues Tuesday at Wayne State University, is the last stop.

Once planned to be the TechTwo small business incubator, the old Dalgleish Cadillac building in New Center is now set to become the future home of Wayne State University's Multidisciplinary Biomedical Research Building. The university plans to begin renovating the former Cadillac dealership's 196,500 gross square feet in size into a research center shared by researchers from both the university and Henry Ford Health System this year. "This is the most exciting thing I have been involved with in a while," says Allan Gilmour, president of Wayne State University. This is the biggest development project Wayne State has taken on in its existence. It is about 50 percent more expensive than the $66.6 million College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences building, which held the record until this project.

The solution to youth violence isn't making more arrests, said Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee during Tuesday's testimony at a hearing for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence held at Wayne State University. "We can't arrest our way out of this problem. We can't be selfish and say we just need more police officers to fight this problem," Godbee said. Tuesday's hearing was the last of the task force's four stops. Previous hearings were held in Baltimore, Albuquerque and Miami. The task force is expected to present policy recommendations in a report to Holder later this year, based on what was said during the four hearings.

¬Maggie Allesee has partnered with marketing expert Joan Abraham and R. Drew Fezzey, the chief creative officer of Orchard Lake's Greybear Music and Film, to launch Detroit Pockets of Cool. The purpose of Pockets of Cool is "to draw young people to Detroit," Abraham said. The website has partnered with institutions such as Wayne State University and the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, which distribute the videos on their websites and social media streams.

This year March of Dimes has partnered with Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center, as well as many other key organizations in the area. The March for Babies Honorary Co-Chairs are Wayne State University President Allan Gilmour and Michael Duggan, president and CEO of the Detroit Medical Center. March for Babies Chair for the new Midtown site is Dr. Joel Kahn of the Detroit Medical Center. Together the team will focus on recruiting new companies to participate and lead the community in making a difference for the health of moms and babies. Last year, March for Babies in metropolitan Detroit raised more than $1.4 million. March for Babies is on Sunday, April 29 at 8 a.m. on Wayne State University's campus.

Paul Anger, Detroit Free Press editor and publisher, opined about Reading Works, a collaborative approach to provide more support in improving adult literacy in the Detroit area. Studies reveal that almost half of adults in Detroit are estimated to be functionally illiterate. Across Michigan, it may be as high as one in three. Reading Works was established last year with a board of directors, diverse media partners and the leadership of honorary chairs A. Alfred Taubman, Judge Damon J. Keith and Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley. Wayne State University, with the support of President Allan Gilmour, has begun planning for a national symposium on adult literacy to be held in 2013 on the WSU campus. Jerry Herron, dean of Wayne State's Irvin D. Reid Honors College, established an Office of Adult Literacy which will be a resource for all agencies, provide an outlet for WSU students to do community service as tutors and mentors, and hold regional conferences on best practices.