Southeast Michigan Purchasing Managers Index at a four-month high

The local economy is experiencing steady, healthy growth, according to the Southeast Michigan Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which jumped eight points in February to a four-month high of 63.5. February marks the 13th straight month of expansion, according to the monthly survey of purchasing managers compiled by the Wayne State University School of Business Administration and the Southeast Michigan chapter of the Institute for Supply Management.

March 2, 2011

Golden years: Law professor goes to bat for seniors

Susan Cancelosi, assistant professor at Wayne State University Law School, is profiled in a story about her efforts in elder law.

March 2, 2011

Physicist to explain ultimate nature of universe at Wayne State lecture

Sylvester Gates Jr. will explain his superstring theory, the ultimate nature of the universe, on March 3 during Wayne State University\'s Vaden W. Miles Memorial Lecture in the Spencer M. Partrich Law School Auditorium. The title of his 3:30 pm lecture is \"SUSY and the Lords of the Ring: Supersymmetry Theory.\" Gates is the John S. Toll Professor of Physics and director of the Center for String and Particle Theory at the University of Maryland, College Park. He has been featured on a number of PBS television programs including \"A Science Odyssey\" and \"Einstein\'s Big Idea.\"

March 2, 2011

Scientists probe Lake Huron for signs of pre-historic caribou hunters

A team of scientists preparing to search this spring for ancient artifacts along an underwater ridge that straddles the U.S.-Canada border - a place the researchers believe was a caribou-hunting hot spot about 10,000 years ago for some of the earliest inhabitants of North America - have teamed with Wayne State University computer scientist Robert Reynolds to create a three-dimensional virtual model of the ridge to help identify as many \"high-probability\" targets as possible. The simulation is allowing the experts to \"step into that world\" and visualize the paths caribou would likely have taken during their mass migrations, Reynolds said.

March 2, 2011

DSO binding arbitration discussion

WDET reporter Noah Ovshinsky interviewed James Perry, Wayne State University adjunct law professor, about the possible outcomes of binding arbitration in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra strike.

March 2, 2011

Personalized cancer therapy promising

Additional reports highlight Dr. Karlie Rosner, assistant professor at Wayne State University's School of Medicine, who developed a personalized therapy to treat several cancers using a genetically modified human enzyme. The concept, patented by Wayne State, was successfully demonstrated on melanoma (skin cancer) cells resistant to routine treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Rosner's findings were published in the journal Cancer Gene Therapy.

March 2, 2011

West Philly university district's success shows Midtown's potential

This story references the recent Detroit Free Press article about how the West Philadelphia neighborhood project compares to Midtown efforts. The West Philadelphia area surrounds the University of Pennsylvania - likened to Wayne State University's environment. Omar Blaik, who was the first Penn planning employee to take advantage of rental subsidies to purchase a home in West Philly, is now consulting with the UCCA and other Midtown partners to enhance the WSU district.

March 1, 2011

Virtual caribou help scientists unearth Lake Huron's secrets

Wayne State University professor Robert Reynolds and other scientists are using modern methods, including artificial computer intelligence and roving underwater robots with video cameras, to look for evidence of ancient caribou hunters about 100 feet below the surface of Lake Huron near the Canadian border. So far, they\'ve found tantalizing signs: what look like stone hunting blinds, drive lanes to steer the animals and the remains of human-built rock statues that gently guided the caribou to ambush sites.

March 1, 2011

Wayne State professor discusses Nobel Prize

Fred Pearson, Wayne State University Center for Peace and Conflict Studies director, spoke with WDET news director Jerome Vaughn about the local relevance of the Nobel Prize.

March 1, 2011

Table for four = Relationship bliss?

A relationship blog mentions the research of Richard B. Slatcher, assistant professor of psychology at Wayne State University, who recently discovered that spending time with other twosomes may help improve your relationship and make you feel happier and more satisfied.

March 1, 2011

Utica Steel's existence threatened by allegations of $3.2-million theft, economy

Peter Henning, Wayne State University law professor and a former federal prosecutor, is quoted in a story about a lawsuit accusing John Lietke, longtime head of Utica Steel, and Marilyn Amormino, longtime controller, of using the company's coffers as a personal piggy bank. Henning says prosecutors often are reluctant to get drawn into a case in which a civil lawsuit is already under way. They don't want to appear that they are taking sides.

February 28, 2011

Labor rally begins on WSU campus

Local union members plan to rally and march in Detroit this afternoon beginning at noon on Wayne State University's campus. Members of AFSCME local 207 are standing together to defend the nation\'s living standards, benefits and democratic rights.

February 28, 2011

Rep. Genetski: Closing one or two state colleges 'a very real possibility'

An article examining the possibility of the state closing one or two public universities notes that Michigan's three research universities - Wayne State University, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan - are safe. Rep. Bob Genetski, R-Saugatuck, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education, said, "The research institutions have a bigger niche than everyone else right now and are pretty well-defined," he said. "We'd be looking at some of the regional institutions."

February 28, 2011

Symposium examines school-to-prison pipeline

The Journal of Law in Society, a scholarly publication of Wayne State University's School of Law and the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights, will hold a symposium titled "Deconstructing the School-to-Prison Pipeline" on Friday, March 25 at the law school. Participants in the event, scheduled from 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium, will examine the phenomenon of the school-to-prison pipeline, which refers to the policies and practices that systemically push at-risk youth out of mainstream public schools and into the juvenile or criminal justice systems.

February 28, 2011

FIRST Robotics kicks off six weekends of competition

The FIRST Robotics competition season begins this week with local district events hosted at various venues including Wayne State University on March 18-19. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is active in nearly 30 percent of all Michigan high schools, earning the Great Lakes State the second highest participation rate in the country after California. The organization focuses on creating a high-energy environment that allows adult professional mentors to work side by side with high school students to show how much fun engineering, math, science and technology can be as a career choice.

February 28, 2011

New personalized therapy to 'fool cancer cells into killing themselves'

A Wayne State University School of Medicine researcher has developed a personalized therapy that will fool cancer cells into killing themselves. Developed by Karli Rosner, assistant professor and director of Research in the Department of Dermatology, the treatment uses genetic constructs that contain a genetically modified enzyme to seek out and destroy cancer cells. The unique concept, patented by the university, was successfully demonstrated on melanoma cells that are resistant to routine treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The success of the therapy in killing melanoma suggests a similar outcome in treating other cancers.

February 28, 2011

WSU group signs agreement

A brief notes that the Wayne State University Physician Group has signed a new agreement with a Rochester physicians\' organization to build the groundwork for a formal network that helps doctors coordinate care and better manage patients with chronic conditions. The agreement, which took effect yesterday, unites the 2,000-member WSU organization with 750 doctors in Michigan and Ohio with Medical Network One. The company helps doctors with various administrative services.

February 28, 2011

What Midtown Detroit can learn from West Philadelphia college district's renaissance

A story about successful redevelopment in West Philadelphia points to Detroit's Midtown as a direct descendant of the Philadelphia example. The success of the Philadelphia program, which included homeowner incentives and investment, is likened to the Midtown effort currently underway. The top consultant to the Detroit project was part of Penn\'s program to improve the surrounding area and the first to take the incentive to move in. In Detroit, the three anchor institutions - Wayne State University, Detroit Medical Center and Henry Ford Health System -- along with the University Cultural Center Association, which spearheads redevelopment efforts in Midtown, are trying to re-create some of that success.

February 27, 2011

Class by themselves: Executives turn to company-specific college programs

Terry Margolis, director of executive and professional training at Wayne State University comments in a story about cross-train, a move also growing within the executive training programs. \"Companies aren\'t looking for specifically one area of the university, like just business. They want communications, engineering and marketing,\" she said. \"We bring the whole school together for a customized design.\" Wayne State completes custom programs for 20 to 30 companies a year, working with executives and lower-ranking employees, she said.

February 27, 2011

Series will focus on leadership

The Leaders on Leadership series, an Emmy-award winning, weekly television series in its seventh season, will be presented at noon on Wednesdays during March at the Southfield Public Library. It is co-produced by Wayne State University's School of Business Administration and Detroit Public Television. The show airs at 11 a.m. on Sundays, 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays on WTVS Channel 56 and is available on-line at www.dptv.org "On Demand." The series is free and registration is not required. Larry Fobes, host of Leaders on Leadership, will host this series and lead a group discussion after each episode airs.

February 27, 2011