Monita Mungo, program manager for CommunityEngagement@Wayne, talked about Get Schooled, a program she developed to provide underrepresented students with a real college experience. During this "Making the Grade" segment, Mungo discussed the weeklong program which began on July 17 bringing to campus 60 eighth-and ninth-grade students from metropolitan Detroit.

An article notes that nearly 100 baseball players took part in a two-day baseball camp on the campus of Wayne State University. Ryan Kelley, WSU head baseball coach, is quoted.

When Eric Zacks was preparing to begin his teaching career at Wayne State University, the overwhelming feedback from faculty members was that he would love teaching there. \"It\'s certainly been true, the students at Wayne are simply fantastic,\" he says. \"They\'re bright, motivated, and appreciative, and I\'m always impressed with all they juggle, including in many instances family and work obligations in addition to numerous extracurricular and community activities, not to mention classes.\" Zacks, an assistant professor, teaches Contracts, Corporate Finance, and Corporations, and enjoys being involved in the field of business law where students can immediately make a difference in the community.

"Regional Roots: The Birth and Evolution of Detroit and Its People," a documentary film produced by Wayne State University's Detroit Orientation Institute and One of Us Films, is mentioned among films being shown as part of the Detroit Historical Society's summer series, continuing through September 4.

Governor Rick Snyder will speak today on the campus of Wayne State University at the \"Immigration and Michigan\'s Economic Future\" conference. Among topics to be discussed will be how immigration can be a way to repopulate Michigan and boost the economy. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will participate in the opening panel, \"Can Immigrants Save Detroit?\" via video teleconference. Also scheduled to attend is Compuware former-CEO Peter Karmanos, Detroit City Councilman Ken Cockrel, as well as several other business leaders.

The nearly 200 students in Wayne State University\'s electric vehicle engineering master\'s program may have taken different routes to get here, but they have the same goal: capitalize on the auto industry\'s growing need for EV engineers. The transition from automotive mechanical engineer to EV engineer can be difficult, says Jerry Ku, director of Wayne State's master\'s degree program. Unlike traditional automotive engineering, where countless mock-ups and models were used to test vehicles, most of the modeling and testing of EVs is done using software that represents the entire EV system, Ku says. Wayne State established the EV engineering program in May 2010 in conjunction with Macomb Community College in suburban Detroit after they received a joint $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The institutions offer several degrees in alternative-energy and electric-drive technology. A photo of Ku is included with the feature story.

Wayne State University's College of Nursing received a $200,000 grant from the Michigan Nursing Corps to enhance its simulation technology for teaching clinical nursing skills. The college's simulation laboratories use life-sized manikins programmed to exhibit a wide range of biological responses and medical conditions. This technology allows nursing students to learn and practice clinical skills in a safe, low-stress environment before their supervised training with actual patients. "This award will enable us to expand simulation training for a significant number of our undergraduate and graduate nursing students," said Barbara K. Redman, College of Nursing dean and professor. "Simulation experience allows faculty to more efficiently assess procedures practiced by nursing students before they are performed on hospital and clinic patients. These students are then better prepared when they begin their training with actual patients. In addition, the grant will increase opportunities for nursing research on patient care practices as well as disease-specific projects."

Wayne State University researchers have found that religious well-being may help patients with traumatic brain injuries in rehabilitation. Researchers conducted interviews and neuropsychological tests with 88 traumatic brain injury victims and found that those who felt a strong connection with a higher power had better rehabilitation outcomes.

Researchers at Wayne State University have found that adults with spinal cord injuries do not correlate the severity of their injuries with overall health. In the survey asking 140 adults, researchers found that people who were severely disabled as a result of spinal injury did not rate their health as low, including in instances when the person was confined to a wheelchair. Researchers said the finding was important because a person can have a disability but still have very good health. Self-reported health plays a large part in other areas of life, including mortality, according to previous studies.

Gov. Rick Snyder promoted the advantages of drawing more immigrants to the state at a forum on ``Immigration and Michigan\'s Economic Future.\'\' The former computer executive participated in Monday\'s New Michigan Media Conference at Wayne State University.

This piece about the influence of foundations on Detroit's economic revitalization cites Wayne State University's involvement. In Detroit, foundations such as the Skillman Foundation, the McGregor Fund, the Hudson-Webber Foundation, and others have been working with the city and such major anchor institutions as Wayne State University to fashion programs and strategies to counter the city's downward spiral. In addition, the Detroit Revitalization Fellows Program, managed by Wayne State, is lauded as one of the most widely applauded elements of the Detroit plan. Funded by Kresge and Hudson-Webber, the program's mission is to recruit young, mid-career professionals and put their talents to work with local Detroit organizations, such as the University Cultural Center Association, the Downtown Detroit Partnership, the City of Detroit, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, and the Woodward Corridor Initiative. These two-year, full-time employment fellowships are based on a model adapted from the Rockefeller Foundation Redevelopment Fellowships developed in 2007 in New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina.

Crain's Detroit Business publisher Mary Kramer included a mention about Wayne State in her opinion piece regarding Detroit Midtown's resurgence, and the resulting challenges facing the real estate market. She wrote: "Last week, The Detroit News reported that suburban homes that were listed for more than $5 million were being sold for less than half that price. Bad deal for the seller, great deal for the buyer. Meanwhile, some buyers are finding good deals in Detroit\'s Midtown, thanks to the program launched by three anchor employers -- Wayne State University, Detroit Medical Center and Henry Ford Health System -- to offer subsidies to employees who opt to buy or rent in Midtown."

Dr. Mark Juzych has been appointed chair of the Wayne State University School of Medicine department of ophthalmology and director of the Kresge Eye Institute. The appointment is effective Aug. 1. Juzych, a professor and associate chair of the department, succeeds Dr. Gary Abrams.

Wayne State University's Blackstone Project is noted as an example of efforts by Michigan's universities to address the need for entrepreneurial development and keeping the workforce talent in the state.

Detroit Free Press associate editor Ron Dzwonkowski pulls a quote from Portland, Ore. Businessman and civic leader commenting about his recent visit to Detroit as part of a 55-member delegation late last year. \"We really thought your sports stadiums (Comerica Park and Ford Field) were very cool together. We really liked them,\" said Miller. \"And TechTown, at Wayne State, we liked it far better than our (business) incubator.\"

Harley Ellis Devereaux, in collaboration with the Engineering Society of Detroit, awarded David A. Skiven with the 2011 ESD Harold Slaight Ellington Leadership Award. It is mentioned in the brief that Skiven received a plaque, and Harley Ellis Devereaux will make a contribution to Wayne State University\'s College of Engineering in his honor.

Two researchers at Wayne State University have found that individuals with traumatic brain injury can improve rehabilitation if they feel close to a higher power. Traumatic brain injury - the disruption of normal brain function after a head injury - affects 1.7 million Americans annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those struggling with the long-term effects are at a heightened risk for mental and physical problems that can inhibit rehabilitation outcomes. When the injury leaves people feeling stressed, less satisfied with life and functionally dependent on others, rehabilitation is the only option. "Among healthy adults, religion and spirituality have shown strong association with improved life satisfaction and physical and mental health outcomes," said Brigid Waldron-Perrine, a recent Ph.D. graduate who conducted the research with her mentor, Lisa J. Rapport, professor of psychology at Wayne State\'s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Xiaoming Li, professor at Wayne State University's School of Medicine, was a co-guest editor of the June special edition issue of the peer-reviewed publication AIDS Care. The special issue contains 12 articles by a multidisciplinary group of Chinese and U.S. researchers and reports on the major issues related to HIV testing, prevention and treatments for women in China, highlighting the importance of collaborative efforts in HIV/AIDS research. The eight-month study is being funded by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Hollywood actor Tom Sizemore\'s 20-year professional career includes such well known films as Born on the Fourth of July, True Romance (partially filmed in Detroit), Heat, Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down. The Detroit native got his start at Wayne State, where he earned a bachelor's degree in theatre before going on to earn a master's in theatre at Temple University. \"For me it was either go to Los Angeles or New York and attend a professional acting program,\" he said. \"Little did I know there was one right there in Detroit through Wayne State.\"

For African Americans, 14 percent of those diagnosed with depression received the acceptable standard of care; for Mexican Americans, it was 12 percent, according to a National Institute of Mental Health study published last year. The study showed that only about half of Americans diagnosed with major depression in a given year are treated, and only one in five of those get treatment consistent with American Psychiatric Association guidelines. African Americans and Mexican Americans had the lowest rates of those getting the care they need. "First and foremost, identifying the problem is the big challenge,\" said clinical psychologist and Wayne State University professor Hector Gonzales, the lead author on the study. \"Some cultures, particularly a lot of people in the black community, are not open or receptive to admitting to mental health problems. People end up acting out their mental health issues in ways that are destructive to themselves and others,\" Gonzales said. The stigma stems from a lack of understanding and knowledge about mental illness, Gonzales said. \"Some people don\'t see it as a medical disorder. There\'s this whole notion that you should be able to snap out of it or pull yourself up by your bootstraps,\" he said.