Detroit's jobless economy: Startups take root

A feature story focuses on Wayne State's recent FastTrac program for budding entrepreneurs. An imbedded video features comments from TechTown Executive Director Randal Charlton and several would-be entrepreneurs who attended the event. Over 1,500 people attended the three FastTrac workshops offered this summer. A photo gallery linked to the sidebar features several attendees.

August 25, 2009

The bill to allow concealed weapons at Michigan's colleges and universities

A bill recently introduced to the Michigan Senate would allow students, faculty, and visitors who possess a concealed weapon permit to carry their weapon on college campuses. The article also mentions Wayne State's ongoing efforts to heighten campus security.

August 24, 2009

Two Wayne State law students hit Internet sweet spot with 'Texts from Last Night'

Wayne State Law students Ben Bator and Lauren Leto often found their friends\' messages so funny that they started the Web site Texts From Last Night where people could share texts with the world. The site is now a runaway hit that\'s launched a book deal, T-shirt sales and mobile-phone applications.

August 24, 2009

Bing targets Detroit city workers' perks

Marick Masters, director of the Douglas A. Fraser Center for Workplace Issues at Wayne State, comments in a story about proposed cuts to Detroit city workers' benefits. The city\'s goal in seeking the concessions -- particularly the days off -- may be to reduce overtime and make employees more productive, Masters said. \"You don\'t have to pay overtime to fill those days, and no longer will you have people filling in who may not be productive,\" he said.

August 24, 2009

Crime on campus a harsh teacher

A front page feature story in Sunday's edition of the Detroit Free Press about security measures at Michigan colleges and universities featured Wayne State University and its programs currently in place. One WSU project noted was the public address speakers added to several of the university's campus emergency phones to alert students to threats, from deadly weather to violent assailants to hazardous spills. Photos accompanying the story included Wayne State University police officer Mark Laquere on patrol and the Wayne State dispatch center.

August 23, 2009

Business diary

Wayne State University\'s Executive & Professional Development, Detroit, the university\'s educational outreach unit for business training, executive coaching and consulting, has been selected by the Detroit Metropolitan Credit Union, Detroit, to design and deliver a customized corporate learning initiative for managers and senior leaders.

August 23, 2009

Starting in business during a credit squeeze

The entrepreneurial bug has infected hundreds of the state's residents, many of them seeking new careers outside Detroit's shrinking auto industry. This summer, three daylong sessions at Wayne State University, packed with information about starting your own company, drew 1,220 people. "The interest is so great that it's almost shocking," said Randal Charlton, executive director of TechTown, an incubator for startup firms located at the university. "In a down economy, people have two options when they lose their job. They can either go look for another job or create their own job."

August 23, 2009

Wayne State prof releases new book, 'Technology and Culture'

In a new book, \"Technology and Culture,\" Wayne State University anthropology professor Allen Batteau presents an inclusive synopsis of how technology is represented in culture and how cultural values are embodied in technology. Contrary to former beliefs, the book reveals that culture does create technology.

August 23, 2009

Wayne State nursing school gets $2 million

The Wayne State University college of Nursing has been awarded more than $2 million in the latest round of grants related to initiatives aimed at alleviating the state's nursing shortage.

August 21, 2009

Mumtaz Usmen "Detroit Today"

Mumtaz Usmen, newly appointed interim dean for the College of Engineering, taped an interview with Craig Fahle this morning that will air on the "Detroit Today" program this afternoon. They discussed Usmen's plans for the college as dean, the state of engineering education in the country, growth fields in the profession, engineering's contribution to medical research, and the like.

August 21, 2009

Turbine test plant sought for Detroit

The city of Detroit and the NextEnergy business accelerator are seeking a U.S. Department of Energy wind turbine testing plant for the city. Winning the grant competition would represent a big step toward making Detroit a center of alternative energy research and development. The article notes that Next Energy is based in TechTown near the Wayne State campus.

August 21, 2009

Cherry leads higher ed workgroup

Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry has launched a Web site, Facebook page and Twitter feed in order to gather ideas for streamlining state government. He also is leading a workgroup that includes representatives from Wayne State, Michigan State, University of Michigan and various state departments.

August 21, 2009

Around the capitol

The Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth is partnering with Wayne State University and Michigan Technological University in the new Michigan Academy for Green Mobility. The academy will prepare automotive engineers for jobs in the field of renewable energy. The courses will be offered in southeastern Michigan.

August 21, 2009

Detroit native to lead university's internal medicine department

The University of Michigan has named Dr. John Carethers to chair its Department of Internal Medicine, effective Nov. 1. He is a graduate of the Wayne State University School of Medicine.

August 21, 2009

CVS Camp Apple held at EACPHS

Wayne State University's Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (EACPHS) hosted 29 students from six southeast Michigan high schools as a part of CVS Camp Apple, which was held Aug. 10-14. Students were taken on a fast-paced, hands-on, weeklong educational experience into the growing career opportunities for health care professionals. CVS Camp Apple is a partnership between CVS America's Promise Pathways to Pharmacy and EACPHS.

August 20, 2009

New signals to help blind pedestrians

Oakland County road officials this morning unveiled the High-Intensity Activated Crosswalks (HAWK) project, a system of traffic signals they hope will make it safer for blind pedestrians to cross streets at roundabouts. The Road Commission for Oakland County said a 1-year test of the crossing devices is now under way at the new roundabout at Maple and Drake roads in West Bloomfield. The HAWK system is part of an effort to settle a 2-year-old federal lawsuit against the road commission filed by lawyer Richard Bernstein, a disability rights activist and chair of Wayne State University's Board of Governors.

August 19, 2009

Session offers help to aspiring entrepreneurs

Hundreds of would-be entrepreneurs gathered at Wayne State University yesterday for an all-day session on the basics of networking and business building. The FastTrac to the Future program is organized by TechTown, the non-profit business incubator at WSU that since starting in 2000 has nurtured dozens of businesses.

August 19, 2009

People making business news

Dr. Bonita Stanton, the Schotanus professor and chair of the department of pediatrics at Wayne State University's School of Medicine and pediatrician-in-chief at Children\'s Hospital of Michigan, was appointed to the advisory board of the John E. Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health. The board addresses global health challenges via innovative and collaborative research.

August 19, 2009

Psychiatrist gets 10 months in citizenship fraud

An assistant professor of psychiatry at Wayne State was sentenced to 10 months in prison Tuesday for conspiring to commit naturalization fraud, admitting he falsified diagnoses to help people gain U.S. citizenship without passing the English proficiency portions of naturalization exams. Chilakamarri Ramesh falsely diagnosed applicants with mental retardation, post-traumatic stress disorder, learning disabilities and dementia.

August 19, 2009

Michigan Promise Scholarship

Al Hermsen, director of the Office of Student Financial Aid, was interviewed in a story about the state possibly pulling the Michigan Promise scholarship, which would affect 96,000 students statewide. Wayne State University will credit student accounts with hopes that the state will follow through. "To lose a $1,000 scholarship at this date could be devastating and could change students enrollment plans," said Hermsen.

August 19, 2009